The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is in focus today as the company reported a 2% lift in half-year product sales revenue to US$2,620 million, but a 19% drop in statutory profit to US$355 million for the six months ended 30 June 2026. Directors declared an unfranked interim dividend of 11.6 US cents per share.

What did Santos report?

• Product sales revenue: US$2,620 million, up 2% year on year
• Statutory net profit after tax: US$355 million, down 19%
• Underlying profit: US$397 million, down 22%
• EBITDAX: US$1,555 million, down 12%
• Interim dividend: 11.6 US cents per share (unfranked), down 13%
• Operating free cash flow: US$378 million, down 65%

What else do investors need to know?

Santos delivered higher production volumes, mainly due to increased LNG output and the continued ramp-up of the Barossa and Pikka Phase 1 developments. Sales volumes rose by 1.7% to 48 million barrels of oil equivalent, helping offset the impact of lower realised LNG prices and higher depletion expenses.

Cash flow from operations fell sharply versus the prior period, reflecting increased commissioning costs at Barossa and Darwin LNG, higher third-party purchase costs, and the change in depreciation methodology to reflect 1P reserves rather than 2P.

The company’s major projects remain on track. Barossa has reached 97% of planned rates since the end of June, while Pikka Phase 1 in Alaska achieved first oil, with expectations for ramp-up to plateau production in the third quarter of 2026.

What’s next for Santos?

Santos has provided production guidance of 99 to 105 million barrels of oil equivalent and sales volume guidance of 102 to 108 million barrels for the full year 2026. The company expects key growth projects, including the Barossa and Pikka ramp-ups, to underpin higher production and support long-term performance.

Santos continues to progress its portfolio of decarbonisation initiatives, such as the Moomba and Bayu-Undan carbon capture projects. The company maintains its focus on reducing costs, improving asset reliability, and delivering project milestones to support its strategy.

Santos share price snapshot

The Santos share price is marginally outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) on a 12-month basis with a gain of 4.5%.

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The post Santos posts lower first-half profit as new LNG projects ramp up 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.

CSL shares (ASX: CSL) surged as much as 18% on Tuesday, capping the biotech giant’s best single session in more than two decades.

The stock changed hands around $157.40.

That is an extraordinary move for a company of this size, and it becomes stranger still once you read the headline numbers.

CSL reported a net loss after tax of US$2.6 billion for FY26.

A record loss and a record rally, on the same morning.

So what did the market see that the headline missed?

Why CSL shares looked past a US$2.6 billion loss

The loss was not in any way an operating problem.

It came from US$7.1 billion in pre-tax impairments and a further US$799 million in restructuring costs, none of which involved cash leaving the business.

Most of that writedown was due to CSL Vifor intangibles and under-utilised property, plant, and equipment.

Investors had also been warned well in advance, because back in May the company flagged roughly US$5 billion of impairments alongside a cut to FY26 guidance.

Strip the one-offs away and the underlying picture was far steadier.

Underlying NPATA stood at US$3.1 billion, down just 2% on the prior year.

Revenue of US$15.8 billion slipped 1%, but still came in ahead of what most analysts had predicted.

Operating cash flow was a healthy US$3.5 billion.

Inside the FY26 result

CSL Behring remains the engine room of the business.

The plasma division generated US$11.4 billion in revenue, down 1%, while immunoglobulin sales held flat at US$6.2 billion.

That immunoglobulin line is a key pillar of the CSL bull case.

CSL Vifor lifted 3% to US$2.4 billion.

Seqirus was weak, with the influenza vaccine business shrinking 8% to US$2 billion.

In better news, CSL’s transformation program delivered US$176 million of cost savings during the year.

Management also committed US$1.5 billion to expanding plasma collection capacity across the United States.

The final dividend left the full-year payout unchanged at US$2.92 per share.

The guidance that drove the CSL share price craze

Here is where the enthusiasm came from.

CSL guided to underlying NPAT growth of approximately 5% in FY27.

