If you own Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares, you’re hardly alone. For many Australian investors, it’s been a cornerstone holding for years, sometimes decades.

The question in 2026 isn’t whether CBA is a great business. That part is largely settled. The real question is what to do next.

Do you hold, buy more, or finally take some money off the table?

Here’s how I’m thinking about it.

Why CBA still deserves respect

Commonwealth Bank of Australia remains the highest-quality bank in the country, in my view. Its scale, brand strength, and technology investment continue to set it apart from peers.

CBA consistently delivers superior returns on equity, benefits from a dominant position in Australian retail banking, and has been ahead of the curve when it comes to digital engagement. Its app is widely regarded as best-in-class, and that matters more than ever as banking becomes increasingly data-driven.

From an income perspective, CBA is also doing what long-term shareholders want. Dividends have been reliable, well-covered, and supported by strong capital levels. For investors who value stability and income, that still counts for a lot in 2026.

The valuation question is hard to ignore

This is where things get more nuanced.

CBA shares now trade on a meaningfully higher valuation than the other major banks. The market is effectively pricing it as a premium franchise with fewer risks, more stable earnings, and better long-term prospects. To an extent, that’s fair.

But the higher the valuation goes, the less room there is for disappointment.

Earnings growth for Australian banks is likely to be modest in 2026. Credit growth is steady rather than spectacular, competition for deposits remains intense, and regulatory capital settings limit how aggressive banks can be. That doesn’t mean CBA will struggle. It just means upside from here may be harder to come by.

At current levels, I don’t think CBA looks cheap. It looks high quality and fully valued.

So what would I do in 2026?

If I already owned CBA shares, I would be very comfortable holding them.

This is not a business I’d rush to sell just because the valuation looks full. The combination of market leadership, dividend income, and defensive characteristics still makes it a strong long-term holding, particularly for conservative investors or those relying on income.

That said, if CBA had grown to an outsized position in my portfolio, I might at least consider trimming. Not because I think the business is deteriorating, but because risk management matters. Locking in some gains and reallocating to areas with better growth or valuation support can make sense.

Would I be buying aggressively at these levels? Probably not. I’d rather direct new money toward ASX shares trading on more modest multiples.

Foolish takeaway

CBA shares don’t need to do anything special in 2026 to remain a good investment. The bank just needs to keep doing what it has always done well.

For me, that makes it a hold rather than a buy. A high-quality, low-stress core holding that continues to pay reliable income, even if the next leg of share price growth is slower than the last.

The post What should you do with your CBA shares in 2026? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino has positions in Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. 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 ASX travel share has been flying high in the past 6 months. Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares have taken off 32% to $16.45, at the time of writing. 

After years of stop-start recovery and muted investor confidence, the ASX travel share has suddenly emerged as one of the stronger performers on the ASX.

It’s signalling that the travel giant’s turnaround story may finally be gaining traction.

Stronger profitability outlook

The rebound of the ASX travel share reflects more than just improving sentiment. Investors have responded to a clearer earnings recovery path, firmer guidance, and signs that global travel demand is proving more resilient than feared.

With expectations reset low, Flight Centre has benefited from delivering stability where volatility was once expected. A key driver behind the rally has been the company’s improving profitability outlook. Management of the ASX travel share has flagged stronger underlying earnings, supported by tighter cost discipline and steady booking volumes.

Corporate travel continues to recover gradually and remains an important earnings anchor, offering higher margins and more predictable demand than leisure travel alone.

Takeover UK cruise agency

The narrative shifted further with Flight Centre’s acquisition of Iglu, with $200 million upfront and $54 million in performance-based targets. It’s the leading cruise agency in the UK. The takeover significantly expands the ASX share’s exposure to the fast-growing cruise segment, which has shown strong demand and attractive margins.

More importantly, Iglu brings a highly scalable digital platform and a strong European footprint, helping modernise Flight Centre’s leisure offering and accelerate its shift away from a purely store-led model. Investors have welcomed the deal as a strategic move rather than a defensive one.

The acquisition could boost earnings per share (EPS) by around 5% to 6% in FY27 and FY28, assuming the cruise division grows at 7% per annum.

Fierce online competition

However, the risks for the ASX travel share haven’t disappeared. Travel remains cyclical, and any sharp slowdown in consumer spending would quickly test earnings momentum.

Competition from online-only platforms continues to intensify, while Flight Centre still carries a relatively high fixed cost base due to its physical store network. Margins remain thin, leaving little room for execution errors.

What’s next for Flight Centre?

Even after the recent surge, analyst sentiment remains broadly supportive. Consensus expectations point to further earnings growth over the next year, with many analysts arguing the stock still trades below its longer-term potential if management executes well.

