Author: openjargon

Playside Studios Ltd (ASX: PLY) is about to launch its much-anticipated new game, Mouse: P.I. For Hire, with the analyst team at Shaw and Partners convinced the company’s shares are undervalued in the lead up to the release.

Momentum building

The company released an update about the game today, saying that the number of people who had put the game on their wish list had increased from 1.4 million to 1.5 million across all platforms.

The company added:

Recent marketing initiatives have driven tens of millions of organic views across owned social channels and secured significant global media coverage in the last two weeks, including favourable reviews of a demo build of the game. Wish listing activity for the week ending 7 April increased by 60% week on-week, indicating strong organic momentum heading into launch.

The company is scheduled to release the game digitally on April 16, across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2, priced at US$29.99 or US$39.99 for the digital deluxe edition.

The company said, following the launch, it would provide formal FY26 guidance within 30 days and expected FY26 revenue to exceed FY25, with a reduction in operating costs.

Good early reviews crucial

The Shaw team has analysed the digital gaming market and said that, based on the 213 games released on the Steam platform since 2013 and which have generated more than US$10 million in revenue, positive review scores were critical.

They added:

We have specifically analysed 36 games that have generated between US$20-100m gross revenue on Steam, and had a wish list ranking among the Top 25 unreleased titles on Steam prior to launch. Key takes: 1) Reviews is the key metric. More reviews = more revenue; 2) The first 90 days is key, as about 60% of max reviews are captured in that period.

Shaw said that Gamediscoverco data showed that Mouse: P.I. For Hire currently had 62,278 followers, and was the 16^th most wish listed unreleased title on Steam.

They added:

Assuming follower conversion rates and revenue per 90-day review metrics consistent with our US$20-50m sample, supports a circa US$30m estimate of gross revenue for MOUSE on Steam. Note: this is Steam revenue only and excludes sales on other platforms like Nintendo etc. If MOUSE can achieve follower conversion rates and revenue per 90-day review metrics consistent with our US$50-100m sample, then we see potential for about US$45m of gross revenue on Steam alone. We see a unique opportunity in Playside, where it has invested substantially in its original IP portfolio over the last 18 months (about $35m), and follower/wish list data for MOUSE, the first major title, suggests it will be a material revenue generator and that catalyst is just weeks away.

Shares looking cheap

Shaw and Partners has a buy rating on Playside shares and a price target of 44 cents, compared with the current price of 27 cents.

The ASX tech company was valued at $119.6 million at Wednesday’s close.

The post This ASX tech firm presents a “unique” opportunity, Shaw and Partners says appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 reasons to buy Capstone Copper shares today
• Which of these ASX stocks near 52-week lows is worth buying?
• Up 180% in a year, this ASX gold stock climbs again
• This ASX resources stock is up 74% over the past year. How much higher can it go?
• ASX passive income: How much do I need to invest in to earn $1,000 per week?

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 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.

A broad ASX sell-off on Thursday has not stopped Transurban Group Ltd (ASX: TCL) from pushing higher.

While renewed Middle East tensions and fresh Strait of Hormuz disruption fears have weighed on market sentiment, Transurban shares are edging 0.29% higher to $13.94 in morning trade.

The move follows the toll road operator’s March quarter update, which showed continued traffic growth across its key regions, led by Brisbane, Melbourne, and North America.

Even so, the stock is up only about 3% over the past 12 months, making today’s performance stand out a little more.

With oil market risks again lifting inflation concerns, defensive businesses with visible cash flow and CPI-linked pricing are finding support.

Here’s what was announced.

Traffic growth remains broad across the network

Transurban’s latest quarterly result showed steady momentum across most of its major toll road markets.

Group average daily traffic (ADT) rose 3% over the prior corresponding period, with Brisbane leading the growth profile at 5.2%. The result was helped by a softer comparison base after Tropical Cyclone Alfred disrupted traffic volumes in March last year.

Melbourne also delivered a strong contribution, with ADT up 3.8% as the West Gate Tunnel continued to add traffic following its December 2025 opening.

