The Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF) share price comes into focus today as the company releases an investor update highlighting $127.7 million of recent acquisitions and an average 2.4% increase in base insurance premiums across its broker networks.

What did Steadfast Group report?

• Completed $127.7 million in acquisitions year-to-date for FY26 up to 30 November 2025
• Average year-to-date base insurance premium increase of 2.4% across the network
• Head office and subsidiary cost-saving measures expected to deliver $3.6 million in annualised savings (pro rata for 2H26)
• Australasian broker network grew from 402 to 421 brokers, with a ~25% increase in broker licence fee revenue for FY26
• Strong uplift in revenue mix, with a strategic shift from commission to fee revenue
• Ongoing investment in technology and underwriting agency modernisation

What else do investors need to know?

Steadfast continues to manage its expense base carefully, reporting reductions in non-critical marketing, events, and head office roles, while leveraging group scale to manage vendor spend more efficiently. The board has approved an increase in the group’s maximum gearing ratio to 40% (excluding premium funding borrowings) to support further growth and acquisitions.

The company’s acquisition strategy remains active, with $128 million of Australasian acquisitions completed so far in FY26, and a further $202 million in the “trapped capital pipeline” expected to complete by year-end, including opportunities such as Rothbury in New Zealand. Steadfast also highlighted successful consolidation and integration initiatives within its broker and underwriting networks.

What’s next for Steadfast Group?

Looking ahead, Steadfast will maintain its dual focus on organic and inorganic growth, particularly across the Australasian and international insurance networks. The group sees further opportunity in agency hubbing and technology investment to drive efficiency and client outcomes.

Steadfast is also working cooperatively with the ACCC as Australia’s new merger control regime begins on 1 January 2026, aiming to keep acquisition processes smooth and regulatory-compliant. The company’s expanding global footprint, especially following recent European and US acquisitions, should provide further scale benefits in the coming year.

Steadfast Group share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Steadfast shares have declined 14%, underperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 3% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Steadfast Group share price: $127.7m in acquisitions, premium growth in FY26 investor update 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 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.

There are lots of ASX stocks to choose from on the Australian share market.

But which are buys, holds, and sells? Let’s take a look at three popular options and see if analysts are bullish, bearish, or something in between. They are as follows:

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

This auto parts retailer’s shares have come under significant pressure this month after downgrading its guidance for a second time.

While Morgans feels that this share price weakness could make the company a takeover target again, it isn’t enough for the broker to recommend Bapcor as a buy. Instead, it has put a hold rating and $1.95 price target on its shares.

Commenting on its recommendation, Morgans said:

Management reiterated confidence in a materially improved 2H (implied ~A$40m NPAT at the midpoint); however, the magnitude and timing of today’s downgrade – coming shortly after the 20-Oct update – warrants some caution around 2H expectations. The balance sheet also appears to be a point of concern, with BAP in discussions with lenders for covenant relief in FY26, with our estimates for gearing potentially approaching/exceeding the current covenant of ~3.0x (MorgansF ~3.05x).

Given significant share price weakness, renewed corporate appeal may arise. However, absent a takeover, we view the investment case as challenged given the sharp deterioration in earnings visibility, ongoing staff turnover, margin pressure, market share losses, balance sheet risk, and anaemic sales growth.

Guzman Y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG)

Morgans is more positive on this quick service restaurant operator and has named it as a buy with a $32.30 price target.

The broker feels that the burrito seller’s latest limited-time offer could be a boost to sales growth and supportive of its margins. It said:

GYG has launched its latest limited-time offer (LTO): the BBQ Chicken Double Crunch (BBQ CDC). Early feedback suggests the item is one of GYG’s more indulgent menu items and taste tests have been overwhelmingly positive. The product leverages existing ingredients, meaning no incremental complexity or cost for stores, a margin-friendly innovation that aligns with GYG’s operational discipline. Management has repeatedly emphasised that menu innovation is a key lever for same-store sales (SSS) growth, and this launch reinforces that commitment. We reiterate our BUY rating.

Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Over at Ord Minnett, its analysts were pleased with recent updates from this data centre operator.

In response, the broker has retained its buy rating on NextDC’s shares with an improved price target of $20.50.

