ASX 200 Live Today - Wednesday, 27th August

Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Wednesday, August 27. 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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ASX 200 slightly higher, Nvidia results in focus

[15:15 pm] A crazy day for corporate earnings, but the Index was relatively tame, with the S&P/ASX 200 currently up 0.15%, down from session highs of 0.33%.

Staples (-4.8%) and Tech (-2.7%) smashed on poor reactions to Woolworths (-13.1%) and Wisetech (-11.7%) earnings. While most other sectors are generally ticking higher.

Overall, the Index continues to hover around record levels as we head in to the seasonally weak month of September. Nvidia will reports its Q2 earnings after the close of tonight's US session – given elevated valuations and expectations, this may drive some volatility for the broader market.

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Woolworths sinks as Coles hits record high

[13:44 pm] Woolworths shares are down 14% this afternoon on the same day Coles climbs 3% to a record high of $23.35.

Analysts blamed Woolworths horror day on weaker-than-expected sales growth to start FY 2026.

Coles posted stronger than expected sales growth to have the market fearing it's taking market share from its rival.

By Tom Richardson.

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Macquarie backs Flight Centre to outperform

[13:16 pm] Macquarie is sticking to its guns on Flight Centre after its earning reports and says the stock can outperform.

In a flash note this morning it put a $15.20 12-month price tag on shares.

"Flight Centre has strategic responses underway to countercyclical challenges, cost optimisation, capital discipline, portfolio refinement," the broker said in a note.

By Tom Richardson.

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Hot inflation lowers chance of September rate cut, says Van Eck

[13:05 pm] Russell Chesler, an economist at Van Eck says today's inflation data for July will force the market to ease pricing expectations for a September rate cut from the RBA.

"This inflation spike, combined with the recency of the last rate cut and continued strength of the labour market, reinforce our expectation that another rate cut is unlikely before November," said Chesler. "We don’t anticipate today’s surprise increase in inflation will have a material impact on markets and the broader economy. The most recent ASX earnings season was moderately positive, with the ASX reaching an all-time high of 9,000 points last week. Global markets are currently performing strongly, and it appears Australia is following this lead for now.”

By Tom Richardson.

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Bassanese labels July inflation "absolute shocker"

[12:51 pm] Betashares economist David Bassanese is telling homewowners to forget about a September rate cut after trimmed mean inflation climbed to 2.7% for July.

"Today’s monthly CPI report can only be described as an absolute shocker," Mr Bassanese said. "The biggest disappointment is the fact that annual trimmed inflation has rebounded from an encouragingly low 2.1% in June to an ugly 2.7% in July."

By Tom Richardson.

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Small caps making moves

[11:37 am] Here are the top small caps ($200m to $1bn market cap) winners and losers.

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Wisetech bouncing

[11:28 am] Wisetech has recouped half of today's losses, now down 7.6% ($107.00) from intraday lows of -15% ($95.2).

Wisetech intraday chart (Source: TradingView)

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Analysts take on Kelsian

[11:26 am] Kelsian went on a massive run on Tuesday, up 18.1%, after the company reported a relatively in-line FY25 result but better-than-expected FY26 EBITDA guidance.

• JPMorgan: Overweight maintained, target raised to $5.20 from $4.90. Attractive valuation versus peers, credible FY26 guidance, operational transformation driving margins, and deleveraging expected despite elevated capex.

• UBS: Buy maintained, target raised to $5.50 from $4.80. AAAHI momentum drives growth, tourism performance impresses despite weather, Region 6 inefficiencies persist until FY27, and FY26 free cash flow expected positive.

• RBC Capital Markets: Sector perform maintained, target raised to $4.00 from $3.50. FY26 guidance steady but may need revision, tourism sale improves capital options, operational performance stable, and valuation upside acknowledged.

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Analysts take on Coles

[11:23 am] Here's a summary of key takeaways from major brokers for Coles results (reported on Tuesday, broadly in-line but strong FY26 trading update).

