Australia’s corporate sector is cautious heading into the current financial year, according to the analysts at Canaccord Genuity, however, there are some standouts in terms of likely profit growth going forward.

The broking house said in the recent reporting season, there was “healthy” headline earnings per share growth of 12%, however, this was driven largely by the mining sector.

Uncertainties have big business on the back foot

Looking ahead, CG said company guidance on the outlook was “broadly cautious across the board”.

They added:

High interest rates, tax policy changes, the weaker housing market, cost-of-living pressures and geopolitical uncertainty together constrained management confidence and limited visibility into the near-term outlook for operating conditions. Retail trading updates provided the clearest evidence of a softening consumer, with top-line growth slowing through 2H26 and into early FY27. The major Banks similarly pointed to tougher macro conditions and slower housing credit growth over the year ahead.

CG said the market was in a clear downgrade cycle outside of the resources sector.

They added:

Accordingly, we remain cautious on ASX 200 returns over the next twelve months. However, active investors willing to look beyond the index can still find high-quality companies offering resilient earnings despite the soft macro, credible growth prospects, and reasonable valuations.

But there are some sectors which are likely to perform well, the broking house said.

The energy sector is expected to grow earnings by 38%, driven by high oil prices, while the IT sector is expected to grow earnings by 22%, with strength from the major software as a service companies.

Consumer services are expected to grow earnings 13%, materials are expected to be up 11%, and retail staples also 11%.

Financial services facing challenges

CG is expecting the weakest growth to come from the financial services sector, with banks growing earnings just 3%.

Discretionary retail is also expected to be weak with 6% growth.

CG said:

Prior to reporting season, we flagged our caution towards both Banks and Retail. As expected, reporting season showed that both sectors face mounting macro headwinds from a weaker housing market, fragile consumer sentiment, high interest rates and persistent cost-of-living pressures (exacerbated by petrol price volatility). For Banks, this was reflected in cautious outlooks pointing to softer credit growth. For Retail, early-FY27 trading updates generally pointed to weakening top-line growth, particularly among retailers with greater exposure to housing activity.

CG said elevated bank valuations remain hard to reconcile with a weakening macro outlook and subdued earnings prospects.

They added:

Despite the soft sector outlook, the Big 4 trade at an average P/E ~20% above their ten-year average, supporting our continued sector underweight.

The post Where will the best returns in the ASX 200 be in the next year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) share price is in focus after the company announced a six-year extension of its Premier League streaming and broadcast rights, securing access to all matches in Australia through 2034.

What did Nine Entertainment report?

• Secured exclusive Australian streaming and broadcast rights for the Premier League from 2028–29 to 2033–34
• FY29 rights fee to remain broadly in line with FY28, before increasing at a ~3% CAGR over six years
• Stan EBITDA more than doubled from $40 million in FY21 to $81 million in FY26
• Premier League key to 50% growth in average Stan Sport subscribers over past year

What else do investors need to know?

Nine’s new deal includes all Premier League matches each season, spanning 38 match weeks annually. The company will use both Stan and its broader media platforms to maximise audience reach and awareness for the sport.

The cost structure will shift, as legacy Optus contributions will end, but this will be offset by removing discounts for Optus subscribers and rolling out new cost-saving and revenue initiatives. The Premier League has been instrumental to the growth of Stan Sport, which itself has supported increases in subscription pricing.

What did Nine Entertainment management say?

Nine CEO Matt Stanton said:

Football is the ultimate global game, followed with remarkable intensity by millions of fans across Australia. Bringing the Premier League to Stan has been a genuine game-changer for our business, and we are very pleased to be extending the partnership for another 8 years. It sits at the heart of our strategy of premium content, particularly Sport that Unites.

This agreement further strengthens Nine’s premium sport offering alongside the NRL and NRLW, all four Tennis Grand Slams, the Olympic Games, Rugby Union, the NBL and WNBL, Netball and more. Together, these partnerships reflect Nine’s long-term strategy of investing in premium live sport and delivering the sporting moments that matter most to Australians.

What’s next for Nine Entertainment?

Nine’s focus remains on delivering premium sports content to build engagement on Stan Sport and across its platforms. The Premier League partnership is expected to underpin further subscriber growth and support pricing strategies for Stan Sport.

As costs rise gradually over the new rights term, Nine plans to balance this through new revenue initiatives and efficiencies while leveraging its wider broadcast assets.

Nine Entertainment share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Nine Entertainment shares have declined 51%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 1% over the sam period.

View Original Announcement

The post Nine Entertainment secures Premier League rights through 2034 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nine Entertainment. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

The NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price is in focus after the company announced the successful pricing of a $1.1 billion convertible notes offering, aiming to strengthen liquidity and support growth plans.

What did NEXTDC report?

• Issued $1.1 billion of 1.75% subordinated convertible notes due 2031
• Net proceeds expected to be approximately $1.006 billion after Capped Call Transactions and before other costs
• Initial conversion price set at $16.695 per ordinary share, a 32.5% premium to the $12.60 reference price
• Pro forma available liquidity at 30 June 2026 would have been about $9.8 billion, before costs
• Convertible notes to mature in September 2031 and are listed on the Vienna Multilateral Trading Facility

What else do investors need to know?

The notes issue broadens NEXTDC’s funding base and supports its ongoing data centre development pipeline. The offering is seen as a way to maintain balance sheet flexibility, with the notes ranking junior to existing senior debt but above ordinary shares.

A Delta Placement of around 18.6 million existing ordinary shares was completed at $12.60 per share to facilitate hedging for investors. This does not result in new shares being issued or direct proceeds to NEXTDC.

The company also entered into capped call transactions, providing an economic hedge for share price increases up to a cap price of $21.42 per share, a 70% premium to the reference price.

What did NEXTDC management say?

Craig Scroggie, NEXTDC Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said:

I am pleased to see such strong support for the Offering. The transaction provides NEXTDC with efficient, committed funding for our development pipeline and diversifies NEXTDC’s sources of capital with a new deep global investor base whilst preserving our senior debt capacity and balance sheet flexibility.

What’s next for NEXTDC?

With this convertible notes offering, NEXTDC has secured significant resources to fund its planned development and expansion across Australia. The company continues to prioritise a strong balance sheet and funding flexibility as it invests in its data centre infrastructure.

NEXTDC plans to continue delivering on its development pipeline for data centre projects, supporting customer-driven growth and scaling up its technology platform for the digital economy.

NEXTDC share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, NEXTDC shares have declined 24%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post NEXTDC secures $1.1bn in convertible notes for data centre growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.