The Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF) share price will be in focus on Wednesday after the company reported underlying diluted EPS of 28.8 cents, up 7.7%, and a 9% increase in its final fully franked dividend to 12.75 cents per share.

What did Steadfast Group report?

• Underlying revenue: $2,104.7 million, up 15.3% on FY25
• Underlying NPATA: $366.3 million, up 7.1%
• Underlying NPAT: $319.5 million, up 8.2%
• Underlying EBITA: $669.8 million, up 13.8%
• Final dividend: 12.75 cps fully franked (up 9%); total FY26 dividends: 20.95 cps, up 7.4%
• Statutory NPAT: $269.1 million, down from $334.9 million

What else do investors need to know?

Steadfast’s growth came from both organic initiatives and acquisitions. Gross written premium (GWP) in its Australasian Network rose 6.2% to $13.2 billion, with underlying EBITA up 13.2% for this segment. The Group also highlighted successful broker hubbing strategies designed to drive efficiency and further growth.

The company has entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed with Amwins Australasia Group and Starboard BidCo. The Steadfast Board unanimously recommends shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme, subject to no superior proposal and a positive independent expert report.

Underwriting Agency operations generated $2.5 billion of GWP, up 2.3%, while strong organic growth also supported Steadfast’s international business, contributing to a favourable EBITA result.

What did Steadfast Group management say?

Managing Director & CEO Robert Kelly AM stated:

I am pleased to present our FY26 results, continuing Steadfast’s track record of accretive growth since listing in August 2013. Despite a challenging operating environment, disciplined execution and strong cost management, we delivered solid performance and positioned the business for continued long-term growth.

What’s next for Steadfast Group?

Looking ahead, Steadfast is guiding for underlying NPATA of $382–$392 million and underlying NPAT of $333–$343 million for FY27. The company expects underlying EBITA of $700–$715 million and EPS growth of 4–8%.

Management sees further growth opportunities, with expectations of 2–3% increases in insurance premium pricing and ongoing benefits from its broker and agency network strategies, both in Australia and internationally.

Steadfast Group share price snapshot

Over the past year, the Steadfast Group share price has underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) with a decline of 5%.

View Original Announcement

The post Steadfast Group FY26 earnings: Profits and dividend on the rise 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 Steadfast Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Steadfast Group. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) enjoyed another strong day of gains this Tuesday, lifting the value of many ASX shares.

After yesterday’s rise kicked off the trading week on a positive note, investors built on that momentum today. The ASX 200 opened higher this morning and stayed in green territory all day, closing with a gain of 0.68%. That leaves the index at 9,164.6 points.

This terrific Tuesday for the local markets came after a mixed start to the American trading week on Wall Street overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in an accommodating mood, rising 0.26%.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) had a more Garfield-esque Monday, closing 0.76% lower.

Let’s get back to the ASX now and take stock of how the different ASX sectors fared this session.

Winners and losers

Today’s market rises were near-universal, with only two sectors missing out.

The first, and worst, of those sectors was energy stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) gave up an early lead to finish down 0.78% today.

The other red sector was real estate investment trusts (REITs), with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) sinking 0.16%.

Let’s get to the happier sectors now. Leading the charge were tech shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) had a blowout, rocketing up 2.25%.

Consumer staples stocks ran hot as well, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)’s 2.11% surge.

Healthcare stocks were also popular. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) soared 1.4% higher this Tuesday.

Financial shares joined the party, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) shooting up 0.94%.

Consumer discretionary stocks were also at the festivities. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) galloped up 0.91% today.

Next came utilities shares, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)’s 0.59% jump.

Industrial stocks were right behind that. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) added 0.58% to its total this session.

Communications shares had a day to remember as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) advancing 0.4%.

Gold stocks didn’t miss out. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) enjoyed a 0.34% lift today.

Finally, mining shares managed to find buyers, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)’s 0.3% bump.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Defence company Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (ASX: EOS) was our top performer this Tuesday. Electro Optic shares exploded 23.02% higher today to close at $10.58 each.

This astonishing showing followed the company’s latest earnings, which were obviously a delight for the market.

Here’s how the other top stocks tied up at the dock:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (ASX: EOS)	$10.58	23.02%
ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX: ARB)	$21.51	13.87%
Ansell Ltd (ASX: ANN)	$41.36	8.16%
Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)	$19.37	7.97%
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)	$1.95	7.44%
Judo Capital Holdings Ltd (ASX: JDO)	$1.03	6.74%
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)	$7.09	6.30%
Data#3 Ltd (ASX: DTL)	$11.73	5.77%
Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6)	$0.92	5.75%
4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX)	$3.88	5.72%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 ARB Corporation, DroneShield, and Electro Optic Systems. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ARB Corporation, Ansell, and Data#3. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) dividend has been announced with the FY26 result, and it was another pleasing payout for shareholders.

Coles has consistently delivered larger dividends in each of its annual results over the last several years, and FY26 was another good year for shareholders hoping for growth.  

As the country’s second-largest supermarket operator, it has market power few can match.

The FY26 result saw a number of growth figures for the business, including 2.8% revenue growth (and 3.7% growth for supermarkets), operating profit (EBITDA) grew 7.1%, underlying net profit increased 13.7%, and statutory net profit rose 1%.

The statutory net profit figure was impacted by $235 million of significant items relating to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s proceedings.

However, the strength of the underlying net profit performance helped the board of directors declare another pleasing payout for investors.

Coles dividend for FY26

The Coles board of directors decided to declare a fully-franked final dividend of 37 cents per share. This brings the full-year dividend for FY26 to 78 cents per share, representing a 13% year-over-year increase.

Based on the statutory net profit, the business delivered earnings per share (EPS) of 81.5 cents. Therefore, the full-year dividend represents 95.7% of statutory earnings, though it’s a lower percentage of underlying net profit after tax.

At the time of writing, the Coles FY26 final dividend represents a dividend yield of 1.6% excluding franking credits and 2.2% including franking credits.

If we look at the annual payout, the dividend yield is 3.3% excluding franking credits and 4.7% including franking credits.

When will this be paid?

Before getting to the payment date, first, we need to look at the ex-dividend date.

The ex-dividend date is the cutoff day for dividend eligibility. Investors need to own shares before the ex-dividend date to be entitled to the upcoming payment.

With this upcoming dividend, the ex-dividend date is 3 September 2026. That means investors need to own Coles shares by the end of trading on 2 September 2026 to be entitled to this payment.

After that, investors will receive payment on 22 September 2026, so that’s less than a month away.

Investors can also elect to receive new Coles shares rather than cash as the dividend. If they want to receive new shares, then they need to make that election with the dividend reinvestment plan by 5pm on Monday, 7 September 2026.

Dividend growth in FY27 looks promising, with the company announcing that supermarket sales growth in the first eight weeks of FY27 was consistent with the fourth quarter of FY26.

The post Everything you need to know about the Coles dividend 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 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.