Here are 7 ASX stocks that overinflated during the pandemic and crashed; and where they are now

If you want proof the COVID pandemic was a crazy time, just take a look at a list of ASX stocks that overinflated during that time, and how they subsequently crashed. We have put together one such list, it is not intended to be exhaustive, but we think it covers the main 7 that would come to investors’ minds.

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7 ASX stocks that overinflated during the pandemic and crashed

Beforepay (ASX:B4P)

Beforepay is a fintech that provides earned-wage access, letting users draw down part of their salary before payday for a fee, alongside basic budgeting tools. During the pandemic, investors were extremely enthusiastic about anything adjacent to BNPL, fintech disruption, or consumer flexibility. Lockdowns, stimulus payments, and a surge in retail trading created an environment where small fintechs were priced as if they would rapidly scale into dominant financial platforms.

Beforepay’s share price reflected that optimism rather than its actual earnings power. As conditions normalised, interest rates rose, and regulators took a harder look at consumer credit, the market reassessed the risk and growth profile of these businesses. Growth slowed, funding costs increased, and sentiment toward loss-making fintechs collapsed.

In hindsight, the rise was more about sector hype than a step-change in the company’s economics. Today, Beforepay still operates, but it is valued as a niche financial service rather than a breakout disruptor.

MoneyMe (ASX: MME)

MoneyMe operates as a digital lender offering personal loans, credit cards, and automotive finance through an online platform. Like Beforepay, it benefited from pandemic-era enthusiasm for fintechs that claimed to challenge traditional banks using technology and data.

Low interest rates and abundant liquidity made growth stories very attractive, and MoneyMe’s loan book expansion was interpreted as proof of scalability. The fall came when rates increased, credit risk re-entered the conversation, and investors demanded profitability instead of growth alone. Loan losses, funding costs, and ongoing losses exposed the fragility of the business model at scale.

The pandemic did not permanently improve MoneyMe’s economics; it merely created a temporarily favourable environment. The stock now trades at a fraction of its highs, reflecting a small lender still searching for sustainable profitability.

Airtasker (ASX:ART)

Airtasker runs an online marketplace connecting people who need tasks done with freelance workers. It listed during a period when platform businesses and “gig economy” models were treated as inherently valuable due to perceived network effects. COVID accelerated digital adoption and remote work, which helped Airtasker’s narrative even though actual usage growth was uneven. The share price surge (more than 4 fold post its 2021 IPO) was largely driven by listing hype and comparisons to global tech platforms rather than proven margins.

But as the market moved away from speculative growth stocks, Airtasker’s limited revenue growth, thin take rates, and lack of profitability became harder to ignore. The business itself was not fundamentally broken, but the valuation assumed a much faster path to scale than reality allowed. Today, Airtasker remains operational with a loyal user base, but it is valued more conservatively as a small marketplace rather than a tech unicorn in waiting.

Appen (ASX:APX)

Appen is an AI data services company that supplies labelled datasets used to train machine-learning models. Its pandemic-era surge was more grounded in fundamentals than most, as AI investment genuinely accelerated and Appen was a key supplier to major tech companies. Investors extrapolated that demand indefinitely, pushing the valuation to extreme levels.

The crash came when a major customer relationship, most notably Google, was reduced, revealing how concentrated and fragile Appen’s revenue base was. At the same time, the broader tech sell-off punished companies dependent on discretionary corporate spending. Unlike many pandemic darlings, Appen’s rise was tied to real demand, but the valuation assumed dominance and stability that the business never truly had.

Where Appen sits now is more nuanced: it is still a legitimate AI infrastructure business, but one operating in a far more competitive and uncertain environment, with a valuation that reflects execution risk rather than inevitability.

Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR)

Syrah is a graphite miner focused on supplying materials for lithium-ion batteries, including downstream anode production. Its pandemic-era rally was driven by the broader battery metals and EV narrative, which exploded as governments pushed green stimulus and investors chased anything linked to electrification. Graphite was framed as a critical bottleneck mineral, and Syrah was positioned as a future strategic supplier.

The fall followed a familiar commodity cycle pattern: graphite prices softened, operational issues emerged, capital requirements increased, and timelines stretched. The market realised that strategic importance does not guarantee short-term profitability.

Syrah’s rise was partly legitimate in terms of long-term demand, but heavily overinflated in terms of near-term execution and pricing assumptions. Today, it remains a relevant player in battery materials, but its valuation reflects the reality that mining projects are capital-intensive, cyclical, and slow to mature.

Global Lithium Resources (ASX:GL1)

GL1 is a small cap lithium play benefited enormously from the lithium boom, which peaked during and shortly after the pandemic as EV adoption projections became increasingly aggressive. Exploration companies like GL1 saw their market capitalisations rise rapidly on drilling results, land holdings, and the promise of future production rather than current cash flow.

But when lithium prices cooled and investors rotated toward producers rather than explorers, the speculative premium evaporated. There was no single failure; rather, the market stopped paying up for optionality so far in the future. The rise was classic exploration-stock inflation, driven more by sentiment than substance. Today, GL1 continues to advance its projects, but its share price reflects exploration risk instead of lithium mania.

Dubber (ASX:DUB)

Dubber provides cloud-based call recording and voice data services, typically embedded within telecom platforms. During the pandemic, SaaS businesses with recurring revenue stories were aggressively re-rated, and Dubber was seen as a hidden infrastructure winner of remote work and digital communications.

The subsequent collapse, however, was not just a valuation unwind. Serious governance, accounting, and trust issues emerged, including problems with cash reporting and management credibility. Trading suspensions, executive departures, and audit concerns destroyed investor confidence. While the original business concept had merit, the downfall was driven primarily by company-specific failures rather than macro conditions. Dubber now trades at a tiny fraction of its former value and is widely viewed as a cautionary tale about governance risk in small-cap tech.

Bottom line

Taken together, these stocks illustrate a common pandemic pattern. Cheap money, stimulus, and retail participation inflated valuations based on narratives rather than durable cash flows. In some cases, such as Appen and Syrah, there was genuine underlying demand that justified optimism, but not at the prices investors were willing to pay. But in others, like fintech lenders and explorers, the pandemic temporarily masked structural weaknesses. Dubber stands apart as a reminder that not all crashes are about cycles — some are about trust.