Morgan’s retained its buy rating on Flight Centre. The broker has set an average 12-month price target of $18.38, suggesting 12% upside.

For now, Flight Centre is doing something it hasn’t managed in a while — delivering positive surprises. The Iglu acquisition has added a fresh growth angle.

If travel demand holds up, the recent rally of the ASX share may prove to be more than just a short-term bounce.

The post Why this ASX travel share is flying high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther 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.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are charging higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant closed yesterday trading for $50.13. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hand for $51.92 apiece, up 3.6%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.1% at this same time.

Amid surging copper prices (copper is BHP’s number two revenue earner) and resilient iron ore prices (iron ore is its top revenue earner), BHP shares have rallied 31.2% over the past year, charging ahead of the 5.6% one-year gains delivered by the ASX 200.

And since plumbing multi-year closing lows on 9 April, shares in the big Aussie miner have rocketed 51.7%. That rapid rise saw BHP retake the title of biggest stock on the ASX from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) on 27 January.

Atop those share price gains, BHP stock also trades on a fully-franked trailing dividend yield of 3.3%.

Which brings us back to our headline question…

Are BHP shares still a good buy today?

Clearly, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, 9 April would have been an opportune time to snap up BHP shares at a discount.

But what about today?

Morgans’ Damien Nguyen recently analysed the outlook for the Aussie mining giant (courtesy of The Bull).

“BHP remains a high-quality diversified miner,” Nguyen said. “The stock has performed well, with the price increasing from $34.16 on April 9, 2025 to trade at $51.39 on January 29, 2026.”

Still, Nguyen is recommending people add to their BHP share holdings, issuing a hold recommendation for now. He concluded:

While capital discipline and dividend yield remain attractive, there isn’t a compelling catalyst to add to portfolios at current levels, in our view. We suggest investors retain exposure for income and longer-term portfolio balance, and wait for a potentially better entry point before increasing weight.

Catapult Wealth’s Blake Halligan also has a hold recommendation on the ASX 200 mining stock.

“The global miner is benefiting from copper prices increasing more than 30% in calendar year 2025,” he said.

Halligan noted:

The company recently increased fiscal year 2026 copper production guidance, enabling it to capitalise on record copper prices. Demand for copper remains strong and a welcome tailwind for BHP.

The company should benefit further if it can keep wages, energy, infrastructure and other costs under control.

Indeed, for the six months to 31 December (H1 FY 2026), BHP maintained steady copper production of 984,000 tonnes, with its achieved copper price up 32% year on year.

And BHP shares could benefit further with management upgrading full-year FY 2026 copper guidance to 1.90 million tonnes to 2 million tonnes.

“We have increased FY26 group copper production guidance off the back of stronger delivery across our assets,” BHP CEO Mike Henry said in January.

The post Up 52% since April, should you buy the rally in BHP shares today? 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 BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Buying ASX dividend shares at great value can be a smart move because of the size of the dividend yield.

There are plenty of appealing options that tell investors regularly about the net tangible assets (NTA) or net asset value (NAV) per share. Being able to buy at a large discount to that stated value can be a winning strategy, particularly if we believe that the NTA/NAV will grow in the coming years.

Below are two very compelling options, in my opinion.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

The first business I want to talk about is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a portfolio of farms across Australia, including cattle, vineyards, almonds, macadamias and cropping.

In the FY25 result, Rural Funds announced that its adjusted NAV was $3.08 at 30 June 2025. At the time of writing, that means it’s trading at a discount of 34%. That’s one of the largest discounts in the REIT sector.

The ASX dividend share is expecting to pay a distribution of 11.73 cents in FY26. At the time of writing, that translates into a distribution yield of 5.8%.

Rural Funds is benefiting from the organic rental growth the business has built into its contracts with high-quality tenants. Some of its contracts have annual increases linked to inflation while others have fixed annual increases, including market reviews.

As its rental earnings steadily increase, I’m expecting this to help fund larger distributions in the future.

Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI)

Bailador is a leading technology investment company. It has invested in a number of small, private, promising tech businesses such as Updoc, DASH, Access Telehealth, Expedition Software, PropHer, Rosterfy and Hapana. It also has a stake in Siteminder Ltd (ASX: SDR) which has been a holding since it was a private business.

The ASX dividend share reported that its December 2025 pre-tax NTA was $1.95. At the time of writing, it’s trading at a huge discount of 38%.

The businesses in its portfolio are growing revenue at a strong double-digit rate, which is helping drive their underlying value higher.

