The Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) share price could be in focus after the company delivered a record half-year result, with revenue rising 24% to $8.05 billion and net profit after tax up 23% to $165.2 million.

What did Eagers Automotive report?

• Revenue rose 24% to $8,053.5 million compared to 1H25
• Statutory net profit after tax increased 23% to $165.2 million
• Underlying EBITDA up 23% to $364.6 million
• Ordinary interim dividend up 4% to 25 cents per share, fully franked
• Liquidity at $2.61 billion and net debt at $674.9 million as at 30 June 2026
• Acquisition of CanadaOne Auto Group contributed $40.5 million in profit before tax across two months

What else do investors need to know?

Eagers Automotive entered the Canadian market by acquiring a 65% stake in CanadaOne Auto Group, which made an immediate positive impact on group results and expanded the company’s international footprint. The strategic investment saw the company issue exchangeable shares as partial consideration, strengthening the balance sheet and broadening shareholder alignment.

In Australia, Eagers increased its market share in new vehicles, reaching 15.9%, up from 13.8% a year ago. The group also signed a non-binding agreement to divest its franchised automotive business in New Zealand—retaining the easyauto123 operations—to redeploy capital into other growth initiatives.

What’s next for Eagers Automotive?

Eagers Automotive expects a full second-half contribution from CanadaOne Auto Group, with further opportunities for organic and acquisitive growth in North America. The company remains focused on optimising its partner portfolio, expanding its independent pre-owned vehicle business, and leveraging its unique scale and brand partnerships to outperform industry benchmarks.

Management cited a disciplined approach to capital allocation and cost management, aiming for sustainable, industry-leading returns. While mindful of current economic conditions and higher interest rates, the board remains optimistic about growth prospects in both the Australian and Canadian markets.

Eagers Automotive share price snapshot

The Eagers Automotive share price has modestly outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) on a 12-month basis with a gain of over 6%.

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The post Eagers Automotive posts record 1H26 earnings on strong Canadian expansion 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 recommended Eagers Automotive Ltd. 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 Brightstar Resources Ltd (ASX: BTR) share price is in focus after the company announced exceptionally wide, high-grade gold intercepts from infill drilling at its Two Mile Hill-Shillington deposit, part of the Sandstone Gold Project. Standout results include a 225.7 metre interval at 3.11 grams per tonne gold, with individual assays up to 449 grams per tonne.

What did Brightstar Resources report?

• Received further assay results from reverse circulation and diamond core drilling at Two Mile Hill-Shillington.
• Key intercepts include 225.7m @ 3.11g/t Au (including 19m @ 24.3g/t Au) and 194m @ 2.10g/t Au (including 13m @ 4.35g/t Au).
• Current Mineral Resource Estimate: 14.6 million tonnes at 1.6g/t Au for 731,000 ounces gold at Two Mile Hill-Shillington.
• Infill drilling targets areas for potential underground mining and aims to upgrade resources to Indicated classification.
• Visible gold was observed throughout significant intersections, typically associated with galena and pyrite.

What else do investors need to know?

Drilling at Sandstone is ongoing, with both RC and diamond rigs active across multiple deposits as part of workstreams for the pre-feasibility study. These latest results support Brightstar’s plans to potentially include underground mining in its upcoming study.

The infill drilling builds on recent success, following earlier results such as 305m at 1.8g/t Au from extension drilling. Initial work has also identified a newly discovered “Shirvington Zone” at Two Mile Hill, revealing even broader mineralisation than previously modelled.

What did Brightstar Resources management say?

Managing Director Alex Rovira said:

The latest results continue to demonstrate the broad widths of the Two Mile Hill deposit and high-grade nature of the quartz veining within the host tonalite, with individual grades reaching 449g/t Au. These infill results are hugely encouraging for a potential future underground mining operation at Two Mile Hill, which is currently being assessed by Brightstar and Entech for inclusion in the upcoming pre-feasibility study.

What’s next for Brightstar Resources?

Brightstar plans to incorporate the new infill drill results into its next Mineral Resource Estimate and pre-feasibility study, both set for release in November 2026. The ongoing drilling programs seek to further enhance geological confidence and explore extensions at depth.

Construction of the 1.5Mtpa processing plant is already underway as part of the broader Goldfields Hub development, with initial gold production targeted for June 2027. The company aims to progress towards large-scale underground and open pit mining across its Western Australian gold assets.

Brightstar Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Brightstar Resources shares have risen 32%, outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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The post Brightstar Resources posts record gold drilling intercepts at Sandstone 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 Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) share price looks like an excellent long-term opportunity after seeing the growth numbers from its FY26 result.

Lovisa is a global retailer of affordable jewellery across numerous countries worldwide. Impressively, it has stores on every continent and has an excellent outlook, in my view.

Lovisa may not be a tech stock, but few names on the ASX have such a wide geographic reach, with plenty of growth potential to come.

Lots of store growth

The company continues to expand its global store network at an impressive pace, which is driving the overall business.

In FY26, the company reported a 10.2% year-over-year rise of its global store count to 1,136.

There was a net increase in stores over the year in Australia, Vietnam, South Africa, Zambia, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the USA, Canada and the Middle East and Africa franchise.

It’s growing in a number of markets, and this is helping increase its presence and scale there.

The business actually closed 43 underperforming stores during the financial year, as well as relocating a further 12 stores. It’s continuing to focus on store profitability – where landlords don’t provide a profitable rent, it is willing to close that store.

Its FY26 comparable store sales grew by 2%, with an acceleration to 3% growth in the first eight weeks of FY27. I think this shows the business can continue to expand, while maintaining profitability with its existing stores.

Impressive financial growth

Compounding is a very powerful force, and if Lovisa continues growing its store count by around 10% (or more) a year, it’s on course for a very profitable future.

In FY26, Lovisa’s revenue grew 17.6%, gross profit rose 18.4%, operating profit (EBITDA) climbed 20.9%, and net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 10.7%. Net profit rose more slowly than EBITDA because of store rollout costs.

But I think the benefits of the store rollout will be reflected in the bottom line in the coming years.

I believe that Lovisa’s net profit can continue growing at a double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the coming years, which will help increase the value of Lovisa’s shares.

I’m optimistic the company can grow strongly in Europe and North America in the coming years.

Rewarding cash payouts

The company is steadily increasing its payout to investors, which is helping boost cash returns, even before considering what could happen to the Lovisa share price over the next few years.

In the FY26 result, Lovisa hiked its annual dividend per share by 11.7% to 86 cents. That translates into a dividend yield of 3.1%, excluding any franking credits.

I expect the dividend will continue to grow alongside net profit in the coming years, so the yield for today’s investors could grow significantly by the end of the decade.

The post Why I think the Lovisa share price is an excellent long-term buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.