Fund Managers Say The Market Has Hansen's AI Story Backwards

A billing software provider to utilities and telecoms is being framed as an AI winner rather than a casualty of the SaaS selloff

24 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

A broad sell-off in software stocks in early 2026, driven by fears that AI would disrupt SaaS business models, swept up Hansen Technologies along with the rest of the sector. Investors Mutual Limited argued in an April 2026 interview that the reaction had it backwards. The manager said that following Hansen's first-half result, the company had shown itself to be an AI winner rather than an AI casualty, already generating revenue from AI products in market and delivering material cost efficiencies in product development from AI usage.

We strongly feel after the first half result that Hansen's shown that it's actually an AI winner. They've already got AI products in market that are generating revenue. They're generating material cost efficiencies in product development from the usage of AI.

— Investors Mutual Limited, Article, April 2026

Hayborough Investment Partners, appearing alongside Investors Mutual in the same discussion, made a related point about the durability of Hansen's customer base. The manager said Hansen's telco and utility customers are large, complex and highly regulated businesses that do not move on from their billing software easily, and argued the company would utilise AI rather than be threatened by it, while also flagging Hansen's strong balance sheet as giving it a fertile hunting ground for further acquisitions now that sector valuations have come down.

A mission-critical business hiding in plain sight

That framing echoes the thesis Asymmetric Asset Management laid out in February 2026 when it added Hansen to its portfolio during the same AI-driven software sell-off. The manager described Hansen as a global provider of mission-critical billing and customer care software for utilities and telecoms, founded in Melbourne in the 1970s and listed on the ASX for more than 25 years, with clients including Thames Water, Xcel Energy and Telefonica whose contracts are deeply embedded, costly to replace and governed by long-term agreements. It said the market tends to underestimate the quality and durability of Hansen's earnings precisely because the business does not generate the eye-catching growth numbers of flashier software peers, even though it also does not carry the same valuation risk.

Rather than being at risk from AI disruption, Hansen is successfully employing AI to increase productivity and expand margins... We believe the market underestimates the quality and durability of its earnings, and its February result reinforced that conviction.

— Asymmetric Asset Management, Monthly Report, February 2026

The switching costs behind the recurring revenue

Forager Funds put a finer point on why those contracts are so sticky in its March 2026 quarterly report, describing Hansen as operating mission-critical systems in highly regulated environments that need to be unquestioningly reliable and carry the highest levels of cyber protection. The manager said Hansen delivered 16 per cent recurring revenue growth alongside a solid outlook, and argued that because Hansen's customers are highly risk averse, the high switching costs involved are very difficult for new providers to break down once a relationship has been established.

Where the current cycle of upgrades began

The current run of positive commentary traces back to a July 2025 earnings upgrade that first reset expectations for the stock. QVG Capital said Hansen's shares jumped more than 20 per cent after the company raised underlying EBITDA guidance to between $110 million and $112 million, up from $92 million to $101 million previously, with margins improving sharply in the second half on cost discipline, the PowerCloud business in Germany turning profitable ahead of schedule, and AI-driven efficiency gains. The manager noted the upgrade was reinforced by a run of fresh contract wins, including multi-year deals with Vattenfall, Entelios, Telefónica's VMO2 and a US renewables operator. Not every manager held on through that strength: Clime Investment Management sold its Hansen holding that same month, citing the need to free up capital for newly established positions elsewhere in its portfolio, even as it acknowledged the upgrade reflected genuine operational improvement rather than one-off items.

What managers are watching next

With Hansen now framed by several managers as an AI beneficiary rather than an AI casualty, the next test is whether the company's stated AI product revenue and cost efficiencies continue to scale, and whether management uses its stronger balance sheet to pursue the kind of bolt-on acquisitions that have historically underpinned its growth, at a time when Hayborough Investment Partners says depressed sector valuations have made potential targets more affordable.