What a difference a day makes for Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shareholders.

After jumping 12% yesterday, the lithium miner has gone backwards on Thursday, falling 7.74% to 38.8 cents in morning trade.

The selling follows a string of company announcements released this morning, giving investors plenty to digest after the stock’s recent rally.

Despite today’s decline, Core shares have still gained approximately 269% over the past year following a remarkable recovery.

So, let’s take a closer look at what’s going on with Core Lithium?

Cash piles up, but losses continue

Core’s FY26 annual report shows a significant improvement in the company’s financial position, although there’s still some work to do.

The lithium miner finished June with $181.8 million in cash, compared with just $23.5 million a year earlier.

Much of that improvement came from a $120 million share placement and funding arrangements with Glencore and InfraVia.

However, Core still reported a net loss of approximately $26 million, while operating cash outflows totalled $21.1 million.

The company also received approximately $62.2 million in additional funding after the financial year ended.

Finniss is back in business

The good news is that Core’s flagship Finniss lithium operation is making progress following its restart.

Earlier this month, the company produced its first spodumene concentrate from the processing plant, meeting its September quarter target.

According to the release, the milestone was achieved within 6 months of the final investment decision (FID) in March.

Core has also completed upgrades to the processing plant, which are expected to increase annual throughput capacity by approximately 20% to 1.2 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, development continues at the BP33 underground mine, with first ore targeted for mid 2027.

The next milestone will be the first shipment of newly produced lithium concentrate, which Core expects during the December quarter.

What’s behind Thursday’s sell-off?

While the annual report contains some encouraging developments, lithium prices have been heading in the opposite direction of late.

According to Trading Economics, lithium carbonate was trading at approximately 135,200 Chinese yuan per tonne on Wednesday.

This is down 15.76% over the past month.

The recent pullback comes as more Aussie lithium mines return to production, with investors keeping a close eye on the potential increase in supply.

Following Core’s recent share price rally, some investors may also be taking the opportunity to lock in profits.

I think Core Lithium’s next test is getting Finniss running consistently and generating cash, particularly with lithium prices below their recent highs.

The post Why are Core Lithium shares crashing 8% on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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.

ASX 200 gold stock Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6) is down around 2% to 92 cents a piece at the time of writing.

Despite the latest decline, the shares are still up a huge 114% year to date and have jumped 319% since September 2025.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1% today and around 1% for the year-to-date.

This rally in the ASX 200 gold stock means that $3,000 invested in Minerals 260 Ltd 12 months ago is already worth over $12,500 today!

What has caused the ASX 200 gold stock to rally higher?

There have been a few factors driving up Minerals 260’s shares over the past year. These include the company’s huge resource growth and substantial capital.

The company has rapidly expanded its gold resource base at Bullabulling following aggressive and successful drilling programs. Bullabulling, which is located in Western Australia, is reported to be one of Australia’s largest undeveloped gold projects.

The site has now surpassed 6.2 million ounces, up significantly from the company’s December 2025 resource estimate of 4.5 million ounces. The company has more drilling programs planned later this year and into 2027, focusing on upgrading existing resources and exploring for new zones.

Elsewhere, in February this year, Minerals 260 also announced it had signed a $220 million strategic funding package with Canadian gold royalties and streaming giant Franco-Nevada Corp (NYSE: FNV) to accelerate and de-risk the development of the Bullabulling gold project. The update saw its share price quickly jump higher.

Minerals 260 got another boost in June when it was added to the ASX 200 index amid a quarterly rebalance.

Most recently, the company announced that it has been granted an expanded Mining Lease at its Bullabulling Gold Project and has acquired additional regional tenements, expanding its total project area to 1,527 km². The move broadens its exploration potential and underpins the scale of the Bullabulling Gold Project.

Can Mineral 260’s shares keep climbing higher?

If analyst forecasts are anything to go by, there is still plenty more upside to come out of Minerals 260’s shares over the next 12 months.

According to TradingView data, all six brokers have a buy/strong buy rating on the shares. The average $1.355 target price implies a potential 47% upside at the time of writing. Some are even more bullish and expect the shares could climb 74% higher to $1.60 over the next 12 months.

The post If I’d put $3k in this ASX 200 gold stock 12 months ago, I’d have $12,500 now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Franco-Nevada. 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.

GPT Group vs Dexus shares: Which ASX REIT looks better value?