• JPMorgan: Neutral maintained, target raised to $21.80 from $20. Sales momentum strong with market share gains, though higher cost growth and liquor/corporate expenses limit earnings leverage.

• Jefferies: Hold maintained, target raised to $21 from $20. Strong margin expansion and absence of implementation costs provide tailwinds, with reinvestment into value and service supporting sustainable performance.

• RBC Capital Markets: Outperform maintained, target raised to $24 from $21. Superior in-store execution and supply chain improvements drive volume growth, healthy cash flow, and justified premium valuation.

• Morgans: Hold maintained, target raised to $23.45 from $20.95. Customer offer resonated, tobacco declines absorbed, and margins expanded despite subdued liquor demand.

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Woolworths aggressively dumped

[10:40 am] No one wants a piece of Woolworths. The stock opened 10.2% lower ($30.00), now down 14.7% ($28.51). This selloff reflects:

• Coles shares rallied more than 8% on Tuesday after reporting a very strong FY25 and FY26 guidance. By proxy, this also lifted WOW shares by 2.5% (in other words, inflated the share price)

• Coles said it successfully absorbed 30% decline in tobacco sales (now less than 3% of total sales vs 8% peak in FY19), while these problems continue to linger for WOW.

  • "However, we are also facing some near-term challenges which will impact growth in F26 including a material acceleration in the decline in Tobacco sales expected to impact EBIT by $80 - $100 million," noted CEO Amanda Bardwell

• WOW reported a mixed FY25 result, with NPAT 0.7% ahead of ests but EBIT 1.1% below and total dividend also a 2.3% miss

• WOW trading update noted first 8 weeks sales up 2.1% (up 4.0% ex-tobacco) which is far weaker than Coles, which was running at 4.9% and 7.0% ex-tobacco

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Top ASX 200 gainers and losers in early trade

[10:29 am] Some crazy results-driven moves this morning.

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What an open

[10:16 am] Some absolutely wild moves from reporters. More detailed comments to come, but at a glance:

• Wisetech absolutely smashed, down more than 15%. FY25 miss, FY26 guidance was abysmal (considering its track record of beats).

• Adairs rallying (+6.5%), trading update from June may have priced in some of the negatives around EBIT shock and margins. Trading update for first 8 weeks is mixed (strong sales due to aggressive promotions).

• Lovisa (+10.5%) rallying despite weaker-than-expected FY25 numbers, though trading update very strong.

• Woolworths obliterated (-12.6%) as FY25 broadly missed expectations, and trading update for first 8 weeks of FY26 was weaker than Coles' numbers

• RPMGlobal (+20%) as FY26 guidance topped market expectations, investors are piling into this one (opened only 6.5% higher)

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Wisetech FY25 results

[9:55 am] Wisetech reported a broad miss, with FY26 guidance also well-below market expectations.

• Revenue $778.7m vs. $796.8m est (2.3% miss) vs. guidance $792–858m (bottom-end miss)

• EBITDA up 17% $381.6m vs. $406.0m est (6.0% miss) vs. guidance $396–436m (below guidance)

• Underlying NPAT up 30% to $241.8m vs. $225.9m est (+7.0% beat)

• Final dividend up 24% to 7.7 cps

FY26 revenue guidance of $1.39-1.44 billion and EBITDA of $550-585 million at EBITDA margins of 40-41%. To add some perspective, Citi expects FY26 revenue of $1.51 billion, EBITDA of $678 million at EBITDA margins of 45%.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Wisetech (WTC)

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Adairs FY25 results

[9:44 am] A relatively soft FY25 result, though the stock already tumbled 20% on a trading update on 23 June, which flagged most of today's headwinds (EBIT dip, gross margin pressure, poor performance from Focus). FY26 trading update shows accelerating sales, but largely due to aggressive promotional activity.

