The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is in focus today after the company posted a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $2,874 million for FY26, supported by strong results from Bunnings, Kmart Group and WesCEF, and a higher fully-franked ordinary dividend.

What did Wesfarmers report?

• Revenue rose 3.4% to $47,274 million
• Statutory NPAT of $2,874 million (down 1.8% vs FY25 including significant items; up 8.3% excluding them)
• Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 7.3% (excluding significant items)
• Full-year fully-franked ordinary dividend up 7.8% to 222 cents per share
• Free cash flow increased 15.8% to $3,992 million
• Return on equity (R12) improved to 35.5%

What else do investors need to know?

The year saw strong performances from the biggest divisions: Bunnings lifted earnings by 5.1% with consistent sales growth across categories, while Kmart Group’s transformation projects and value-driven strategy drove earnings up 6.0%. WesCEF’s earnings rose 18.5%, as its lithium business swung into profit, offsetting pressures from ammonia pricing affected by global supply disruptions.

Officeworks faced a 22.2% drop in earnings, mainly due to one-off transformation costs, but still managed to grow sales by 3.7%. In a significant move, Blackwoods and Workwear Group transitioned into Bunnings Group from 1 July 2026 to strengthen the commercial offer.

Wesfarmers invested in growth across its portfolio, including expanding the Mt Holland lithium mine, digital transformation initiatives, and AI-powered customer assistants in key retail brands. The company also reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by almost 22% year on year.

What did Wesfarmers management say?

Wesfarmers’ managing director, Rob Scott, commented:

Our businesses focused on mitigating cost pressures through productivity initiatives and were able to deliver more value, better service and increased convenience for our retail and business customers. As households continued to experience cost of living pressures, our retail businesses dropped prices on thousands of products during the year to support household budgets.

What’s next for Wesfarmers?

Wesfarmers says it remains well placed to deliver satisfactory long-term returns, guided by a portfolio of resilient, high-quality businesses and a strong balance sheet. The company expects to continue investing in store networks, supply chains and digital capabilities, even as higher labour and operating costs persist across the industry.

Looking ahead, Wesfarmers flagged increased capital expenditure of $1.3 to $1.5 billion for FY27, particularly to support lithium production, store refurbishments, supply chain upgrades, and the start of a new joint venture in modular residential construction. Early trading in FY27 shows Bunnings’ sales growth is slightly ahead of the second half of FY26, with Kmart and Officeworks maintaining positive momentum. The group aims to leverage both its retail and health assets, as well as new digital platforms, to keep building long-term value.

Wesfarmers share price snapshot

The Wesfarmers share price has underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) over the past 12 months with a decline of over 9%.

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The post Wesfarmers posts higher earnings, lifts dividend in FY26 results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Wesfarmers. 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 Summerset Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SNZ) share price is in focus today after the retirement living operator reported a 92% lift in half-year net profit after tax to NZ$171.4 million and a significant 291% jump in cash flow from existing operations to NZ$31.0 million for the six months to 30 June 2026.

What did Summerset Group report?

• Total revenue of NZ$200.3 million, up 16% on HY25
• Net profit after tax (IFRS) rose 92% to NZ$171.4 million
• Underlying profit down 3% to NZ$103.4 million
• Cash flow from existing operations (CFEO) of NZ$31.0 million, up 291%
• Final dividend of NZ 3.8 cents per share declared
• 813 total sales, up 17%, with 481 new homes delivered across NZ and Australia
• Development margin of 20%
• Village and care resident satisfaction at 91% and 88% respectively

What else do investors need to know?

Summerset’s first half result was driven by strong sales momentum, disciplined cost and capital management, and higher revenue from both new villages and care services, despite an uncertain economic environment. The company delivered 481 new homes and achieved 813 sales under Occupation Right Agreements, with both new sales and resales up on last year.

The company continued to expand in Australia, opening its Cranbourne North village centre and welcoming residents at Chirnside Park in August. Summerset also decided to sell its Craigieburn site in Victoria following a project review, with settlement expected in the fourth quarter. In addition, the board has shifted its dividend policy to base payouts on operating cash flow, now set between 20–60% of CFEO, to better align shareholder returns with cash generation.

What did Summerset Group management say?

Chief Executive Officer Scott Scoullar said:

We’re proud to have delivered higher first half sales on last year in this challenging market. At the same time we’ve also continued to bring new homes to market in New Zealand and Australia, and taken deliberate steps to manage development spend, strengthen cash generation and reduce net debt over the next 18 months.

What’s next for Summerset Group?

Summerset expects market conditions to remain uneven in the second half, but management is focused on keeping its build rate steady and targeting deliveries of 700–800 homes for the full year across both regions. The group’s medium-term priorities are to reduce net debt below NZ$1.9 billion and achieve gearing of 33% by the end of 2027.

Ongoing cost efficiency measures are in place, and the new dividend policy aims to ensure resilient shareholder returns. The company says it will maintain close attention on resident satisfaction, investing in initiatives that support wellbeing and create connected communities as it continues to mature its broad retirement village portfolio.

Summerset Group share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Summerset Group shares have declined 34%, trailing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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The post Summerset Group: HY26 profit up 92% as sales hit record high 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.

The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price is in focus after the company reported combined group revenue of $778 million and declared a fully franked final dividend of 25.5 cents per share.

What did Magellan Financial Group report?

• Combined pro forma revenue of $778 million, diversified across three business lines
• Combined group operating profit after tax of $215 million
• Combined group net profit after tax of $146 million
• MFG operating profit after tax of $145 million, down 9%
• MFG net profit after tax of $88 million, down 47%
• Final fully franked dividend of 25.5 cents per share
• Total assets under management of $36.7 billion, down 7% year on year

What else do investors need to know?

Magellan’s FY26 result reflects lower investment management revenue, but this was partially offset by a sharp rise in partnership income — particularly from Barrenjoey Capital Partners. That partnership contributed $42 million to MFG’s operating result.

The merger with Barrenjoey, effective from 1 July 2026, has created a more diversified financial services group. The company said its revenue is now spread across Financial Markets, Corporate Finance and Investment Management.

AUM declined by 7% over the year, mainly due to continued outflows from heritage Global Equities funds. However, the Group saw institutional inflows into Australian equities and global listed infrastructure strategies, along with progress in systematic strategies.

What did Magellan Financial Group management say?

Mr Benari, Group CEO, commented:

2026 was a transformational year for MFG. The merger between MFG and Barrenjoey marks the beginning of a new chapter for our company, and today’s results are the first time we have reported the pro forma performance of a stronger and more diversified Australian financial services group, spanning Financial Markets, Corporate Finance and Investment Management.

The combined group delivered pro forma revenue of $778 million for the year and maintains a balance sheet with meaningful headroom for growth. As previously announced and subject to shareholder approval, we intend to change the company’s name to Barrenjoey Group Limited and change our ASX ticker to BJY. The new name reflects the scale and ambition of all of our business lines.

We are focused on reaching more clients and delivering more products, and our recently announced New Zealand expansion is an example of this.

What’s next for Magellan Financial Group?

Looking ahead, Magellan plans to rebrand as Barrenjoey Group Limited, pending shareholder approval at its upcoming AGM. The company also intends to update its ASX ticker to “BJY” to reflect this new identity.

Management say they will focus on deepening their business across all three core lines and reaching more clients, including expanding into New Zealand. The board has also changed its main office address, effective from September 2026, to Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney.

Magellan Financial Group share price snapshot

The Magellan share price has modestly outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) on a 12-month basis with a gain of almost 7%.

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The post Magellan Financial Group posts FY26 earnings; to rebrand as Barrenjoey appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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.