Bailador aims to find businesses that are founder-led, have proven business models with attractive unit economics, international revenue generation, have a huge market opportunity and have the ability to generate repeat revenue.

It aims to pay investors a dividend yield of 4% on the pre-tax NTA, excluding the franking credits. With the franking credits, that’s a grossed-up dividend yield target of 5.7%.

But, Bailador trades at a big discount, so the grossed-up dividend yield is actually 9.2% (at the time of writing), including franking credits. That’s a huge level of passive income for investors.

The post These 2 ASX dividend shares are great buys right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Bailador Technology Investments, Rural Funds Group, and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bailador Technology Investments and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Rural Funds Group and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bailador Technology Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

ASX All Ords gold stock Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX: STK) has smashed the returns delivered by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) this past year. Though the gold miner is trailing the benchmark today.

Strickland shares closed yesterday trading for 19.0 cents. In early morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for 18.2 cents apiece, down 4.2%. For some context, the All Ords is down 0.2% at this same time.

Despite today’s dip, shares in the ASX All Ords gold stock remain up a very impressive 160% over 12 months.

The miner should be catching some tailwinds today from the overnight rebound in the gold price, with the yellow metal showing signs of a recovery from the past week’s rout. The gold price is up 6.2% since this time yesterday, at US$4,947 per ounce.

After market close on Tuesday, Strickland Metals also reported on promising new exploration results at its Rogozna Project, located in Serbia.

But investors look to be pressuring the stock with the miner also announcing an equity raise at a steep discount to yesterday’s closing price.

Here’s what’s happening.

ASX All Ords gold stock hits high-grade intercepts

Turning to the exploration results first, Strickland reported it has discovered a new body of high-grade gold and copper mineralisation from initial exploration drilling at the Red Creek Prospect, situated within Rogozna.

Among the top results, the ASX All Ords gold stock reported intercepting 4.0 metres at 4 grams of gold equivalent per tonne from 44.0 metres, and 53.0m @ 2.3g/t AuEq from 514.4 metres.

Stickland noted that mineralisation remains totally open for exploration at Red Creek.

“Our world-class team in Serbia have done it again, with exploration drilling at Red Creek, just 1 kilometre from our cornerstone Shanac Deposit, delivering a new high-grade discovery,” Strickland managing director Paul L’ Herpiniere said.

L’Herpiniere added:

This latest discovery comprises both gold-dominant epithermal mineralisation starting from just 44 metres depth and wider zones of extensive skarn-hosted gold and base metal mineralisation – typical of what we see at other deposits at Rogozna.

Looking ahead, he noted:

We are planning to accelerate drilling at Red Creek to further define the scale of the mineralisation and advance it towards resource status. Given its strategic location, this new discovery further enhances the significant development optionality we already have at Rogozna.

Strickland to raise $55 million

Strickland also announced that it intends to conduct an equity raising by way of an institutional placement of approximately $55 million via the issue of around 343.2 million shares.

The ASX All Ords gold stock looks to be under selling pressure today, with those shares being issued for 16.0 cents apiece. That’s 15.8% below Tuesday’s closing price.

The miner intends to use the proceeds to fund an additional 70,000 metres of drilling at Rogozna and support the delivery of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The PFS is targeted for the first half of 2027.

Commenting on the $55 million capital raise, L’Herpiniere said:

The progress made since the Rogozna acquisition last year has delivered outstanding exploration results. However, this is only the beginning.

We have ambitious plans to continue this extraordinary growth and establishing Rogozna as a pre-eminent development project through further exploration and studies.

The post Up 160% in a year, ASX All Ords gold stock announces $55 million capital raise 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 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 Maas Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: MGH) share price is in the red on Wednesday following a fresh announcement released overnight.

Shares are down 0.54% to $5.51 in early trade, after Maas confirmed an extension to its share buyback program.

The market response appears to be subdued, despite the move signalling confidence in the company’s outlook and balance sheet.

Here’s what investors need to know.

What was announced?

According to the release, Maas Group’s board approved an extension of the company’s existing on market share buyback.

Under the updated plan, Maas can repurchase up to 10% of its issued ordinary share capital over the next 12 months. This matches the scale of the previous buyback and keeps the program in place through to early 2027.

Management said the extension supports the company’s aim of delivering sustainable returns on equity for shareholders. It also reflects confidence in the underlying performance of the business and its capital position.

The company noted that the timing and volume of buybacks remain discretionary. Any purchases will depend on factors such as the share price, market conditions, and competing capital requirements.

No changes were made to guidance, and no additional capital management initiatives were announced.

Why the market reaction looks muted

While share buybacks are typically viewed as shareholder-friendly, the modest decline in Maas shares suggests the move was largely anticipated.