North America remained another key driver, where traffic increased 7.9% as the 495 Northern Extension and Express Lanes kept ramping up.

The only softer patch was Sydney. Traffic growth there was limited to 0.6% due to ongoing disruption tied to construction works around the Warringah Freeway upgrade. Management noted this should improve through the June quarter as more lanes progressively open.

Looking across the full financial year-to-date, group traffic is now running 3.6% ahead of the prior period. This continued growth highlights the resilience of Transurban’s urban transport network despite the weaker macro backdrop and recent market volatility.

Defensive earnings are back in focus

The modest gain suggests the market is seeing the quarterly update as steady and broadly in line with expectations.

Transurban is still valued for its reliable cash flow, long-life concession assets, and toll pricing that is mostly linked to CPI or fixed annual increases.

That business model is helping the stock hold up today as the wider ASX weakens on the risk of higher oil prices adding to inflation pressure.

That helps explain why Transurban is staying in positive territory while the broader ASX comes under pressure.

With a market capitalisation of roughly $43.4 billion, it remains one of the ASX’s largest listed infrastructure stocks.

The post This ASX 200 giant is rising while the market sells off. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Transurban Group March quarter 2026: Traffic rises across key toll roads
• How I’d invest $100,000 for retirement income on the ASX right now
• The ASX dividend stocks I’d buy for a retirement portfolio
• An ASX dividend stock I’d hold no matter what
• How did these ASX defensive shares hold up in March?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Transurban Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

There are many ASX ETFs available to investors that aim to utilise different strategies. 

Sometimes these focus on generating passive income through dividends. 

Other strategies focus on targeting high growth companies. 

However a new report from VanEck has shed light on the success of value investing over the last 5 years. 

What is value investing?

The core ethos of value investing is the understanding that the market isn’t always accurate with pricing a company’s intrinsic value. 

The key to identifying a value share is that it has an inexpensive valuation compared to the value of its assets or key financial metrics, such as revenue, earnings or cash flow.

It’s the strategy most associated with the common investing phrase ‘buy low, sell high’. The value investor seeks out value stocks trading below their book value. 

VanEck Msci International Value ETF

The team at VanEck harnessed this idea in the VanEck Msci International Value ETF (ASX: VLUE). 

This ASX ETF tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Enhanced Value Top 250 Select Index (VLUE Index). 

VanEck said it believes this is the most representative expression of the value factor available on ASX.

VLUE does not include small caps, which have diluted the returns of some other value exposures, and with only 250 high-conviction holdings, it avoids the watered-down approach of broader value indices that hold hundreds of stocks with varying degrees of value characteristics.

Because it is rules-based, it does not drift from its style, nor is there the key-man risk associated with active funds.

Additionally, VanEck said some ‘value’ companies are cheap for a reason, and these could be ‘value traps’. 

MSCI analysis found that using forward earnings can help protect against ‘value traps’. 

Therefore, MSCI developed its Enhanced Value Indices, which apply three valuation ratio descriptors on a sector-relative basis:

• Price-to-book value
• Price-to-forward earnings
• Enterprise value-to-cash flow from operations. 

Value outperforming

Since this ASX ETF was first listed 5 years ago, it has had a great track record of outperforming other investment strategies in this period.

It is up almost 66% in that span. 

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up approximately 28% in that same period. 

VanEck said this success has come from using a unique strategy compared to a traditional value approach. 

MSCI’s enhanced value overcomes many of the criticisms of value because it puts less weight on price-to-book as a metric and moves away from backward-looking dividend yield altogether. It uses a whole-firm valuation measure in enterprise value that could reduce concentration in leveraged companies.

The post This value ASX ETF has been smashing the ASX 200 over the past 5 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Should investors be targeting growth or value ASX ETFs right now?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell 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.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) shares are in focus today after the company released important information in an ASX release yesterday.

The company is an Australian-based funds manager investing in global equities and global listed infrastructure.