• Revenue up 6.5% to $618.1m vs. $615.7m est (0.4% beat)

• Underlying EBIT $55.2m vs. $57.7m est (4.3% miss)

• Statutory NPAT down 17.4% to $25.7m

• Group sales: Adairs +9.5%, Mocka +14.7%, Focus on Furniture -6.5%

• Underlying EBIT: Adairs +$6.3m (+21.2%), Mocka +$1.3m (+21.1%), Focus on Furniture -$6.8m (-36.6%), total +1.4%

• Total FY25 dividends of 10.5 cps vs. UBS ests of 11.6 cps (9.4% miss)

The trading update for the first 8 weeks of FY26 reads well at face value, with sales for Adairs, Focus on Furniture and Mocka up 26.6%, 6.7% and 39.4% respectively.

Adairs noted "elevated sales growth was achieved through continued aggressive promotional and clearance activity. The period also included a new Linen Lovers event which performed very strongly."

However, flagged that these activities will drag gross margins 300 bps lower than last year in the first quarter of FY26, then steadily improve to be 50-150 bps in the first half of FY26.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Adairs (ADH)

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Woolworths FY25 results

[9:35 am] “After a highly disrupted first half, we have taken action to reposition the Group for long-term sustainable growth. While there is more to do and current trading remains below our ambition, we have seen some early positive signs with improving customer scores," said CEO Amanda Bardwell.

• Revenue up 3.6% to $69.08bn vs. $69.31bn est (0.3% miss)

• Normalised NPAT down 17.1% to $1.39bn vs. $1.38bn est (0.7% beat)

• EBIT ex-items down 12.6% to $2.75bn vs. $2.78bn est (1.1% miss)

• Final dividend down 21% to 45 cps, total dividend down 41% to 84 cps vs. UBS ests of 86 cps (2.3% miss)

• Group sales growth 2.9% excluding Petstock

• First 8 weeks of FY26 recorded Australian Food total sales growth of 2.1%, ex-tobacco total sales up 4.0%, New Zealand total food sales up 2.6% impacted by short-term competitor activity and Big W total sales broadly flat

Outlook commentary: “We expect Australian Food to return to mid to high single-digit reported EBIT growth in F26 driven by progress on our strategic priorities, benefits of above-store cost savings, cycling one-off items in the prior year and a more stable operating environment. However, we are also facing some near-term challenges which will impact growth in F26 including a material acceleration in the decline in Tobacco sales expected to impact EBIT by $80 - $100 million ..." said Bardwell.

Overall, a little soft at the NPAT and dividend level. First 8 weeks also weaker than Coles (up 4.9% in the first 8 weeks, ex-tobacco up 7.0%).

Woolworths rallied 2.4% on Tuesday thanks to the strong Coles result. Wonder if this result drives some mean reversion, given the broad miss and comparatively weak sales update.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Woolworths (WOW)

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ReadyTech FY25 results

[9:27 am] Consensus numbers are a little thin due to the lack of analyst coverage (just one). Though, numbers seem to be a broad miss and FY27 guidance downgraded vs. prior company estimates.

• Revenue up 7.1% to $121.8m vs. $123.0m est (1.0% miss)

• Underlying NPAT up 4.8% to $8.7m vs. $9.2m ests (5.4% miss)

• New business wins $15.4m, with $10.5m delivered in the second half of FY25

• Average revenue per new customer up 36% to ~$166,900

• Major enterprise contracts signed $15.4m, with FY26 pipeline of $33.1m

• FY26 guidance: revenue $132–135m vs. $138.2m est (3.4% miss)

• FY27 guidance: revenue $150–153m vs. prior guidance of $160-170m

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: ReadyTech (RDY)

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Lovisa FY25 results

[9:21 am] “Lovisa has once again been able to deliver solid sales and profit growth, with the highlight another outstanding Gross Margin performance, and the acceleration of the store rollout in the second half," said GEO John Cheston.

Though the numbers were broadly weaker-than-expected, though not sure what to make of the first 8 weeks of FY26, with read well at face value.

