• Should I buy Coles shares for passive income?

    Australian dollar notes and coins in a till.

    Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares have a lengthy track record of paying two fully franked dividends a year.

    But is the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) supermarket giant a good buy for passive income today?

    We’ll look at Catapult Wealth’s Dylan Evans recommendation below (courtesy of The Bull).

    But first, a little background.

    Atop the passive income on offer, Coles stock has outperformed in 2026.

    On Monday, shares were changing hands for $23.07 each, up 8.1% year to date. That compares to the 0.1% loss posted by the ASX 200 this calendar year.

    As for the latest round of passive income, when Coles released its FY 2026 results on 25 August, the company declared a fully franked final dividend of 37 cents per share. That’s an increase of 15.6% from the FY 2025 final Coles dividend.

    If you held the stock at market close on 2 September, you can expect to see that income hit your bank account tomorrow, on 22 September.

    Adding in the 41 cent per share interim dividend, paid on 30 March, and at the recent share price, Coles shares trade on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 3.4%.

    Which brings us back to…

    Are Coles shares are good passive income buy?

    “The supermarket industry structure remains favourable, with Coles and competitor Woolworths dominating market share,” Catapult Wealth’s Evans said.

    Commenting on Coles FY 2026 results, he noted:

    Coles posted group sales revenue of $45.580 billion in full year 2026, up 2.8 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Excluding significant items, group earnings before interest and tax of $2.322 billion was up 9.9 per cent. Supermarket eCommerce sales was a highlight, growing 26.4 per cent.

    Summarising his buy recommendation on Coles shares, Evans concluded, “Coles offers a reliable dividend yield, backed by defensive earnings. Catalysts for growth include online expansion, population growth and supply chain automation.”

    Bonus ASX 200 stock tip

    Atop his buy recommendation on Coles shares, in part for the company’s reliable passive income payouts, Evans also issued a buy recommendation for Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL).

    “Netwealth operates a leading investment management platform used by financial advisers in Australia,” he said.

    As for his bullish outlook on the ASX 200 finance stock, Evans noted:

    The company’s full year 2026 results continued to deliver strong growth, with the platform’s funds under administration increasing 20.3 per cent to $135.7 billion and earnings per share growing 16 per cent to 55.2 cents.

    Despite these strong results, the share price has fallen significantly, most likely and partially in response to a compensation payout of about $101 million to members in the collapsed First Guardian Master Fund.

    Share price weakness presents an opportunity, as Netwealth still holds a net cash position and is poised to generate strong revenue growth moving forward.

    I’ll add that Netwealth also provides some passive income, with the ASX 200 stock trading on a 2.2% fully franked trailing dividend yield.

    The post Should I buy Coles shares for passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Coles Group right now?

    Before you buy Coles Group shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Coles Group wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

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

  • Treasury Wine shares: turnaround or trap?

    Couple look at a bottle of wine while trying to decide what to buy.

    Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) investors have been strapped into quite the roller coaster. And the ride isn’t over yet.

    After a brutal plunge over the past year, Treasury Wine shares have staged a sharp comeback. The ASX wine stock kicked off the new week around 4% higher at $5.36, pushing its six-month gain to roughly 50%.

    Impressive stuff, until you zoom out. Over the past 12 months, Treasury Wine shares are still down about 28%.

    So which is it: genuine turnaround, or a rebound that’s got ahead of itself?

    A radical reset or a radical gamble?

    The company’s June strategy reset is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Treasury Wine is ripping up its old playbook, slashing its brand count from 76 down to fewer than 30 over five years and throwing its weight behind flagship label Penfolds.

    The troubled Americas business is under review, and management is chasing roughly $100 million in annualised cost savings by FY29.

    The stated goal: fatter margins, a simpler business, and capital funneled toward the brands that can actually move the needle. Treasury Wine is now targeting a long-term EBITS margin above 25%.

    The market went wild for it, shares have jumped more than 25% since the day the reset strategy dropped. But strip away the enthusiasm, and there’s a much less comfortable story underneath.

    Not so fast, this isn’t a turnaround yet

    A share-price rally doesn’t magically erase the problems that caused the crash in the first place. Treasury Wine has already booked a further $558.4 million post-tax non-cash impairment on its US assets — a brutal reminder of just how badly the Americas business has gone off the rails.