The Funds Management segment provides investment research, administrative services, investment management, and sub-advisory services.

As The Motley Fool’s Laura Stewart reported yesterday, the company reported that total assets under management (AUM) dropped to $37.5 billion as at 31 March 2026, down from $39.9 billion at the end of 2025.

In a release yesterday, the company announced that both retail AUM declined from $15.8 billion to $14.1 billion and institutional AUM slipped to $23.4 billion, down from $24.1 billion. 

It seems investors are disappointed with this news as the stock price has opened 4% lower this morning. 

Despite this drop, the share price remains up 33% over the last year. 

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 22% in that same span. 

Following yesterday’s announcement, the team at Morgans provided updated guidance on Magellan Financial Group shares. 

Buy maintained despite announcement 

Morgans has retained its buy recommendation on Magellan Financial Group shares despite the AUM drop. 

MFG has given an end-to-March 2026 quarterly FUM update. FUM (A$37.5bn) was down 6% for the quarter due to a combination of outflows across most funds and market movements. 

Overall this was a softer quarter at the headline level, albeit some impacts from market volatility are unsurprising.

As a result, it has downgraded its earnings per share forecast by 1%-8% over FY26/FY27. 

Price target reduction for Magellan Financial Group

As a result of this downgrade, Morgans has reduced its price target to $11.99 (from $12.43). 

Whilst MFG’s Investment Management performance remains patchy, we think the Barrenjoey merger fundamentally changes MFG’s overall outlook, strengthening the business and providing additional pathways for growth. MFG also retains a strong balance sheet (~A$650m of liquidity, post deal).

From today’s current stock price of approximately $9.60, this updated price target indicates a potential upside of 25%. 

The post What is this broker’s view on Magellan Financial Group after yesterday’s disappointing results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Magellan Financial Group posts March 2026 AUM drop
• Why Magellan shares are rising again after its $20 million raise was swamped
• Why Challenger, Magellan, Northern Star, and West African Resources shares are storming higher
• Magellan Financial Group shares in focus after $20m share plan hits target
• Buy, hold, sell: Endeavour, Magellan, and Rio Tinto shares

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell 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.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares are trading in the green early on Thursday morning. At the time of writing the shares are up 1% to $22.20.

This morning’s price movement means the supermarket giant’s share price is now up 4% for the year-to-date and 7.6% over the past year.

It hasn’t been a slow and steady increase though. The past 12 months were filled with wild volatility and many sharp share price climbs and crashes. 

Coles shares rocketed 16% in August last year off the back of its FY25 financial results but then a slow and consistent decline saw the shares slump over 14% to early-January this year.

As Coles moved into 2026, the tide began turning, and positive sentiment saw the shares climb nearly 8% to mid-February before crashing again, this time just over 8%, and wiping out any 2026 gains, in early-March. 

This time the catalyst was the company’s FY26 results which revealed broadly strong growth figures, albeit below expectations, followed by its shares going ex-dividend.

As if that wasn’t enough, the seesaw has continued. Coles shares pivoted again, jumping 11% higher in the last two weeks of March before cooling down into April.

Investors can’t catch a break!

So if I invested $5,000 in Coles shares 10 days ago, what are they worth now?

On the 30th of March, Coles shares closed the day at $22.19 a piece. That’s a tiny 0.023% below the current trading price at the time of writing.

It means $5,000 invested in the supermarket giant’s shares 10 days ago is now worth $5,001.15! It’s not a big upside, but its a gain nonetheless.

What can we expect next out of the shares?

It’s been a very rocky past few months for Coles, and it could face some headwinds from renewed concerns about inflation this year. 

But the stock is still very defensive and the business is well-positioned to perform well under pressure. 

Its 2025 growth strategy has also paid off and its customer scores, sales growth, cost discipline and store execution are expected to remain solid. 

According to TradingView data, analysts are mostly very bullish on the outlook for Coles shares this year. Out of 18 analysts, 15 have a buy or strong buy rating and another two rate the shares as a hold. 