• Revenue up 14.2% to $798.1m vs. $774.8m est (3.0% beat)

• EBIT $138.7m vs. $145.7m est (4.8% miss)

• NPAT $86.3m vs. $91.2m est (5.4% miss)

• Opened 162 new stores, total network now 1,031 stores vs UBS ests of 1,042 (1.0% miss)

• Comparable store sales +1.7% year-on-year

• Gross margin up 100 bps to 82.0% vs. UBS ests of 82.1% (10 bp miss)

• Total dividend of 77 cps, representing 100% of current year earnings vs. UBS ests of 87 cps (11.4% miss)dmp

• FY26 first 8 weeks: comparable store sales +5.6%, total sales +28.0%

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Lovisa (LOV)

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Domino's Pizza FY25 results

[9:15 am] A broadly weaker-than-expected FY25 result from Domino's. Though not surprisingly given recent leadership exodus and broader industry headwinds. Its worth noting that the stock is down 34% year-to-date, and short interest is sitting around 6.8%.

• Revenue up 0.4% to $2.30bn vs. $2.29bn est (0.4% beat)

• EBIT down 4.6% to $198.1m vs. $202.3m est (2.1% miss)

• Underlying NPAT down 2.8% to $116.9m vs. $118.1m est (1.0% miss)

• Network sales $4.15bn vs. $4.12bn est (0.7% beat)

• Same store sales -0.2% y/y vs. +0.2% est (400 bp miss)

• Total dividend of 77 cps vs. UBS ests of 106 cps (27% miss)

• Same store sales for the first 7 weeks of FY26 down 0.9%

Outlook commentary: While new store openings have remained subdued in recent periods – reflecting franchisee profitability levels below long-term plans – the Company expects this trend to improve at unit economics improve – a key focus of management. New store openings will only be pursued where new stores are expected to be sustainably profitable and deliver a meaningful return on investment to franchise partners.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Domino's Pizza (DMP)

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Insider transaction: Cuscal

[9:06 am] Cuscal's Chairman Elizabeth Mary Proust has purchased 50,000 shares, boosting her beneficial ownership by 50% to 150,000 shares.

This is an interesting time to be buying, given the stock has rallied around 20% in the last three sessions.

Last Friday, Cuscal announced its FY25 results, which broadly met market expectations (given recent trading updates and prospectus forecasts). The company also announced the acquisition of end-to-end payments solutions company, Indue, for $75 million.

The acquisition was widely viewed as highly accretive, expected to generate $15-20 million in annual run-rate cost synergies (fully realised by FY29), EPS accretion of over 25% and RoIC of over 20%.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Cuscal (CCL)

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Flight Centre FY25 results

[9:02 am] Flight Centre pre-guided its FY25 results on 31 July, downgrading its profit before tax guidance due to geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East and one off issues in Asia. This drove a sharp 7.3% selloff on the day of the announcement and broad target price downgrades by analysts.

• Revenue up 1.1% to $2.78bn vs. $2.75bn est (1.1% beat)

• Underlying EBITDA $448m vs. $455.5m est (1.7% miss)

• Underlying PBT $289.1m vs. $290.3m est (~0.4% miss, midpoint of preliminary $285–295m range)

• Group TTV $24.53bn vs. $24.5bn preliminary guidance

• Final dividend $0.29 cps

FLT announced target measures to address short-term volatility, including:

• Cost optimisation to hold underlying costs broadly flat year-on-year

• A 15-20% reduction in FY26 capex

• Portfolio refinement, including the closure or repositioning of under-performing assets

• Leverage suppler relationships to capitalise on evolving travel trends and to optimise margins

FLT's FY26 commentary was rather cautious, noting "the cyclical challenges that affected FY25 results will continue to impact booking and travel patterns early in FY26. While these challenges are likely to be short-term, FY26 1H UPBT is expected to be reasonably flat given a degree of ongoing volatility early in the Q1 and the comparatively strong FY25 2Q result."

Though FLT said it expects accelerated profit growth in the second half as key projects gain momentum and the trading cycle gradually improves.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Flight Centre (FLT)

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Siteminder FY25 results

[8:48 am] Mixed set of results, with a wider-than-expected loss, but some solid operational metrics including accelerating ARR, higher-than-expected total properties and subscription GMs.

