ASX 200 Live Today - Thursday, 21st August

Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Thursday, August 21. We’re excited to trial this new format. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. Today's live blog will wrap up around 2:00 pm AEST. Be sure to refresh manually for the latest updates — and let us know how we can make it even better.

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That's a wrap

[2:27 pm] We're calling it a day here. Massive day for the market, with the S&P/ASX 200 hovering the 9,000 level. Lots of reporters driving big moves at the sector level, notably Transurban (+2.6%) and Brambles (+10.4%) for Industrials, Santos (+2.0%) and Whitehaven (+2.1%) for Energy, Super Retail (+13.0%) for Discretionary.

There's also a big inflow into the Staples sector, with strong gains from Woolworths (+2.8%) and Coles (+1.3%).

S&P/ASX 200 sector performance (Source: Market Index)

What's been most fascinating today is the massive intraday drives for those better-than-expected results out of Brambles, Codan, Downer and Super Retail Group. As well has how badly Sonic Healthcare has been smashed off of a weak result.

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The Little Rally That Could

[1:15 pm] It feels like only yesterday that the ASX 200 broke the 8,000 point mark for the first time.

They grow up so quickly.

For the history buffs, these are the dates when the index first passed other big milestones:

• 8,000 points - 15 July 2024

• 7,000 points - 16 January 2020

• 6,000 points - 15 February 2007

• 5,000 points - 20 March 2006

And here is the journey in chart form:

By Tom Stelzer

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ASX 200 passes 9,000 points for first time ever

[1:04 pm] Whatever you think of current valuations, the Australian stock market just keeps on trucking.

It's set a new record today after 10 of the 11 ASX sectors were up on some decent earnings results.

Are we officially in the Euphoria phase now?

By Tom Stelzer

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Brambles earnings call summary

[12:58 pm] Here's the insights from Brambles' Q4 call:

• FY25 CapEx reductions were "timing issue", will return to normal in FY26.

• Expects full benefit of Serialisation+ investment by 2027-28.

• $55m in overhead restructuring with goal of reducing headcount.

• IPEP (effectively lost or damaged inventory) to sales ratio maintained at 1.6% through to FY28.

I've previously written that Brambles is one of the ASX's most popular stocks with global investment funds.

It's certainly been popular with investors this reporting season. BXB is now up 43% in the last year, after jumping a further 10% so far today.

By Tom Stelzer

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Megaport bounces back

[12:50 pm] What a difference a simple conference call can make.

After crashing almost 20% after results showed unexpectedly large, and unwelcome, increases to CapEx in FY26, MP1 is back to breakeven for the day after CEO Michael Reid managed to allay some fears during today's earnings call.

By Tom Stelzer

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A tale of two losers

[12:40 pm] Two of reporting season's hardest hit stocks have experienced different fates so far today.

CSL, which at one point had dropped more than 23% this week after it announced it was cutting 15% of its workforce and spinning off its vaccine division, has clawed back 2.7% today.

James Hardie, which crashed 28% yesterday after it announced a big earnings miss, has fallen a further 11% today.

Investors certainly haven't been pulling any punches on stocks that they perceive to have undelivered this reporting season.

By Tom Stelzer

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Australian manufacturing output up in August

[12:30 pm] Local manufacturing output has risen again this month as new orders increased and customer bases expanded.

The S&P Global Australia Manufacturing PMI, which measures the level of activity of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, rose to 52.9 in August, up from 51.3 in July.

It's the fastest growth in almost 3 years, with sentiment in the sector now the most optimistic it's been since 2022.

By Tom Stelzer

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Goodman Group earnings call summary

[12:20 pm] Here are some of the interesting takeaways from the property giant's Q4 earnings call:

• Identified "significant growth potential" in 2026 on development side due to strong opportunity set.

• Long-term strategy is focused on risk-managed steady growth.

• Will continue to expand data centre team, as well as new data centre partnerships in Europe, Australia and the US.

• Development work-in-progress to exceed $15bn by end of FY26.

• Guidance is >$2.6bn operating profit in FY26.

GMG is now down around 1.3% today, after initially opening 2.3% higher.