Commenting on its deal with ChatGPT owner, OpenAI, it said:

Ord Minnett also sees upside from the agreement between NextDC (NXT) and Open AI, whose ChatGPT product is the most popular of the artificial intelligence apps, to collaborate on the development and operation of the Australian company’s S7 data centre site at Eastern Creek in Sydney’s west where it plans to build a hyperscale AI campus and a large ‘supercluster’ of GPUs (graphics processing units). ‍

We have raised our target price on NextDC to $20.50 from $19.00 to incorporate our assumed value of the agreement with Open AI, although we have not yet changed our earnings estimates due to the lack of detail and operational timelines. We reiterate our Buy recommendation.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Bapcor, Guzman Y Gomez, and NextDC appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The ASX stocks I think could define the next decade of growth

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Nextdc. 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.

APA Group (ASX: APA) shares are in the green on Thursday morning. At the time of writing, the shares are 0.22% higher at $9.12 each. That’s a 3.18% drop over the month but an impressive 29.91% hike over the year to date.

What about passive income from APA shares?

When it comes to high-yield dividends in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), the energy infrastructure group is a quiet achiever.

APA’s business is dependable. The company operates gas pipelines and energy infrastructure across Australia, with the majority of its revenue generated from long-term contracts. That means its cash flow, and therefore its dividends, are fairly predictable too.

In fact, APA has one of the longest dividend growth streaks on the ASX, having hiked its payout every year for the last 20 years. Its yield is usually much higher than the wider market, too, which makes it an appealing option for investors seeking an ongoing passive income.

In FY25, the company increased its annual dividend distribution by 1.8% to 57 cents per security. Dividend growth is never guaranteed to continue, but it looks like increases are likely for FY26 and beyond.  

APA said it plans to increase its payout to 58 cents per security in FY26, translating into a forward distribution yield of 6.2%.

It looks like the infrastructure group could easily increase its payout to at least 59 cents in FY27 and 60 cents in FY28.

What do the experts think of the stock?

Overall, analyst consensus is for a neutral stance on the stock. Data shows that 7 out of 10 analysts have a hold rating on APA shares. Another 2 have a buy or strong buy rating, and 1 has a sell rating.

At the time of writing, the average target price is $8.88; however, some expect the share price to climb up to $9.65.

Analysts at Macquarie are much more bullish than the majority. The broker recently raised its target price on APA shares following the company’s joint-venture announcement earlier this month. 

APA signed an agreement with CS Energy on the 2nd December to develop a new gas-powered plant in Queensland. APA said the investment in the plant is expected to “deliver returns consistent with its required return hurdles, will be funded from existing balance sheet capacity and forms part of APA’s $2.1 billion organic growth pipeline”. 

The broker has an outperform rating and $9.23 target price on APA Group shares. 

The post Are APA shares a good buy for passive income? 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 positions in and has recommended Apa Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Fenix Resources Ltd (ASX: FEX) shares are shooting higher on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the ASX mining stock is up 14% to 49.5 cents.

Why is this ASX mining stock rocketing?

Investors have been bidding the iron ore producer’s shares higher after it unveiled an ambitious, three-year production strategy.

According to the release, Fenix has outlined a major ramp-up in output across FY 2026, FY 2027, and FY 2028.

The ASX mining stock confirmed a transition from its current mines, Iron Ridge and Shine, toward the larger-scale Weld Range Project, which is set to become the company’s long-term production hub.

The plan reveals that Fenix is targeting:

• 2 to 4.8 million tonnes of iron ore production in FY26 (upgraded from prior guidance).
• 4.7 to 5.3 million tonnes in FY 2027.
• 4 to 6 million tonnes in FY 2028, driven largely by ramp-up at the Beebyn Hub.

In total, around 15 million tonnes of ore is scheduled to be mined over the period, with 100% coming from ore reserves or measured and indicated mineral resources.

This represents a significant scale-up from the 2.4 million tonnes produced in FY 2025.

Fenix has also reiterated its FY 2026 cost guidance of A$70 to A$80 per tonne, with sustaining capital for the three-year period estimated at $35 million to $45 million. The latter is fully funded through cash flow and existing facilities.

‘Exciting plan to create exceptional value’

The ASX mining stock’s executive chair, John Welborn, was very pleased with the plan. He said:

Fenix has a clear and exciting plan to create exceptional value for our shareholders by delivering on our growth objectives. Having secured the 290 million tonne Weld Range Project, we are now centralising our mining activities and ramping up our production while we work on a feasibility study to transform the business. The 3-Year Plan confirms our near-term growth ambitions and will provide a strong revenue base for Fenix to become a larger, more profitable and sustainable iron ore producer.