    FY27 is shaping up as a transition year for Treasury Wine shares, not a victory lap. The entire bull case hinges on management nailing a portfolio overhaul, fixing bloated inventory, actually banking those promised cost savings, and keeping Penfolds growing through it all.

    That’s a lot of moving parts, and a lot can still go wrong. The uncomfortable read is that the recent rebound might just be the market getting ahead of itself, pricing in a turnaround before any of those benefits have actually shown up in the numbers.

    What do the brokers think?

    Analysts are warming up to Treasury Wine shares, but nobody’s fully sold. Morgans has a buy rating and a $7.30 target, recently lifted from $5.95. That suggests a 36% upside from current price levels.

    Citi is bullish too, with a buy rating and $6.95 target. UBS sits more cautiously at hold with $6.50, and JPMorgan mirrors that with a $6.00 hold.

    Across 16 analysts, the average target lands around $6.25, 17% above Treasury Wine’s current $5.36 price. On paper, that’s real upside if the transformation actually delivers.

    Foolish takeaway

    After one of the wildest years in Treasury Wine’s history, a 50% six-month rally isn’t proof of anything. It’s a promissory note. Brokers see potential for Treasury Wine shares, but potential and delivery are two very different things.

    Until the wine company actually executes on cost cuts, inventory discipline and Penfolds growth, calling this a turnaround might be jumping the gun. Investors watching from the sidelines are right to want to see results before believing the story.

    The post Treasury Wine shares: turnaround or trap? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Treasury Wine Estates right now?

    Before you buy Treasury Wine Estates shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Treasury Wine Estates wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

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    JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended JPMorgan Chase and Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Xero shares crash to a 7-year low after a brutal sell-off

    Codan share price A dismayed kid dressed as a scientist stands with his back to a rocket crashed into the ground

    You have to go all the way back to June 2019 to find the last time Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares were trading below the $60 mark.

    Xero finished Monday at $60.08 after dropping another 4.30%, having touched an intraday low of $59.65.

    The last time Xero closed below $60 was 28 June 2019, when the shares finished at $59.94.

    That’s pretty remarkable when you consider Xero was trading as high as $196.52 in late June last year.

    The selling has been relentless recently as well.

    Xero shares are now down almost 30% over the past month and around 47% since the start of 2026.

    September has been brutal

    What makes the latest slide a little harder to pin down is that Xero hasn’t released any bad news to the market.

    There has been no profit warning, earnings downgrade or major operational update behind the recent selling.

    Instead, a few things seem to be working against the stock at the same time.

    ASX tech shares had another tough session on Monday as expectations for another RBA rate rise increased.

    Australian 10-year bond yields were also sitting around 5.3%, which hasn’t helped high-growth tech stocks either.

    Xero has also been caught in the software sell-off as investors question what AI could mean for the sector over the next few years.

    And then there’s Melio.

    The acquisition pushed Xero further into US payments, while bringing extra costs and lower-margin revenue into the business as well.

    This isn’t the same Xero as 2019

    That’s what makes the current share price hard to ignore.

    Xero may be back around its 2019 share price, but the business is now much larger.

    In FY26, operating revenue rose 31% to NZ$2.75 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 18% to NZ$757.4 million.

    Free cash flow reached NZ$554 million, while Xero added another 506,000 customers to finish the year with 4.92 million.

    The numbers weren’t all heading in the right direction though.

    Net profit fell 27% to NZ$167.4 million, while gross margin dropped from 89% to 83.9% as Melio started contributing to the group.

    Xero has also flagged up to NZ$55 million of additional US brand spending during FY27.

    Analysts value Xero much higher

    The other thing worth watching is just how far Xero has fallen below some analyst valuations.

    Morningstar has a fair value estimate of $97.87, although it also gives the stock a high uncertainty rating.

    TipRanks shows Citi with a $113.60 price target, while RBC Capital has a more conservative target of $85.

    Even the lowest of those figures is still well above yesterday’s close of $60.08.

    That doesn’t mean Xero shares can’t keep falling, particularly after the way they’ve traded through September.

    But it shows just how quickly the market has changed its view of the stock.

    The post Xero shares crash to a 7-year low after a brutal sell-off appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Xero right now?

    Before you buy Xero shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Xero wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

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

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