The company has previously indicated a disciplined approach to capital allocation, and the extension does not materially change earnings forecasts or near-term cash flow expectations.

Investors may also be weighing broader market conditions, particularly ongoing volatility in construction activity and infrastructure spending.

A quick refresher on Maas Group

Maas Group is a diversified construction materials, equipment, and services provider with exposure across civil infrastructure, mining, and property development.

The company has continued to expand its footprint through both organic growth and selective acquisitions. In recent months, Maas has highlighted stable trading conditions and solid demand across several operating divisions.

Late last year, the company also secured a major electrical infrastructure agreement. The deal strengthened its position in the infrastructure services segment and improved forward work visibility.

At its most recent AGM update, management reaffirmed guidance and pointed to resilient demand across key end markets, despite softer conditions in some parts of the construction sector.

What to watch next

Looking ahead, I will be watching how actively Maas executes the buyback, particularly if share price weakness persists.

Upcoming earnings updates will be important in assessing margins, cash generation, and capital discipline as the group balances growth and shareholder returns.

The post This ASX stock is edging lower today after a shareholder friendly move appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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 Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) share price was paused from trading today, with investors awaiting further updates from the company.

What did Neuren Pharmaceuticals report?

• Trading in Neuren Pharmaceuticals shares has been temporarily paused by the ASX.
• No financial results or earnings updates were included in the announcement.
• The pause is pending a further announcement from the company.
• No changes to dividend guidance or capital management have been disclosed.

What else do investors need to know?

The ASX directed the trading pause for Neuren Pharmaceuticals ahead of a further announcement. This is a standard process that helps ensure all market participants receive new, potentially price-sensitive information at the same time.

Investors will need to watch for Neuren Pharmaceuticals’ upcoming update to understand the reason for the pause and any effect on the company’s future direction.

What’s next for Neuren Pharmaceuticals?

The main development to watch is the expected further announcement from the company, which should clarify the reason for the trading pause. Depending on what’s disclosed, it could impact the Neuren Pharmaceuticals share price when trading resumes.

Shareholders and interested investors are encouraged to monitor ASX announcements for more details.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals share price snapshot

Over the past 12 month, Neuren Pharmaceuticals shares have risen 11%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 6% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Neuren Pharmaceuticals shares paused pending announcement 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.

Shares in New Zealand-based dairy company Synlait Milk Ltd (ASX: SM1) are trading sharply lower after the company said it would swing to a net loss after a “disappointing” first half.

The company said in a statement to the ASX on Wednesday morning that while manufacturing challenges at its Dunsandel operations had been largely resolved, “Synlait continues to face related cost and operational impacts”.

The company went on to say:

The need to rebuild inventory across product segments required significant adjustments to Synlait’s manufacturing plans this dairy season, relative to a normal year. To enable these adjustments, additional raw milk sales were made during HY26, which weighed heavily on margins and operating costs.

Synlait said its first-half performance had also been impacted by lower relative returns from its commodities portfolio.

The company was also taking a “conservative approach” and not recognising further deferred tax assets “arising from unused tax losses beyond those recorded at 31 July 2025”.

Bottom line to plunge into the red

The company said that, given the impacts referred to above, it expected the first half underlying EBITDA to be between break-even at $5 million and a reported EBITDA loss of $28 to $33 million.

It also expected an underlying net loss of $33 to $38 million and a reported net loss after tax of $77 to $82 million.

For the same period last year, the company reported a net profit of $4.8 million.

The company said it had lodged an insurance claim to recoup losses as a result of its manufacturing challenges, and while the claim had been accepted, “the final amount and timing of reimbursement remain subject to further assessment and settlement processes”.

Synlait Chief Executive Officer Richard Wyeth said regarding the expected result:

We are very disappointed with the six-month result and the impact it has had on the pace of our financial turnaround. However, we have made progress with real momentum in our operations, a renewed Canterbury-based executive leadership team, and the North Island sale set to fundamentally strengthen Synlait. Our strategy is being reset, and we are confident it will provide a pathway to return Synlait to success, although this will take at least 12 months.

The company said the sale of the North Island assets was due for completion on April 1, with the proceeds to be used to “significantly reduce debt”.

The company added:

The sale will enable Synlait to centre its core operations on Canterbury, with renewed focus on delivering continuous operational excellence and customer diversification to support longer-term profitability, however, it is clear the company’s recovery will take time.

Synlait shares were 5.8% lower at 49 cents in early trade.

The company was valued at $313.7 million at the close of trade on Tuesday.

Synlait will report its full-year results on March 23.

The post Why are Synlait Milk shares falling today? 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 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.

