The Australian Finance Group Ltd (ASX: AFG) share price is in focus today after the company reported FY26 profit up 39% to $49 million, with EBITDA surging 32% and residential lending settlements growing by 18% to $75 billion.

What did Australian Finance Group report?

• Reported NPAT rose to $49 million, up 39% year on year
• EBITDA increased 32% to $74.4 million
• Residential lending settlements grew 18% to $75 billion
• Asset finance settlements were up 19%, reaching $4.3 billion
• Final dividend of 4.8 cents per share, total DPS 9.5 cents (up 4%)
• Net interest margin expanded 9 basis points to 1.25%

What else do investors need to know?

Australian Finance Group has broadened its earnings base, with recurring and diversified income streams now making up 78% of its mix, helping to cushion short-term mortgage market volatility. BrokerEngine subscribers climbed 19% to 4,400, and broker services subscription income rose 13% to $24 million, now representing 23% of Distribution earnings.

The company invested $21 million to drive further growth, including technology, new funding, and minority stakes in broker businesses. AFG’s balance sheet remains strong with $63 million in unrestricted cash and a 94% cash conversion rate, while a share buy-back of up to $15 million was announced in June 2026.

What’s next for Australian Finance Group?

AFG expects continued EBITDA uplift into FY27, with around $13 million in annualised benefit already embedded from recent investments. The group is maintaining focus on margin discipline, funding diversity, and efficiency gains, with further investments in systems, automation, and artificial intelligence planned to support productivity and future growth.

While residential activity has softened in the last two months, AFG sees long-term demand for brokers and competitive lending options supporting its position. The company aims to increase the share of broker service income and expand its AFG Securities loan book, tracking towards FY29 aspirations.

Australian Finance Group share price snapshot

Over the 12 months, Australian Finance Group shares have declined 36%, trailing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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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 Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) share price is in focus today after the supply chain giant reported sales revenue of US$7.04 billion, up 2%, and underlying profit of US$1.49 billion, up 4% for the year ended 30 June 2026.

What did Brambles report?

• Sales revenue: US$7,042.9 million, up 2% (constant FX)
• Underlying profit: US$1,494.4 million, up 4% (constant FX)
• Operating profit after tax: US$948.5 million, up 5% (constant FX)
• Basic EPS (continuing operations): 69.9 US cents, up 6% (constant FX)
• Final dividend: 23.15 US cents per share (total FY26 dividends up 16% on FY25)
• Free cash flow before dividends: US$1,048.2 million

What else do investors need to know?

Brambles navigated a year marked by persistent inflation and softer consumer demand, especially across its major US and European markets. The company faced operational challenges in the US during the fourth quarter, including repair capacity constraints that created service level issues and dented underlying profit by about US$90 million.

Despite these headwinds, Brambles invested in network upgrades and additional pallet purchases to improve availability and service quality for customers, with clear plans to boost repair capacity and resilience in the US. Strong demand from new customers and momentum in digital and sustainability initiatives continued across key markets.

What did Brambles management say?

Brambles CEO, Graham Chipchase, commented:

We delivered a resilient FY26 result, growing earnings and generating strong free cash flow while advancing initiatives across quality, network and digital that strengthen our long-term competitive advantage and support future growth and value creation.

Our actions are already delivering positive results, with customer order fulfilment improving materially since mid-April. We remain on track to resolve the repair capacity constraints by the end of the first half of FY27 and position our US business to strengthen customer relationships and pursue growth, with quality as a key source of competitive advantage.

What’s next for Brambles?

Looking ahead, Brambles expects sales revenue growth of 2–4% and underlying profit growth of 2–6% at constant currency in FY27. Free cash flow before dividends is forecast between US$800 million and US$950 million.

The company is focused on resolving US repair constraints, accelerating digital transformation, and supporting customers with resilient, efficient supply chains. A decision on a potential North American rollout of its Serialisation+ digital solution is expected in the third quarter of FY27. Brambles also reaffirmed its FY28 margin expansion target and plans to complete its current share buy-back program.

Brambles share price snapshot

The Brambles share price has been a poor performer over the past 12 months. During this time, its shares have fallen 16%, compared to a modest 1.5% gain by the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO).

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The post Brambles earnings: FY26 profit rises, dividend up, outlook steady 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.

The Solstice Minerals Ltd (ASX: SLS) share price is in focus today after the company reported more wide copper-gold intercepts from ongoing drilling at its 100%-owned Nanadie Copper-Gold Project in WA’s Goldfields. Notably, a 148m intercept at 0.77% copper and 0.20g/t gold from one drill hole signals the growing scale of the deposit.

What did Solstice Minerals report?

• Diamond drilling hit 148m at 0.77% copper and 0.20g/t gold from 201m (NANRCD018), expanding mineralisation beyond the current resource boundary.
• Another diamond tail delivered 36m at 0.70% copper and 0.21g/t gold to end of hole (NANRCD026), confirming nearby high-grade results.
• Step-out RC drilling produced multiple strong intercepts, including 43m at 0.59% copper and 0.21g/t gold (NANRC044), outlining mineralisation further south.
• Drilling footprint now spans 100–200m width, over at least 1.2km of strike, remaining open at depth and along strike.
• Solstice holds $45 million in cash and zero debt to fund ongoing exploration.

What else do investors need to know?

Ongoing reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling is mapping out high-grade copper-gold zones that stretch well past the existing mineral resource estimate (MRE). Multiple rigs are operating at Nanadie, with another RC rig arriving soon to speed up campaign progress.

The company is awaiting results from a deep, step-down diamond hole (NANRCD005) drilled some 500m beneath the current MRE. On top of this, assays from an extra 12 diamond tails and 18 RC holes are pending, so further updates are expected over coming months.

What did Solstice Minerals management say?

CEO & Managing Director Nick Castleden said:

Ongoing diamond and RC drilling continues to show that Nanadie is developing into a substantially larger copper-gold system that extends well beyond the current Mineral Resource.… The combined 148m intercept in NANRCD018 is particularly encouraging.… The results to date continue to reinforce our view that Nanadie is growing into a much larger copper-gold system than previously recognised, with the host gabbro and zones of copper sulphide mineralisation extending well beyond the limits of drilling.

What’s next for Solstice Minerals?

Solstice expects a steady flow of drill results in the months ahead as it tests the depth and lateral growth of the Nanadie system. Follow-up work will also focus on defining higher-grade positions, potentially improving future resource estimates.

With a strong cash position and no debt, Solstice is well funded to advance Nanadie, continue drilling, and explore new targets across its growing land position.

Solstice Minerals share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Solstice Minerals shares have risen more than 800%, significantly outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

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The post Solstice Minerals: Nanadie drilling extends copper-gold system appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Solstice Minerals: Nanadie copper-gold system grows

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.