The average target price of $23.07, which implies a potential 4% upside at the time of writing. But some think the share price can climb over 12% to $24.90.

The post $5,000 invested in Coles shares 10 days ago is now worth… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Buy, hold, sell: Coles, Endeavour, and Rio Tinto shares
• The reliable ASX dividend shares I’d buy with $10,000
• How did these ASX defensive shares hold up in March?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• This ASX ETF is perfect for an uncertain world

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.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) is slipping today.

West African shares closed yesterday trading for $3.38. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $3.31 apiece, down 2.2%. That gives the gold miner a market cap of approximately $3.8 billion.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.1% at this same time, while the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is down a steeper 3.2% amid concerns that the nascent ceasefire in the Iran war may not hold for long.

That’s seen oil prices rebound and gold prices dip overnight, as a prolonged war will stoke inflation and likely lead to higher interest rates. Gold, and by connection ASX 200 gold stocks like West African Resources, tend to perform better in a low or falling interest rate environment.

Despite today’s dip, West African shares remain up an index smashing 59.1% since this time last year.

Here’s what else ASX investors are mulling over today.

ASX 200 gold stock on track to meet guidance

Before market open today, West African released a preliminary production update for the March quarter (Q1 2026). The update covers both its Sanbrado and Kiaka gold production centres, located in Burkina Faso.

Over the three months to 31 March, the ASX 200 gold stock reported total gold production of 107,728 ounces. The miner sold 104,145 ounces of gold during this period, receiving an average realised price of US$4,945 per ounce.

Breaking that down across its two centres, Sanbrado produced 42,024 ounces of gold, while Kiaka produced 65,704 ounces of gold.

Management said that open-pit mining at Sanbrado continued to ramp up during the quarter. And open-pit mining at Kiaka achieved an 18% increase in mined ounces compared to the December quarter.

West African shares may be outperforming the broader ASX gold sector today, with the miner reaffirming it is on track to achieve its full calendar-year 2026 production guidance of 430,000 to 490,000 ounces of gold.

What did West African Resources management say?

Commenting on the March results that have yet to lift the ASX 200 gold stock today, West African Resources CEO Richard Hyde said:

With quarterly production of 107,728 ounces gold from our two large low-cost gold production centres of Sanbrado and Kiaka in Burkina Faso, WAF is well on-track to achieve 2026 annual production guidance of 430,000 – 490,000 ounces of gold.

I look forward to releasing our full quarterly activities report in the coming weeks.

The post Up 59% in a year, why is this $3.8 billion ASX 200 gold stock sinking today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• After new production guidance, how high could this ASX gold stock go?
• Why Challenger, Magellan, Northern Star, and West African Resources shares are storming higher
• Guess which ASX 200 gold stock is lifting off today on record breaking news
• West African Resources: 2026 production guidance forecasts record gold output
• 2 ASX gold miners to buy for solid share price gains, according to Barrenjoey

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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.

While it is disappointing to see ASX shares fall significantly from their highs, it can create opportunities for investors.

That does not mean every decline is a buying opportunity. Sometimes the market is reacting to real and lasting challenges.

But in other cases, I think sentiment can overshoot.

Here are three ASX shares that have been under pressure but could have the potential to rebound strongly over time.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Temple & Webster has seen its share price fall heavily over the past year, which reflects both a slowdown in consumer spending and changing expectations around growth.

The business operates in online furniture and homewares, which is naturally tied to housing activity and discretionary spending.

That creates some short-term uncertainty. But I think it is worth looking at the bigger picture.

The shift toward online retail is still playing out, and Temple & Webster remains one of the leading pure-play operators in that space in Australia.

If consumer conditions stabilise and housing-related activity improves, I think there is scope for the business to regain momentum.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport is another name that has been through a significant reset.

Its share price has been volatile, reflecting both its growth profile and the challenges of scaling a global network business.