This growth plan is organic and, consistent with our successful track record of incremental growth, capable of being fully funded from our operational cash flow and existing finance facilities. The outlook is underpinned by realistic production forecasts and cost assumptions and focuses on maximising the utilisation of our existing infrastructure assets in Western Australia’s Mid-West.

With a clear pathway to becoming a 6Mtpa producer, today’s surge suggests investors believe Fenix may be entering a new growth phase.

The post Guess which ASX mining stock is rocketing 14% on production plans appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Steadfast Group share price: $127.7m in acquisitions, premium growth in FY26 investor update
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• Flight Centre share price soaring 9% on big acquisition news
• Predictive Discovery updates market on amended Robex merger

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.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is lifting off today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel stock closed yesterday trading for $13.97. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are swapping hands for $15.19 each, up 8.7%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.7% at this same time.

Today’s strong outperformance follows news of a strategic acquisition and an upgrade to Flight Centre’s FY 2026 profit guidance.

Here’s what’s happening.

Flight Centre share price lifts on acquisition news

This morning, Flight Centre reported it had agreed to acquire the United Kingdom-based online cruise agency Iglu.

Flight Centre will pay 100 million pounds (AU$201 million) upfront for Iglu, and up to 27 million pounds in performance-based earnouts.

The company said the acquisition will accelerate its growth ambitions into the “highly attractive cruise sector”, noting it will deliver scale, advanced technology, and broader access to the UK, which is the world’s third-largest cruise market.

The Flight Centre share price could get long-term support from the acquisition, with the company indicating that sales at both Flight Centre and Iglu have increased 15% to 20% year on year, “driven by a resilient customer base and a supply chain that is investing heavily in new ships and partnerships”.

The company also highlighted Iglu’s strong margin profile with a 3.1% FY 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin. That compares favourably to the 2.2% EBITDA margin across Flight Centre’s leisure division.

With the Iglu acquisition, Flight Centre’s cruise-related total transaction value (TTV) will almost double to more than $2 billion (annualised) during FY 2026. That’s two years ahead of the company’s previous plan.

Commenting on the Iglu acquisition that looks to be helping boost the Flight Centre share price today, managing director Graham Turner said:

This acquisition delivers immediate shareholder value through EPS accretion and is a game-changer in terms of the future opportunities it unlocks in the global cruise market. Iglu brings a strong brand and a scalable technology platform that aligns with FLT’s strategic objectives.

Iglu CEO David Gooch, who will continue to lead the business post-acquisition, added, “By leveraging Iglu’s world-leading ecommerce platform alongside Flight Centre’s global experience, we are perfectly positioned to capture market share.”

The acquisition remains subject to a number of procedural steps, but management expects it to be completed today.

What else is boosting the ASX 200 travel share?

The Flight Centre share price is also getting a lift today following upgraded full-year profit guidance.

Management now expects FY 2026 underlying profit before tax (UPBT) to be in the range of $315 million to $350 million. That’s up from prior guidance of $305 million to $340 million.

The mid-point of the new profit range would mark 15% growth on FY 2025’s $289.1 million UPBT result.

The post Flight Centre share price soaring 9% on big acquisition news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX: PDI) share price is in focus today after announcing an amended arrangement agreement with Robex, giving Predictive Discovery shareholders 53.5% and Robex shareholders 46.5% of the merged company. The revised deal is now preferred over the previous Perseus proposal, with clear backing from major Predictive Discovery shareholders.

What did Predictive Discovery report?

• Predictive Discovery will acquire all Robex shares, offering 7.862 PDI shares for each Robex share
• Predictive Discovery and Robex shareholders will own about 53.5% and 46.5% respectively of the combined entity
• Robex shareholders, directors and officers holding around 23.8% of Robex shares have signed amended support agreements
• The Robex shareholder meeting to approve the deal has been moved to 30 December 2025
• The previously announced Perseus acquisition proposal is no longer considered superior

What else do investors need to know?

The amended deal strengthens the medium to long-term value for Predictive Discovery shareholders, as it combines two of West Africa’s most advanced, large-scale gold projects. Both companies bring extensive development experience, with Robex’s team set to support the Bankan Project’s ramp-up.

Key benefits from the deal include the potential for production exceeding 400,000 ounces of gold per year by 2029, a combined mineral resource of around 9.5 million ounces, and increased financial flexibility to fund growth. The merged entity may also gain higher visibility in investment indices like the ASX 200 and VanEck Junior Gold Miners.

What did Predictive Discovery management say?