By Tom Stelzer

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Top ASX 200 gainers and losers in early trade

[10:53 am] Lots of reporting season winners and losers today, with Objective Corp, Super Retail, Vault, Brambles and Downer all ripping on results.

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Winners are winning: Brambles, Codan, Super Retail

[10:46 am] Brambles (+6.8%), Codan (+11.1%) and Super Retail Group (+14.3%) all opened higher and surged in the first few minutes of trade on better-than-expected earnings.

Super Retail Group (red), Codan (blue) and Brambles (orange) intraday chart | Source: TradingView

Here are the key takeaways from the result (you can find the numbers and % beat/miss vs. ests further below).

Brambles delivered a solid FY25 performance, beating market expectations on operating profit, return on capital, and total dividend, though sales slightly missed estimates. FY26 guidance for profit growth is marginally below some analyst expectations.

Codan delivered a strong FY25 performance, surpassing market expectations across revenue, EBITDA, and NPAT, with a 27% dividend increase. The company’s positive FY26 outlook, with secured revenue and expected 15-20% growth in its Communications business, supports continued momentum, though the stock’s 75% surge to all-time highs raises valuation concerns.

Super Retail Group reported solid FY25 results, beating expectations on sales, gross margin, and normalised NPAT, though the special dividend significantly missed estimates. FY26 trading update shows modest like-for-like sales growth of 3.1% and total sales growth of 5.0% for the first seven weeks, in line with prior year trends, with plans for $155m capex and a net increase of 14 stores.

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Why Megaport is getting smashed

[10:40 am] Megaport numbers read well at face value, so why is the stock down 16%?

• FY25 capex was $34.4m or 14% ahead of market expectations

• FY26 outlook said capex will be 18-20% of revenue, suggesting 47-54% capex or 50-73% above consensus

Overall, today's FY25 numbers (revenue, EBITDA margin) was a small beat, but the capex surprise was very, very large (in a bad way).

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Sonic Healthcare lifts profits, sales

[10:12 am] Diagnostics and radiology group Sonic Healthcare has reported a net profit up 7% to $514 million on sales up 8% to $9.6 billion for FY 2025.

Management said it remains well positioned for future earnings growth, without specific guidance.

Shares traded down 7.9% to $26.48 in early trade.

By Tom Richardson.

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Universal Store's profit slips, sales climb

[10:05 am] Youth fashion retailer Universal Stores has posted a net profit down 32.3% to $23.3 million.

Underlying earnings per share climbed 14.6% to 45.4 cents.

Total sales climbed 15.5% to $333.3 million.

Shares have jumped 41.3% over the past 12 months.

By Tom Richardson.

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Netwealth lifts profit nearly 40%

[9:56 am] Fast-growing investment admin platform has posted FY 2025 net profit up 39.8% to $116.5 million.

As at June 30 total funds under administration (FUA) was $15.8 billion, up 40.4%.

Shares have surged 55% over the past year, while rival Hub24 has performed even better.

By Tom Richardson.

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Whitehaven Coal posts falling profits

[9:49 am] Coal miner Whitehaven has reported an underlying net profit down 57% to $319 million in financial 2025.

Its revenue grew 53% to $5.8 billion.

It also guided for capex of $340 million to $440 million in financial 2026.

FY 2025 was the first full year of Whitehaven's ownership of the Daunia and Blackwater coal assets in Queensland.

By Tom Richardson.

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Codan FY25 results

[9:49 am] A broad beat from Codan, with strong guidance commentary. However, the stock has surged 75% since Liberation Day lows, trading at all-time highs.

• Group revenue up 22% to $674.2m vs. $649.8m ests (3.8% beat)

• EBITDA up 27% to $183.7m vs. $179.1m ests (2.6% beat)

• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 27% to $103.5m vs. $100.8m ests (2.7% beat)

• Total dividend up 27% to 28.5 cents per share

Outlook commentary:

• Looking ahead to FY26, the Communications business targets long-term sales growth of at least 10 to 15% per annum and, as demonstrated in FY24 and FY25, this target growth range can be exceeded.

• With approximately $155 million of FY26 revenue already secured in the 30 June orderbook, the expectation of increased defence spending by governments, the ongoing growth in the unmanned systems market and the first full year of contribution from Kägwerks, our Communications business is well positioned to grow in the 15 to 20% range in FY26.