What I find interesting is the underlying role it plays. Megaport connects businesses to cloud infrastructure and data centres, which are becoming increasingly important as digital demand grows.

The company has also been expanding its offering, including moving into adjacent areas like compute and GPU services. That broadens its opportunity set.

If execution improves and growth continues, I think there is potential for sentiment to shift.

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

Lovisa’s share price has also pulled back, despite the business continuing to expand globally.

This is a fast-fashion jewellery retailer with a strong track record of store rollout and international growth.

What stands out to me is the scalability. The company continues to open new stores across multiple regions, and its model has proven to be repeatable in different markets.

Short-term pressures, such as cost inflation or softer consumer spending, can weigh on performance.

But over a longer period, I think the growth opportunity remains significant.

Foolish Takeaway

Beaten-down ASX shares can be risky, but they can also offer meaningful upside if the underlying business remains intact.

Temple & Webster, Megaport, and Lovisa have seen sentiment weaken while still operating in areas with long-term potential.

For me, that is often where the possibility of a strong rebound begins.

The post 3 beaten-down ASX shares that I think could rebound strongly appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 3 ASX shares tipped to grow 100% or more in the next 12 months
• Why Bell Potter just downgraded its valuation of this popular ASX 200 share
• 2 ASX 200 tech shares this fund manager backs to survive the AI threat
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino has positions in Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Lovisa, Megaport, and Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa and Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd (ASX: SX2) has extended the gold strike at its Sunday Creek gold and antimony project in Victoria to 460m below its last best exploration results.

Encouraging gold results

The company said in a statement to the ASX on Thursday that new exploration drilling had intersected mineralisation at a depth of about 1236m, with gold mineralisation present including an intersection of 0.9m at 5.4 grams per tonne gold equivalent.

The company added:

The hole extended approximately 460 m below the defined exploration target at Golden Dyke, materially expanding the potential depth extent of the deposit and confirming scale comparable to mineralization depths discovered at the Rising Sun prospect.

Southern Cross chief executive officer Michael Hudson said the results were significant.

He added:

This is a milestone hole for Sunday Creek. SDDSC194W1 was designed to answer a simple but critical question: does the system persist at depth well beyond our current exploration target? The answer is yes. In a bold step-out to untested depths, at 1,236 m below surface and 460 vertical metres below the last known mineralisation at Golden Dyke, we intersected 66 m of dyke and altered sediment with gold present. This is the deepest hole on the property to date. The thesis was to test whether the host sequence continued at depth – that thesis has been emphatically proven, and that we hit gold across a 28 m true thickness zone was an absolute bonus.

Mr Hudson said the geochemistry of the mineralisation was also encouraging.

The arsenic-to-antimony ratios we’re seeing at depth are exactly what the epizonal model predicts, the fluid chemistry signature is right, and it tells us we are still within the productive part of the plumbing system. We are well below the antimony zone and into the sulphosalt area within the brittle-ductile transition – exactly where we expect to find robust, deep gold systems in the Victorian orogenic gold province. That’s a powerful vectoring tool as we plan the next series of holes into this area.

More potential even deeper

Mr Hudson said adjacent deposits in Victoria were being tested at depths of more than 2km, and he was confident Sunday Creek could continue to more than 2km below the surface.

He added:

In this style of mineralisation, the veins form the rungs of a ladder, and drilling sub-parallel to those rungs can easily miss them entirely. The fact that we intersected a 28 m true thickness altered and veined zone with anomalous gold throughout confirms that the host sequence is thick, repeatable, and fertile at these depths. An exciting result.

Southern Cross Gold shares were 0.8% lower in nearly trade at $9.69. The company was valued at $2.53 billion at the close of trade on Wednesday.

The post This ASX gold company has reported ‘exciting’ new exploration results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This ASX gold and antimony developer has announced good drilling results at its Victorian project

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 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.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) shares are jumping on Thursday.

At the time of writing, the ASX bank stock is up 7.5% to $11.24.

Why is this ASX bank stock jumping?