Consensus had been sitting closer to 2%, so for a company that has spent 18 months walking its guidance backwards, an upgrade of any kind is a welcone plot twist.

Behring is expected to grow at a mid-single-digit rate, with immunoglobulins running in the mid-to-high single digits.

The offset is CSL Vifor, where revenue is tipped to fall around 25% as iron generics arrive.

Interim chief executive Gordon Naylor set the tone for this reset back in May.

Growth initiatives are working, but the financial benefits will take longer than previously anticipated to materialise.

Are CSL shares still worth a look?

Even after Tuesday’s surge, CSL shares remain down roughly 8% in 2026, and they still sit well below the highs they set a few years ago.

Investors should still be considering the bear case. The company is still operating without a permanent chief executive, Seqirus is shrinking, and the Vifor acquisition has now been written down heavily.

One guidance beat does not undo two years of disappointment.

Ahead of the result, my Foolish colleagues asked whether the healthcare giant could arrest the slide.

On the evidence of a single session, the answer is yes. However, sustaining this recovery is a very different question.

Foolish takeaway

Tuesday was not really a case of the market missing something.

It was a case of the market finally being handed something to hold onto: a reset year, a cleaner balance sheet, and guidance that beat expectations for the first time in a while.

The plasma business is still growing, and the cost program is still delivering.

Whether CSL shares can build on that will come down to execution over the next 12 months.

The post CSL shares just had their best day in 20 years. What did I just miss? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
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• CSL shares surge 18% as ‘reset year’ points to a return to growth
• Why is everyone talking about CSL, Pro Medicus and BHP shares on Tuesday?

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

The SHAPE Australia Corporation Ltd (ASX: SHA) share price is in focus today after the company reported a record 29.6% jump in revenue to $1.24 billion and a 50% increase in profit after tax to $31.7 million for the year ended 30 June 2026.

What did SHAPE Australia report?

• Revenue: Up 29.6% to $1,239.9 million (FY25: $956.9 million)
• Net profit after tax (NPAT): Up 50.2% to $31.7 million (FY25: $21.1 million)
• EBITDA: Up 53% to $50.1 million (FY25: $32.7 million)
• Basic earnings per share: 38.13c, up from 25.52c
• Full year dividends declared: 32.0c per share, up 42% from FY25
• Cash and marketable securities: $136.2 million (up 6%)

What else do investors need to know?

SHAPE Australia reached a significant milestone, surpassing $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time. The company attributed its strong growth to a mix of new project wins, continued sector diversification (with non-office sectors now making up over half of total revenue), and the expansion of regional operations.

Two strategic acquisitions—Arden in December 2025 and Australian Professional Shopfitters (APS) in July 2026—broadened the Group’s capabilities, especially in facilities maintenance and retail fitout, and created pathways for further cross-selling opportunities. The year also saw a healthy increase in the order backlog (up 28% to $628.4 million) and the project pipeline (now $4.8 billion, up 20%).

The business maintained a strong focus on people and safety: workforce grew by 30% to over 890 employees, employee engagement scored 86%, and safety performance improved despite higher activity levels.

What did SHAPE Australia management say?

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Peter Marix-Evans said:

FY26 was a defining year for SHAPE. Our teams delivered a larger and more diverse volume of work across more sectors, regions and service lines, while improving safety performance, project outcomes and client experience.

What’s next for SHAPE Australia?

SHAPE enters FY27 with confidence, supported by a solid $628 million order backlog and a $4.8 billion identified project pipeline. The company plans to further consolidate its presence in premium office assets and expand into priority sectors such as data centres, education, health, aged care, and defence.

The integration of Arden and APS is underway and expected to provide additional operational leverage and growth. SHAPE will continue to invest in talent, technology, and capability expansion (including new build and modular construction), while remaining disciplined in risk and procurement.

SHAPE Australia share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, SHAPE Australia shares have risen 58%, outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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The post SHAPE Australia: Record profit, revenue, and dividends in FY26 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 recommended Shape Australia. 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.