• Minelab enters FY26 in a strong position, building on the momentum of excellent growth delivered in FY25.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Codan (CDA)

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Qube FY25 results "slightly soft"

[9:38 am] Qube delivered a broadly in-line FY25 result, with underlying NPATA up 6% year-on-year to $288 million, which came in 2% below RBC estimates and a 1% consensus miss. The company declared a final dividend of 5.7 cps, beating both RBC and consensus expectations of 5.2 and 5.0 cents respectively.

"Result quality was a little soft with: (i) Softer cashflow conversion (GOCF/EBITDA ~85% vs 98% pcp); Proforma tax rate 24%; and $221m NRIs largely due to Moorebank Interstate terminal writedowns," noted RBC Capital Markets analyst Owen Birrell.

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Netwealth FY25 results: Slight miss

[9:34 am] Netwealth reported a slight miss across the board, driven by higher costs.

• Platform revenue up 26.8% to $316.4m vs. $316.7m ests (0.1% miss)

• Platform revenue margin down 40 bps to 31.5% vs. 32.1% E&P ests (60 bps miss)

• Underlying EBITDA up 31.1% to $163.5m vs. $165.8m ests (1.4% miss)

• Underlying NPAT up 39.8% to $116.5m vs. $117.0m ests (0.4% miss)

• DPS up 37.5% to 38.5 cps vs.39.2 cps ests (1.8% miss)

"Growth in FUM to 18th August of $5.7bn suggests continued strong inflows which should be taken well. If we assume circa 60% flow through of XJOAI to mkt impact however it implies a slightly lower net flow rate than key peer Hub24," noted E&P's Olivier Coulon.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Netwealth (NWL)

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Small-to-mid cap FY results summary

[9:24 am] A few smaller results of interest:

• Maas Group (MGH): FY25 EBITDA of $219.4m vs. guidance of $215-245m, so towards the lower end. Underlying NPAT of $78.5m below $82.1m consensus. Outlook commentary noted expectations of "continued solid revenue and profit growth in FY26." However, flagged soft end demand to persistent in Melbourne, solid external project pipeline across civil construction/commercial.

• Pepper Money (PPM): Half-year net profit after tax up 2% to $47m vs. $44.6m ests. Net interest margin down to 1.98% vs. 2.03% a half ago. Declared interim dividend of 6.4 cents per share and special dividend of 12.5 cents (so 18.9 cents total dividend vs. $1.99 last close or 9.4% yield).

• Redox (RDX): This stock has been obliterated YTD, down 53%. FY25 numbers include 9.4% revenue growth to $1.24bn, NPAT(FX) down 15% to $80m and total dividend of 12.5 cps.

• Peter Warren (PWR): No surprises here given pre-guided results. Stock has surged 26.5% in response to the trading update announcement on 23 July.

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Bega Cheese FY25 results

[9:15 am] Bega reported a sizeable statutory loss due to the sale and exit of juice assets in Leeton NSW, planned closure of cheese packaging capacities in Victoria and impairment of peanut processing operations in Queensland. On a normalised basis (below), the company continued to report strong growth and deleveraging.

• Revenue up 0.5% to $3.53bn vs. $3.63bn ests (2.8% miss)

• EBITDA up 23.1% to $202.0m vs. guidance of $190-200m (3.6% beat at midpoint, consensus sits at $200m)

• Profit after tax up 74% to $50.8m vs. $54.3m ests (6.4% miss)

• Net debt down 22.4% to $126.1m

• Total dividend of 12 cps vs. Macquarie ests of 11 cps (9.1% beat)

Bega guided to FY26 adjusted EBITDA of $215-220m (vs. Macquarie ests of $218m). Planned closures of Strathmerton, Kingaroy and Tolga to support growth and efficiency when complete in FY27. Its worth noting Bega has a pretty solid track record of absolutely ripping or dipping on results.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Bega Cheese (BGA)

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Goodman Group FY25 results

[9:07 am] A few soft spots for Goodman Group, including operating profit and FY26 operating EPS growth guidance. A recent note from Citi (1-Jul) also anticipating potential positive catalysts such as further growth in underlying data centre pipeline, further progress in capital partnerships.

