The K&S Corporation Ltd (ASX: KSC) share price is in focus as the company reports a 2.1% drop in operating revenue to $729.2 million for FY2026, with statutory profit after tax down 22% to $22.8 million.

What did K&S Corporation report?

• Operating revenue fell 2.1% to $729.2 million
• Underlying profit before tax was $32.1 million, down 16.0% year over year
• Statutory profit after tax dropped 22.0% to $22.8 million
• EBITDA fell 10.0% to $81.6 million
• Total fully franked dividend of 11.0 cents per share (2025: 16.0 cents)
• Operating cash flow rose 4.3% to $63.7 million

What else do investors need to know?

The company’s Australian transport segment saw lower profits, reflecting the exit from several contracts and softer customer volumes in a challenging economic environment. Cost reduction strategies and operational reviews helped cushion some of the impact.

The New Zealand arm delivered a steady performance, benefitting from a mildly improved domestic economy and strong export prices. Meanwhile, K&S’s fuel trading business posted increased revenue and profit, navigating price volatility and ensuring fuel supply during market uncertainty.

The balance sheet remains robust, with net borrowings rising to $55.8 million mainly due to ongoing property and facility upgrades. New and upgraded sites are enhancing operational capability, especially in Adelaide and Brisbane.

What did K&S Corporation management say?

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Paul Sarant said:

Our strategy remains to improve the quality and contribution of our revenue base, rather than targeting work solely to grow top line revenue.

What’s next for K&S Corporation?

Looking ahead, K&S expects economic conditions to remain tough given global disruptions, low domestic growth, and cost pressures. The company notes risks to FY2027 results from subdued construction activity and the conclusion of services for InfraBuild, partly offset by margin improvements and new business in fuel trading.

Management says they’ll stay disciplined with capital and working capital management, continuing to strengthen the revenue base by focusing on high-quality, profitable business both organically and through select acquisitions.

K&S Corporation share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, K&S shares have declined 10%, trailing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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The post K&S posts lower FY2026 profit as revenue and dividends decline 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.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares have slumped into the red in Tuesday afternoon trade.

At the time of writing, the supermarket giant’s shares are down around 0.5% and are changing hands at $38.42 a piece.

The shares have come off the boil recently after reaching an all-time high of $40.66 in early August.

Since then, the ASX consumer discretionary shares have slipped around 6%. 

But the latest decline has barely made a dent in the amount of gains Woolworths shares have enjoyed over the past year.

For the year to date, the shares are up around 31%, and they’re 18% higher than 12 months ago.

What’s driven the Woolworths share price rally this year?

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Woolworths share price over the past 12 months, and some volatility continued throughout early 2026. But the shares have climbed higher overall.

The business made headlines earlier this year after it posted its third-quarter sales update in April, revealing a 4.5% increase. 

At the time, the company also said underlying trading momentum remained solid, but management noted they had seen “some signs of increased customer caution”. Investors were spooked and quickly offloaded their shares.

Woolworths shares also gained attention in June following media reports about the company’s plans to offshore hundreds of corporate roles. The move is part of a $400 million office cost reduction push to simplify operations and reduce costs.

Since hitting a low in mid-May, Woolworths shares have now risen around 18%.

It looks like the increase was mostly driven by investor confidence that the turnaround is coming to fruition. There is renewed investor confidence that the retailer’s earnings are recovering after a difficult period in late 2025.

Woolworths posted a stronger-than-expected first-half profit in February and continues to pursue cost-cutting initiatives to support margins and earnings over time.

The company is due to announce its FY26 results tomorrow.

Are the supermarket shares a buy, sell, or hold now?

Market experts appear to be reserved about the outlook for Woolworths shares ahead of the company’s results announcement.

TradingView data shows the majority of analysts (eight out of 17) have a hold rating on Woolworths shares. Another three rate the shares as a buy/strong buy, and six rate the shares as a sell/strong sell.

Although after a strong rally, it looks like the shares are now trading above fair value.

The average $37.39 target price implies a potential 3% downside, at the time of writing.

Although some forecast that the shares could drop 10% to $34.60 over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, others think Woolworths shares have the potential to climb 6% to $40.90 per share at the time of writing.

UBS downgraded Woolworths shares to a sell rating earlier this month, but raised its 12-month price target to $39.

The post Are Woolworths shares a buy, sell or hold ahead of its FY26 results announcement? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies 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.

Profit season gives the analysts plenty to work with when they’re assessing which companies represent a good buying opportunity.

I’ve had a look through the reports Macquarie has put out this week and singled out three which profile companies they think will do particularly well.

Let’s see who they like.

Arena REIT (ASX: ARF)

This listed property trust recently reported a net operating profit of $79.1 million, up 8% on FY25, and boosted its distributions per security by 5.5% to 19.25 cents.

The trust also guided to distributions for the current year of not less than 18 cents.

The company said re the result:

Key contributors to the FY2026 result were income growth from contracted annual and market rent reviews and acquisitions and development projects completed in FY2025 and FY2026. Arena finished the year with a strong balance sheet, with total assets of $2 billion and relatively low gearing of 24.5%.

Managing Director Justin Bailey said it was a strong year, and the trust “continued to improve portfolio quality through disciplined capital allocation, development activity and targeted divestments”.

The trust is dealing with a default from Edge Early Learning, which leases 31 Arena properties representing 14% of Arena’s income.

The trust says it is continuing to engage with Edge and reserves its legal rights.

Macquarie said in a note to clients that they assume Edge will not remedy the situation and will need to be replaced.

But they said the current share price implies an “overly pessimistic outcome”.

Macquarie has a price target of $2.90 on Arena shares compared to $2.45 currently.

Liberty Financial Group Ltd (ASX: LFG)

Macquarie said Liberty’s second-half result was positive, underpinned by stronger margins, while a 15 cent special dividend was also a positive.

They said:

We like LFG’s continued focus on delivering stable margins and returns, which we believe supports ongoing capital management initiatives. This supports return on equity of ~14% over the medium term, based on our forecasts. Despite changes to negative gearing and CGT in the budget, management noted only modest impacts to date on mortgage lending (with peers reporting similar), which has positively surprised us.

Macquarie has a price target of $4.70 on Liberty shares compared to $3.58 currently.

Navigator Global Investments Ltd (ASX: NGI)

Macquarie said this funds manager’s net profit of US$75 million came in at about 8% better than consensus estimates, and the outlook for the current financial year was strong.

The completion of an acquisition during the year “provides for material earnings growth in FY27, with capacity on the balance sheet to fund additional M&A”, Macquarie said.

The broker has a price target of $3.24 on Navigator shares compared to $2.51 currently.

The post 3 ASX shares Macquarie says will return 23% to 49% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.