When it comes to picking between GPT Group (ASX: GPT) and Dexus (ASX: DXS), you’re sizing up two heavyweight names from the ASX’s real estate investment trust (REIT) sector. Both offer large, diversified portfolios, long track records, and established brands. For everyday investors hunting income, value, or just exposure to Australian property, weighing GPT against Dexus makes a lot of sense. So, which might offer better value right now?

The case for GPT Group

GPT Group is one of Australia’s largest listed property trusts, tracing its origins to the country’s first ever REIT, set up in 1971. Over the decades, GPT has built a robust and conservative portfolio split across office buildings, major retail centres, and logistics/industrial assets. According to GPT Group, it manages over $42 billion of property and has recently increased its tilt toward industrial assets, now accounting for almost a third of its holdings.

What stands out in GPT’s current fundamentals is its:

• Attractive 8.12 P/E ratio (notably lower than Dexus’s)
• Dividend yield of 5.44%
• Market cap around $8.6 billion, making it one of the larger players on the market.

GPT’s consistent history of paying fully unfranked distributions – roughly 24 cents per share annually in recent years – underlines its income credentials, though franked income isn’t on offer here. Its conservative approach to gearing (debt) and measured development pipeline have long appealed to more cautious property investors.

The case for Dexus

Dexus has transformed beyond a pure office property landlord into a broader platform managing listed and unlisted real estate, infrastructure, and alternative assets – especially since its big 2023 acquisition of AMP Capital’s real estate and infrastructure arm. Dexus directly and indirectly holds premium office, logistics, retail, and airport assets, notably including stakes in Melbourne Airport and Jandakot Airport.

Key fundamentals for Dexus right now include:

• A higher dividend yield of 6.67%
• A market cap of $5.96 billion (a notch below GPT, but still sizeable)
• P/E ratio of 10.17

Dexus’s income stream is attractive, at around 37 cents per share (annualised from the last year’s payouts), with a portion of its most recent distributions franked (but with franked percentages varying between periods). Its recent diversification into infrastructure assets sets it apart from most traditional REITs, potentially adding some resilience – though also introducing new complexity for investors used to pure property exposure.

Valuation comparison

Here’s a side-by-side look at the major valuation metrics based on the latest figures:

	GPT Group	Dexus
Market Cap	$8.60 billion	$5.96 billion
P/E Ratio	8.12	10.17
Dividend Yield	5.44%	6.67%
Dividend per Share	$0.24	$0.37
EPS	0.549	0.546
Franking	0%	Variable, up to ~20%
YTD Return	-15.5%	-17.4%

Both companies sport very similar recent EPS. GPT’s P/E ratio is noticeably lower, which usually means investors are paying less for each dollar of earnings – but Dexus’s higher dividend yield may appeal to those seeking bigger income streams. Franking is limited for both, but Dexus’s distributions do carry some franking credit, while GPT’s are unfranked. Note: both companies have reported EPS figures very close to or slightly above their per-share distributions, but as always, there can be timing and calculation differences between reported EPS and current-year payout ratios.

Recent share price performance

Share prices for both companies have been under pressure over the year to date, as interest rates and broader property sector worries have weighed on REIT valuations.

Comparing 25 August to 21 September 2026:

• GPT Group fell from $4.69 to $4.49, a drop of around 4.3% across the period.
• Dexus slipped from $5.88 to $5.54, down approximately 5.8% over the same range.
• Year to date, GPT’s return is -15.5%, while Dexus has dropped -17.4%.

In short, Dexus shares have underperformed slightly versus GPT in terms of recent momentum. Both have lagged the broader ASX, in line with their sector.

Which is the better buy?

For me, it’s a line-ball call because both GPT Group and Dexus look like reasonable value on paper and have offered consistent income. If I had to tip one for value today, I’d lean just slightly toward GPT Group. My reasons? GPT trades on a meaningfully lower P/E (8.12 vs 10.17) for similar recent earnings, has a larger and arguably more conservative asset base, and its recent price performance has been a fraction less negative. While Dexus’s higher dividend yield is tempting, the difference isn’t life-changing on a yield-per-dollar basis, and GPT’s simpler, core property focus and lower multiple appeal to my sense of “margin of safety” in the current environment.

If I were seeking maximum immediate yield and a taste of infrastructure, Dexus could still have the edge. But with its lower valuation and more traditional property mix, my pick for better value in this REIT head-to-head would be GPT Group.

The post GPT Group vs Dexus: Which ASX REIT is better value right now? 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 draft. 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.