Andrew Pardey, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Predictive Discovery, said:

We are pleased to announce the Amended Robex Arrangement Agreement, which reflects our shared commitment to combine two of the largest, lowest cost and most advanced gold projects in West Africa. After announcing the Perseus acquisition proposal, we received clear written feedback from several of our largest shareholders indicating their support for the Robex merger over the Perseus acquisition proposal in its current form. In light of this feedback and considering the improved terms under the Amended Robex Arrangement Agreement, together with the greater medium to long-term value of the combined company for PDI shareholders and higher transaction execution certainty, the Board has concluded the amended transaction with Robex is in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders. We are excited to move forward with this transaction and look forward to working with Robex to build one of West Africa’s leading gold producers.

What’s next for Predictive Discovery?

Looking ahead, Predictive Discovery and Robex will work together to finalise the merger, with the Robex shareholder vote scheduled for 30 December 2025. Management see a clear path to creating one of the region’s leading gold producers, driven by shared expertise and greater combined financial resources.

Following completion, the new group aims to ramp up production, develop the Bankan Project using ongoing cash flow from Robex’s Kiniero Project, and unlock further upside from exploration and operational synergies across West Africa.

Predictive Discovery share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Predictive Discovery shares have risen 194%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 3% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Predictive Discovery updates market on amended Robex merger appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Steadfast Group share price: $127.7m in acquisitions, premium growth in FY26 investor update
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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.

Shares in Marmota Ltd (ASX: MEU) are up nearly 50% after the company announced “spectacular” gold grades at its Greenewood project.

The company on Thursday reported the first assays from exploration at the Greenewood project in South Australia.

The company reported results including 33m at 10 grams per tonne of gold from a depth of 22m, and 94 grams per tonne of gold at a depth of 66m.

Exceptional drilling results

The company said in a statement to the ASX that the results were some of the best ever returned from exploration programs in South Australia.

As the company said in the statement to the ASX:

The drilling has clearly delineated a nearly-continuous high-grade mineralised system over 900m in strike. The mineralisation remains open along strike. The results feature multiple bonanza gold grades, close to surface, with excellent continuity along strike, and including exceptional thick high-grade intersections. The results are some of the best seen in the Gawler Craton since the discovery of the Challenger deposit in 1995.

The company said the detailed assay results took longer to receive from the laboratory than expected.

This is because the gold assays include results that are so high that they exceeded the upper limits of the laboratory standard fire-assay testing framework, and had to be re-assayed using alternative methodologies specially designed to robustly assay extremely high-grade gold samples.

The Greenewood project is about 35km northwest of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit and 30km northeast of the Challenger gold mine.

The company said the proximity to Aurora Tank “creates obvious economies of scope and scale that are patently attractive”.

On that project, the company said:

Marmota’s Aurora Tank gold discovery features outstanding gold intersections including multiple bonanza gold grades close to surface, superb recoveries in metallurgical test work, with excellent potential for low-cost, low capex open pit heap leach gold production.  

More exploration underway

The company said stage two drilling was already underway, and was progressing well and ahead of schedule.

The goal, the company said, was to try to delineate the size of the potential deposit.

As a result of the maiden program, Greenewood has grown to an approximately 900m-long zone of near continuous mineralisation that was only subjected to a brief period of exploration by the previous owners. This was interrupted for non-geological reasons in 2018 — leaving an abundance of possibilities for increasing the dimensions of the mineralisation.

Marmota shares traded as high as 11.5 cents on Thursday morning before settling back to be 40.9% higher at 10 cents.

The company was valued at $83.3 million at the close of trade on Wednesday.

The post Bonanza gold grades have sent this junior explorer’s shares soaring appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Steadfast Group share price: $127.7m in acquisitions, premium growth in FY26 investor update
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• Guess which ASX mining stock is rocketing 14% on production plans
• Flight Centre share price soaring 9% on big acquisition news

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.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) shares are lagging the broader market on Thursday.

While the ASX 200 index is up 0.7%, the insurance giant’s shares are trading slightly lower at $7.82, weighed down by competition concerns raised by regulators.

So, what’s going on today? Let’s find out.

ACCC blocks IAG’s proposed RAC Insurance acquisition

The big news dragging on investor sentiment is that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will oppose IAG’s proposed acquisition of RAC Insurance (RACI) from the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia.

In a detailed ruling, the competition watchdog concluded that the deal would likely substantially lessen competition in Western Australia’s insurance market.

RACI is the market leader in both motor and home insurance in the state, while IAG, through brands such as NRMA, is already one of the state’s strongest competitors.