Investors have been buying the regional bank’s shares today after it announced strategic partnerships and released a third-quarter trading update.

According to the release, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has revealed the second phase of the Productivity Program to accelerate its progress towards its 2030 strategy.

It notes that it is evolving its operating model to be simpler and more efficient, accessing leading global capabilities to drive innovation for customers, and support operational excellence.

Following the Google partnership announced in November, it has now entered into two new strategic partnerships with leading providers of technology services and business operations.

The first is a seven-year technology service partnership with Infosys (NYSE: INFY), which will significantly improve its IT service delivery capability and provide access to enhanced capabilities, software engineering, and AI talent to deliver greater capacity to innovate.

The second is a six-year business operations partnership with Genpact (NYSE: G), which will bring deep expertise in process optimisation and delivery to drive greater productivity and support stronger risk management across the bank.

These changes are expected to result in an annual run rate expense benefit of approximately $65 million to $75 million, which will be realised by FY 2028. However, it also expects to incur upfront transition costs of approximately $85 million to $95 million. The majority of this will be incurred in FY 2027.

The ASX bank stock’s CEO and managing director, Richard Fennell, commented:

Decisions that impact our people are never easy. We acknowledge this will be a challenging time for our people and we are committed to lead these changes with care and respect. The operational efficiencies delivered through this change will support our previous stated guidance of business as usual expenses to be no higher than inflation through the cycle.

Trading update

The ASX bank stock also released a trading update this morning.

The bank revealed that it achieved unaudited cash earnings of $137.9 million during the third quarter. This is up 7.6% on the quarterly average during the first half.

Unaudited statutory net profit after tax was $109.4 million in the quarter.

This reflects a 6 basis points increase in its net interest margin to 1.98%, lending growth of 5.6%, and a 4.1% reduction in operating expenses to $305.1 million.

The post ASX bank stock jumps 7% on strategic partnerships and trading update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank lifts profit and launches strategic partnerships
• ASX bank stocks: Buy, sell, or hold?

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 Alphabet. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) shares are on the slide on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 share is down 16% to $1.63.

Why is this ASX 200 share sinking today?

Investors have been selling the packaging company’s shares following the release of a trading update, which included a downgrade to earnings expectations for its Saverglass business.

According to the release, Orora now expects FY 2026 underlying EBIT for Saverglass to be in the range of 63 million euros to 68 million euros. This is down from previous guidance of broadly in line with FY 2025 EBIT of 79.2 million euros.

On a reported basis, EBIT is expected to fall further to between 52 million euros and 59 million euros.

Middle East conflict weighing on earnings

Management highlighted that the downgrade reflects both direct and indirect impacts from the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Directly, the company expects a 9 million euro to 11 million euro hit to second half earnings due to disruptions at its Ras al Khaimah (RAK) facility in the United Arab Emirates.

Shipping routes and overland access have been disrupted, forcing Orora to transition the facility into a closed-loop hot operation. This means the furnace is kept running, but no bottles are produced.

The RAK facility accounts for approximately 15% of Saverglass production capacity, with output now expected to shift to Mexico over time.

Softer demand and mix shift

In addition to the direct impact, Orora flagged weaker-than-expected trading conditions.

The company said volumes are now expected to be lower than previously forecast, with a shift in product mix also weighing on margins.

Specifically, there has been a greater-than-anticipated shift toward wine and champagne relative to premium spirits, alongside softer customer demand following the onset of the conflict.

This combination is expected to reduce earnings by a further 11 million euros to 16 million euros in the second half.

Other impacts

The ASX 200 share also noted that inventory levels have increased due to slower customer offtake and rising competitive pressures.

In response to the uncertainty, the company has decided to pause its on-market share buyback program while it monitors the situation.

Nevertheless, despite these challenges, management emphasised that the company’s balance sheet remains strong, with leverage expected to stay below 1.5 times by June 2026.

The post Why is this ASX 200 share sinking 16% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Orora updates FY26 outlook as Saverglass earnings take a hit

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 Orora. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.