• Operating profit up 13% to $2.31bn vs. $2.49bn ests (7.2% miss)

• Operating earnings per share up 9.8% to 118 cents vs. 118 cents ests (in-line)

• Gearing at 4.3% (vs. 8.4% at 30 June 2024), though look-through gearing at 17.3%

• Final dividend flat year-on-year to 15 cps, total dividend of 30 cents per share

Operational metrics of interest:

• Total portfolio up 9% to $85.6bn

• Revaluation gains at $1.6bn across Group and Partnerships

• Portfolio occupancy at 96.5%, with like-for-like net property income (NPI) growth at 4.3%

• Estimated end value of development work in progress (WIP) at $12.9bn across 57 projects, with a forecast yield on cost of 7.5%

• Data centres comprise 57% of development WIP; global power bank at 5.0 GW across 13 major global cities (2.7 GW secured, 2.3 GW in advanced procurement)

Goodman Group guided to FY26 operating EPS growth of 9.0% y/y vs. market expectations of 10-11%, dividend also maintained at 30 cents per share.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Goodman Group (GMG)

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Brambles FY25 results: Solid numbers, but valuation may weigh

[8:57 am] Brambles delivered a solid FY25 result that was mostly ahead of market expectations, especially on the dividend and return on capital invested front. Guidance may be slightly under some analyst expectations. The stock has also rallied 35% in the past twelve months, so valuation may overshadow the decent numbers. Most analysts are Neutral rated due to valuation.

• Sales revenue up 2% to US$6.66bn vs. US$6.77bn ests (1.6% miss)

• Operating profit after tax up 12% to US$864.2m vs. US$848m ests (1.9% beat)

• Return on capital invested up 1.4 pts to 21.9% vs. UBS ests of 21.4% (50 bp beat)

• Final dividend of 20.83 US cents per share

• Total dividend up 17% 39.83 US cents per share (vs. UBS ests of A$0.57, so ~7% beat)

• Announced FY26 on-market buy-back of up to US$400m

• FY26 outlook includes underlying profit growth of 8-11% at constant currency and free cash flow before dividends of 850-950m vs. UBS ests of 10.4% underlying profit growth

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Brambles (BXB)

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Genesis Minerals FY25 results: Production tops guidance

[8:46 am] Some very strong numbers out of Genesis, with FY25 production exceeding its guidance and FY26 guidance slightly ahead of some analyst estimates.

• Revenue up 110% to $920.1m vs. $902.8m ests (1.9% beat)

• EBITDA up 256% to $454.1m vs. $443m ests (2.5% beat)

• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 127% to $221.2m vs .$219.5m ests (0.8% beat)

• Gold production up 59% to 214,311oz, exceeding upgraded FY25 guidance of 190,000-210,000oz

• All-in sustaining costs (AISC) steady at $2,398/oz, in-line with upgraded FY25 guidance of $2,200-2,400/oz

• FY25 cash and bullion build of $395m before $250m Laverton Gold acquisition, $100m debt drawdown

FY26 guidance includes production of 260-290koz at AISC of A$2,500-2,700/oz. This is slightly better than UBS estimates of 258koz production at AISC of A$2,665/oz.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Genesis Minerals (GMD)

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Northern Star FY25 results: No surprises

[8:40 am] Most miner results should be relatively predictable since quarterly production reports give analysts a solid read on full-year expectations. The key areas that may surprise are FY26 guidance/capex and capital management.

• Revenue up 30% to $6.41bn vs. $6.43bn ests (0.3% miss)

• Adjusted EBITAD up 60% to $3.50bn vs. $3.44bn ests (1.7% beat)

• Underlying NPAT up 105% to $1.41bn vs. $1.41bn ests (in-line)

• Total dividend up 37% to 55 cents per share

• FY26 guidance reaffirmed at 1,700-1,850koz at AISC of A$2,300-2,700/oz

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Northern Star (NST)

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Super Retail Group FY25 earnings: Solid beats

[8:30 am] Some very solid numbers from Super Retail Group, with most metrics ahead of market expectations, especially in terms of gross margins. FY26 trading update showing slight growth, but cycling record numbers. Special dividend is a point of contention.