According to the ACCC, combining the two would give IAG:

• 55% to 65% market share in motor insurance, and
• 50% to 60% market share in home and contents insurance.

These are numbers the regulator says would allow IAG to raise premiums and reduce service quality due to less competitive pressure. The ACCC’s chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said:

We concluded that the proposed acquisition would eliminate the significant competition between IAG and RACI, and reduce the competitive pressure they each place on rival insurance brands. We concluded that the acquisition would be likely to allow IAG, after acquiring RACI, to increase premiums and reduce the quality of its suite of insurance products, with likely flow on effects to the offerings of other insurers.

The ACCC also rejected the argument that RACI might struggle to compete in the future, adding:

Our investigation found that RACI remains a strong and profitable competitor and is adequately positioned to manage these challenges. We have concluded that if IAG doesn’t acquire RACI, RACI would have the capability to continue to compete effectively in Western Australia in the future.

IAG responds

IAG has acknowledged the ACCC’s decision but isn’t walking away from the proposal.

The ASX 200 stock revealed that it will lodge an application under the new mandatory merger control regime, which begins on 1 January 2026.

IAG’s CEO, Nick Hawkins, maintains that the alliance would ultimately benefit RAC members and the broader WA community. He said:

IAG and RAC have proven track records of successful partnerships and are committed to delivering competitive and accessible insurance products for all Western Australians. As part of the alliance we have committed to staying local, investing in enhancements to the RAC member experience and continuing to deliver high quality and competitive insurance products and services.

This would be made possible by our position as a national insurer, investment in technology capabilities and strong capital management. Together, we would also continue to invest in initiatives that support local communities and provide benefits to RAC, its members and Western Australia.

The post IAG shares fall on ACCC blow appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) share price is on fire today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) department store owner closed yesterday trading for 41 cents. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for 45 cents apiece, up 9.8%.

For some context, the ASX 300 is up 0.6% at this same time.

Here’s what’s spurring investor interest today.

Myer share price surges on strong trading update

The ASX 300 department store is grabbing plenty of interest today amid the company’s annual general meeting (AGM).

Perhaps the biggest tailwind helping to lift the Myer share price today is the company’s trading update, covering the first 19 weeks of FY 2026.

Addressing the meeting, Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth noted, “We’ve had a very encouraging start to FY 2026.”

How encouraging?

Well, over the first 19 weeks of the new financial year, sales were up 3% from the same period last year. Wirth credited strong sales growth in Myer Retail, up 3.4%, for driving the improved performance.

And the department store’s Homewares, Womenswear, and Concessions all achieved double-digit sales growth.

“We are particularly pleased with the performance of our Myer Exclusive Brands in the Homeware and Womenswear categories supporting the delivery of the increased sales,” Wirth said.

Amid improving performance for Just Jeans, with mid-single-digit sales growth year to date, Myer Apparel Brands sales were up 1.3% year on year for the period. Myer completed its acquisition of Apparel Brands earlier this year.

The Myer share price is also likely getting a lift from the record Black Friday sales, Wirth reported.

“Pleasingly, we also had a strong lead up to Black Friday for Myer Retail, achieving our biggest Black Friday sales performance on record, driven by our Homeware and Womenswear categories,” she said.

And she pointed to the “very important sales period” ahead, with seven weeks of elevated sales expected in the lead-up to the company’s Christmas and Boxing Day sales.

Wirth also highlighted that in FY 2026, Myer is continuing to target its Cost of Doing Business (CODB) as a percentage of sales target of around 29%. She said the company is on track to meet this target for the full year.

How had the ASX 300 stock been tracking longer term?

Despite today’s welcome lift, the Myer share price remains down 63.4% in 2025.

Shares have yet to recover from the 25% plunge suffered on 23 September following the release of the company’s decidedly underwhelming FY 2025 results.

Among the disappointments of the past financial year, with underlying net profit down 30% from FY 2024, the board opted not to declare a final dividend.

The post Why is the Myer share price rocketing 10% on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• IAG shares fall on ACCC blow
• Is Gemini Enterprise a game changer for Alphabet?
• Gina Rinehart backed ASX rare earths stock jumps 17% on big news
• ACCC blocks Insurance Australia Group’s RAC Insurance acquisition: What investors need to know
• Is WiseTech shaping up as a bargain after its steep decline?