• Revenue up 17.7% to $224.3m vs. $223.8m est (in line)

• Underlying EBITDA positive $14.3m vs. $15.1m est (5.2% miss)

• Underlying net loss of $17.2m vs. ests of $13.2m loss (~30% miss)

• ARR up 30.6% to $273.0m, accelerating from 22.0% in H1FY25

  • Subscription ARR up 19.3% to $158.9m

  • Transaction ARR up 50.3% to $114.1m

• Total properties increased 5.6k to 50.1k vs. Macquarie ests of 49.9k

• Underlying subscription gross margin 86.4% vs. Macquarie ests of 85.5%

• Underlying transaction gross margin 33.7% vs. Macquarie ests of 35.6%

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Siteminder (SDR)

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M&A speculation for Healius

[8:41 am] The Australian noted an abrupt rally in the Healius share price, up 11.9% on Tuesday and up 33.5% in the last three sessions. The article speculates that M&A may again be in focus amid industry consolidation in the pathology space.

Source: The Australian

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RPM Global FY25 results

[8:36 am] Some solid numbers from the software company. Its worth noting the stock rallied 14% on 4 July on an FY25 trading update, though today's results include strong FY26 guidance.

• Revenue up 6% to $76.7m, subscription revenue up 20% to $54.8m

• Underlying EBITDA up 32% to $6.2m

• Profit for the year up 452% to $47.5m

FY26 guidance included:

• Revenue $88–92m vs. $89.3m ests (1.0% beat at the midpoint)

• Adjusted EBITDA $23–25m vs. $21m ests (14.3% beat at the midpoint)

• Pretax income $20–22m vs. $19.8m ests (6.1% beat at the midpoint)

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: RPM Global (RUL)

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Long bonds surge on wall of worries

[8:21 am] Long-dated government bonds in the US, UK, France, and Japan have surged, reflecting investor concerns over inflation, fiscal deficits, and political risks.

• US 30-year Treasury yields hit 4.9% amid uncertainty over Fed Governor Lisa Cook’s position, steepening the yield curve to its widest since 2021.

• European bond yields climbed, with UK 30-year gilts near 27-year highs and French 10-year yields among the highest in the bloc, driven by fiscal and political pressures.

• Japanese bonds face persistent upward pressure due to high debt loads and expectations of Bank of Japan rate hikes, highlighting global bond market stress.

Source: Bloomberg

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Hedges funds aggressively shorting VIX

[8:20 am] Hedge funds are aggressively shorting the VIX, with positions at levels not seen since September 2022, reflecting strong confidence (or complacency. Historically, extreme short volatility positioning has preceded spikes in market turbulence and stock losses, as seen in February 2025 and July 2024.

The VIX remains below 15, about 24% below its one-year average, following US stock gains and comments from Fed Chair Powell supporting a potential September rate cut.

Source: Bloomberg

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Massive day for earnings

[8:16 am] A pretty heavy day for FY25 results. Reporters of interest include:

• Larger Cap Earnings: Domino’s (DMP), Flight Centre (FLT), GenusPlus (GNP), Karoon Energy (KAR), Lovisa (LOV), Mesoblast (MSB), MinRes (MIN), NextDC (NXT), Nine Entertainment (NEC), Siteminder (SDR), Tabcorp (TAH), Westgold (WGX), Wisetech (WTC), Woolworths (WOW), Worley (WOR)

• Small-to-Mid Cap Earnings: Adairs (ADH), Attura (ATA), Australian Finance Group (AFG), Cash Converters (CCV), Dimerix (DXB), Duxton Water (D20), Duratec (DUR), EML Payments (EML), Fenix Resources (FEX), Fleetwood (FWD), Motorcycle Holdings (MTO), Paragon Care (PGC), Platinum Asset Management (PTM), RAM Essential Services (REP), Readytech (RDY), Weebit Nano (WBT)

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Good morning!

[8:14 am] ASX 200 futures are up 47pts (+0.52%), marking a solid bounce after three days of relatively weak price action (down 0.93%). Hectic day for earnings. Will try cover all the key results.

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