• Sales up 4.5% to $4.1bn vs. $4.05bn ests (1.2% beat)

• Gross margin down 50 bps to 45.6% vs. Macquarie ests of 44.4% (120 bp beat)

• Normalised NPAT down 4% to $232m vs. $218.7m ests (6.1% beat)

• Final dividend of 34 cps and special dividend of 30 cps vs. Citi ests of 33 cps and special dividend of 50 cps (interesting to see slight ordinary dividend beat but big special miss)

• No debt and $63m cash balance

• Total inventory was $887m

FY26 trading update (weeks 1-7) noted group like-for-like sales growth of 3.1% and total sales growth of 5.0%. To add some perspective, weeks 1-7 for FY25 was up 3.0% and 5.0% respectively.

The company also guided to FY26 capex of $155m, with plans to open 23 new stores and close 9.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Super Retail Group (SUL)

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Fisher & Paykel provides first-half guidance

[8:17 am] Fisher & Paykel guides to first-half revenue of approximately $1.075 billion and net profit after tax of approximately $200 million, equal to 13% and 31% year-on-year growth respectively.

“We had a very strong first half last year across both Homecare and Hospital product groups, with 17% revenue growth in constant currency. Against that backdrop, an ongoing change in clinical practice to our Hospital therapies continues to contribute to our outlook for strong growth for the first half of this year,” said Managing Director and CEO Lewis Gradon.

The revenue figure is in-line with consensus ($1.06bn ests) and NPAT is 4.7% ahead ($191m ests).

FPH also reaffirmed its full-year guidance of revenue $2.15-2.25bn and NPAT of $390-440m.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Fisher & Paykel (FPH)

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Fed officials say inflation risks outweigh labour market risks

[8:13 am] No major surprises from July's FOMC minutes, where the Fed left rates unchanged despite calls from governors Waller and Bowman to cut.

• Majority of officials still saw inflation risks outweighing employment risks, though meeting pre-dated July’s weak payrolls data.

• Concerns noted over unanchored inflation expectations and tariff pass-through, though some argued policy can’t wait for full clarity on tariff effects.

• September cut odds steady at ~84% as minutes viewed as stale given subsequent data.

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Yancoal 1H25 earnings call highlights

[8:12 am] Yancoal absolutely smashed yesterday (-11.4%) after the company declared a dividend of just 6.2 cents per share (~1% yield) despite sitting on a massive $1.8 billion cash pile. You can read my in-depth write up here.

These are some of the key takeaways from the earnings call:

• Inventory expected to normalize by Q3, supporting planned sales recovery; global coking coal market tightening on India and SE Asia demand.

• Focus on productivity and profitability from existing assets; no major expansion planned.

• Margins pressured by API5 price drop and NSW royalty hikes, though partly offset by lower costs elsewhere.

• Capital strategy intact: open to coal and diversified M&A, while maintaining dividend policy of at least 50% of net profit or free cash flow.

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Good morning!

[8:09 am] ASX 200 futures are up 23pts (+0.25%) after a relatively soft overnight session, where the S&P 500 fell (-0.24%) for a fourth straight session.

Today's a massive day for corporate earnings. I'll try my best to cover some of the key numbers and data points before the market open.

Key reporters include:

• Larger caps: Bega Cheese (BGA), Brambles (BXB), Codan (CDA), Charter Hall (CHC), Domain (DHG), Downer (DOW), EQT Holdings (EQT), Goodman Group (GMG), Insignia Financial (IFL), IPH (IPH), MA Financial Group (MAF), Megaport (MP1), National Storage REIT (NSR), Northern Star Resources (NST), NRW Holdings (NWH), Netwealth (NWL), Objective Corp (OCL), Qube Holdings (QUB), Sonic Healthcare (SHL), Super Retail Group (SUL), Telix (TLX), Whitehaven Coal (WHC)

• Small-to-mid: Aeris Resources (AIS), Aspen Group (APZ), Autosports (ASG), Capral (CAA), Cog Financial Services (COG), Healius (HLS), Maas Group (MGH), Mayne Pharma (MYX), Novonix (NVX), Peet (PPC), Peter Warren Automotive (PWR), Redox (RDX), Ridley Corp (RIC), Universal Store (UNI), Veem (VEE),

If you’re new to the blog – catch up quick via today’s Morning Wrap.