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

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) is betting heavily that the next era of computing will be shaped inside the enterprise. While most of the attention around the company’s AI strategy has focused on consumer-facing products such as Search or Android, the far more consequential battleground may be the enterprise software and cloud ecosystem. This is where Gemini Enterprise, Alphabet’s new AI productivity and workflow platform, steps in. 

The question for long-term investors is straightforward: Can Gemini Enterprise transform Google Cloud from a strong but distant third player into a genuine market leader, and in the process, create a second major profit engine for Alphabet? The answer is promising, but not guaranteed. 

A new foundation for enterprise workflows

At its core, Gemini Enterprise represents Alphabet’s most ambitious attempt yet to embed artificial intelligence (AI) into the daily workflows of millions of employees. It is not just a collection of features added to Workspace or Cloud. Instead, Gemini Enterprise acts as a unifying AI layer that spans communication, content creation, data analysis, automation, and development tools.

That matters, because Google has long struggled to articulate a clear value proposition for enterprises beyond analytics and developer-focused infrastructure. AWS dominated general cloud workloads, while Microsoft solidified its position as the backbone of enterprise productivity. Gemini Enterprise gives Google a differentiated angle for the first time in years: an AI-first productivity environment that feels unified, deeply integrated, and designed around natural language interactions.

Suppose knowledge workers can draft documents, summarize long email threads, analyze spreadsheets, create presentations, extract insights from company data, or build prototypes with conversational prompts. In that case, Gemini Enterprise becomes far more than a feature. It becomes the reason companies reconsider how their employees work, and which platform they standardize on.

Workspace becomes “stickier”

Gemini Enterprise also strengthens Google’s position inside organizations already using Workspace. Historically, Workspace gained traction among start-ups, creative teams, and education customers, but large enterprises remained loyal to Microsoft’s long-standing software footprint.

AI introduces a reset moment. If Gemini Enterprise meaningfully improves productivity within Workplace — through summarization, problem-solving, or workflow automation — then Google gains leverage to expand its share among larger organizations.

What’s important here is not simply the presence of AI features, but how deeply those features integrate with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Calendar. The more tightly Gemini is woven into the daily fabric of work, the higher the switching costs become for enterprises. Each incremental improvement reinforces a long-term moat around Workspace and, by extension, Google Cloud.

In this sense, Gemini Enterprise provides Alphabet with an opportunity to transition Workspace from a “good alternative” to a “strategic necessity.”

AI agents could redefine enterprise productivity

The most transformative aspect of Gemini Enterprise may lie in the future, not the present. Alphabet has made clear that its long-term vision involves AI agents — autonomous systems capable of completing full workflows, not just producing drafts or answering questions.

Imagine a system that can pull financial data, generate insights, write a summary, draft a slide deck, send a follow-up email, schedule a meeting, and file documentation, all without human intervention. That is not science fiction; it is the direction enterprise AI is heading.

If Google builds reliable, secure agents that operate on a company’s private data while staying tightly integrated with Workspace, the commercial opportunity becomes enormous. Agents shift AI from a tool into labor augmentation, something companies will pay serious subscription premiums for. Gemini Enterprise is positioning itself as the infrastructure needed to deliver these agents at scale.

This is where the game-changing potential becomes most compelling.

Competition remains the critical variable

Despite its promise, Gemini Enterprise is launching into an exceptionally competitive landscape. Microsoft is pushing Copilot across its entire software suite and has unmatched enterprise distribution. OpenAI continues to shape the narrative around cutting-edge models. Meanwhile, AWS remains the default choice for enterprise infrastructure.

To win, Google must deliver reliability, cost efficiency, secure data handling, and pragmatic usefulness, not just impressive demos. Many enterprises are cautious adopters, and breaking long-entrenched habits requires undeniable value. Gemini Enterprise’s success hinges on whether companies see it as a must-have platform rather than a nice-to-have feature set.

What does it mean for investors?

So, is Gemini Enterprise a game changer? It can be.

Alphabet finally has a credible differentiator in enterprise AI, something it has not enjoyed at scale in the past. Gemini Enterprise strengthens Workspace, enhances Google Cloud’s value proposition, and lays the groundwork for high-margin AI agents that could meaningfully reshape how businesses operate.

But the opportunity is matched by execution risk. The enterprise AI race is crowded, expectations are high, and companies will judge Alphabet on reliability and integration, not model names or benchmark scores.

Investors should view Gemini Enterprise as a potential catalyst with significant upside, but not a guaranteed breakthrough. All eyes are on the company’s execution in the near future.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Is Gemini Enterprise a game changer for Alphabet? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Lawrence Nga 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 and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.