Reporting season is a very exciting time of year because we get to see how ASX dividend stocks and other businesses have performed.

I view this time of year a bit like Christmas – we get to open the results without knowing what’s inside. The dividends will be interesting to see and will be heavily influenced by how much profit the companies have been able to generate.

Hopefully, the results are solid and pleasing for shareholders in terms of both the passive income and earnings that are revealed. These are three numbers that could be very interesting.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

BHP shares have surged 27% in the last six months, with investors seemingly excited about the company’s increasing profit potential as commodity prices remain pleasing.

I’m curious to see how much the ASX dividend stock has been able to capitalise on these higher resource prices for iron ore and copper amid its reported discussions/dispute with China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) – a key buyer of iron ore.

BHP is usually a rewarding dividend payer for investors, and broker UBS is expecting the business to pay an interim dividend of US 60.8 cents per share, representing a dividend payout ratio of 50% of projected net profit for the first half. However, a higher payout is possible if prices remain “favourable”.

As one of the two biggest businesses on the ASX, it makes an important contribution to the Australian economy, and its dividend payouts matter for a lot of shareholders.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

CBA is the other titan of the ASX with a market capitalisation of around $250 billion.

The numbers that the ASX bank share reports will give investors a good barometer of the banking sector and a wider view of the economy.

CBA has the most customers, the largest loan book, and the largest branch and ATM network in Australia.

After the RBA rate hike was announced yesterday, it’ll be interesting to see how the ASX dividend stock navigates that and what that could do for the bank’s profitability (as measured by the net interest margin (NIM) metric). I expect it may be a slight net positive for CBA.

The dividend declared will be a reflection of recent profitability and the board’s view on upcoming profitability, too.  

Nick Scali Ltd (ASX: NCK)

I think Nick Scali is one of the most impressive retail businesses on the ASX, considering its high return on equity (ROE), its store network growth in Australia and New Zealand, and the initiatives it has to become a sizeable player in the UK.

As a retailer of furniture, it’s exposed to household demand. I’m very curious to see how the ASX dividend stock has performed in the last six months of 2025 and its outlook for 2026, considering the solid Australian economy and the recent rate rise.

I think the dividend payout could be quite revealing of the confidence of management. It increased its payout per share every year between 2013 and 2023, but cut the dividend each year since then. Will there be a reversal of that direction towards positive dividend growth?

The post 3 ASX dividend stocks I’m excited to see the payouts of this reporting season appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 BHP Group and Nick Scali. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX: JIN) shares are on the move on Wednesday morning.

At the time of writing, the ASX 300 stock is down 3.5% to $10.15.

Why is this ASX 300 stock tumbling?

Investors have been selling the lottery ticket seller’s shares following the release of a preliminary update on its first-half results.

The ASX 300 stock delivered strong profit growth during the half despite a softer lottery jackpot environment.

According to the release, Jumbo revealed that revenue is expected to rise 29% to $85.3 million in the first half, after total transaction value (TTV) increased 15.7% to $524.7 million.

Also growing at a strong rate was its underlying EBITDA, which is expected to be $37.5 million for the first half. This is up 22.6% from $30.6 million in the prior corresponding period.

What drove the strong performance?

Jumbo’s strong performance during the first half is notable because the broader lottery environment was relatively weak. There were fewer large Powerball and Oz Lotto jackpots, no jackpots above $100 million, and a sharp drop in total prize value compared to last year.

Historically, jackpots tend to drive higher lottery spending, so this was a headwind for the sector.

Despite this, Jumbo’s Lottery Retailing division delivered a resilient result, with TTV broadly flat year on year. The company said this was supported by continued momentum in charity and proprietary products, which helped offset the quieter jackpot cycle.

Away from traditional lottery retailing, growth was stronger. Jumbo’s SaaS segment recorded TTV growth of 9.9%, and 12.4% excluding Lotterywest, showing that its B2B platforms continue to scale.

Managed Services was another bright spot, with underlying EBITDA up more than 50%, driven by good momentum in Canada and disciplined execution in the UK.

Another contributor to the result was the ASX 300 stock’s recent expansion into prize-based giveaways. Jumbo completed the acquisitions of Dream Car Giveaways UK and Dream Giveaway USA in October 2025. Management said the UK business in particular is performing ahead of expectations.

What about its dividend?

No dividend was announced with its preliminary results. Management advised that its payout will be determined once the audited results are finalised later this month and will reflect its revised payout ratio of 30% to 50% of statutory net profit.

The post ASX 300 stock tumbles despite 22% profit jump 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 positions in and has recommended Jumbo Interactive. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Jumbo Interactive. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.