August saw National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares all come under pressure.

Indeed, amid a deteriorating outlook for the Aussie economy and housing market, all of the big four S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stocks underperformed the 1.1% gains posted by the ASX 200 in the month just past.

Here’s how they stacked up.

CBA shares trail the pack

CBA shares tumbled 9.9% in August, closing the month trading for $159.90 apiece.

Though we should note that CBA stock traded ex-dividend on 19 August. If we add the final fully-franked dividend of $2.70 a share back in, then the accumulated value of Australia’s biggest bank stock declined by a lesser 8.4%.

CommBank reported its full-year FY 2026 results on 12 August.

CBA achieved a 6.2% year-on-year increase in operating income to $30.2 billion. And the bank’s cash net profit after tax (NPAT) of $11.0 billion was up 7%.

But investors appeared concerned over the outlook, with management noting that household spending is softening while it expects Australia’s economic growth to slow.

CBA shares closed down 0.7% on the day of the results release.

Westpac shares tumble on quarterly update

Westpac shares also just finished a month to forget, tumbling 8.8% to close out August trading for $34.55 apiece.

Westpac released its third-quarter update on 10 August.

Positively, the ASX 200 bank stock reported a 1% year-on-year increase in operating income to $5.7 billion, with the net interest margin (NIM) remaining steady at 1.89%.

On the bottom line, Westpac achieved a quarterly statutory net profit of $1.8 billion, up 3% from the prior quarter.

However, investors will also have noted the bank’s expectations of moderated lending growth in the months ahead.

And the bank could be facing higher non-performing loans.

According to management:

Credit impairment provisions were $5.3 billion as at 30 June 2026, with provisions above expected losses of the base case economic scenario increasing to $2.0 billion.

Like CBA shares, Westpac shares came under pressure following the update, closing the day down 5.9%.

NAB shares fall on lower home loans

NAB shares didn’t escape the selling pain in August either, closing the month down 6.5% to trade for $38.63 each.

NAB shares closed down 4.6% on 17 August following the release of the bank’s own third-quarter results.

Highlights from the quarter included cash earnings of $1.83 billion, up 2% from the first-half quarterly average (excluding large notable items). And NAB achieved a 32% increase in net profit to $1.81 billion.

But investors were favouring their sell buttons with management flagging a decline in the bank’s crucial home lending market.

“The Australian home lending market softened in 3Q26 with our applications down 15% compared with 2Q26,” NAB CEO Andrew Irvine said.

ANZ shares lead the pack

Outperforming NAB, Westpac, and CBA shares in August, though still edging lower, we find ANZ.

ANZ shares closed on 31 August trading for $37.20, down 0.3% over the month.

Unlike the other three big bank stocks, ANZ shares closed up 4.5% on 13 August following the release of the company’s third-quarter update.

While revenue was flat for the quarter, ANZ reported a cash profit of $1.90 billion, up 1% on the quarterly average for the half year ended 31 March.

And investors were favouring their sell buttons, despite ANZ noting a 12% drop in mortgage applications since the Federal Budget’s changes to property taxes.

The post How Westpac, ANZ, NAB and CBA shares stacked up in August 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.

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares just closed out another volatile month.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) drone defence company ended July trading for $1.70 apiece. On 6 August, those same shares closed the day at $2.28 each, putting the share price up 34.1% in just four trading days.

But most of those impressive gains evaporated over the remainder of the month, with DroneShield shares closing on 31 August trading for $1.77 apiece.

Despite the volatility, that still represents a 4.1% gain in August, handily outpacing the 1.1% one-month gain posted by the ASX 200.

Here’s what’s been catching investor interest.

What’s been moving DroneShield shares?

DroneShield shares closed flat on 10 August, despite the company announcing the launch of its RfRecon product.

Management noted that the portable radio frequency (RF) sensing and intelligence device allows operators to quickly identify, locate, and assess RF activity in active operational environments.

DroneShield CEO Angus Bean noted:

The electromagnetic spectrum has become one of the most important sources of operational intelligence on the modern battlefield, but collecting data is no longer enough. The teams that gain the greatest advantage will be those that can rapidly understand what they are seeing and confidently act on it.

ASX 200 defence stock falls on half-year results

DroneShield shares tumbled 11% on 26 August following the release of the company’s half-year results.

On the positive side, DroneShield achieved an all-time high first-half revenue of $125.8 million, up 74% year on year. And recurring revenue was up an impressive 229% to $11.5 million.

But the ASX 200 drone defence stock came under selling pressure with a half-year underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $12.4 million. That’s down from $8 million in positive EBITDA in H1 2025.

The loss was driven by rising costs and deteriorating margins, with DroneShield reporting a gross margin of around 53%, down from 58%.

The company has been investing in its next stage of growth, aiming to expand its production capacity, product development, and management capability to support larger global operations.

Management noted:

At a corporate and executive level, there has been a deliberate expansion in DroneShield’s organisational functions and capabilities to provide deeper experience and broader support across the Company in advance of the next phase of growth.

On the bottom line, DroneShield shares took a big hit on the day, with the company revealing a statutory net loss after tax of $32.2 million, down from a $2.1 million profit reported for the first half of 2025.

The post What on earth happened with DroneShield shares in August? 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 positions in and has recommended DroneShield. 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) shares are down 0.3% to 9,052.1 points on Tuesday.

Among the 11 market sectors, energy is in the lead, up 1.7%, while consumer discretionary is the laggard, down 2.5%.

Let’s check out some new ratings on ASX shares today.

Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is $2.30, down 2.8% today and up 14% over 12 months. 

Bell Potter has a buy rating on this ASX healthcare share following its FY26 results.

Analyst John Hester said: 

(All US$m) Revenues $120.2m and loss at the EBIT line -$49.9m were in line with our forecast. Ryoncil sales of $115m were at the mid-point of the guidance range.

Operating expenses $153m were dominated by R&D expense ($97m), driven by the investment in label expansion for Ryoncil and the ongoing Phase 3 trial for Rexlemestrocel in chronic lower back (CLBP).

Loss at NPAT $57.4m with net cash burn for the year -$43.8m inclusive of just -$13m in 2H26.

MSB has a long pipeline and label expansions for Ryoncil alone which we expect will come to market on a 3 to 5 year time horizon.

Pivotal moments in the short term include the interim readout on adult GvHD and the pending submission of the BLA for Rexlemestrocel in HF.

Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)

The Challenger share price is steady at $9.45 today, and up 14% over 12 months. 

Jonathan Tacadena from MPC Markets has a hold rating on this ASX 200 financial share. 

Tacadena said (courtesy The Bull): 

Australia’s largest annuities provider delivered a strong result in full year 2026. Statutory net profit after tax of $506 million was up 163 per cent. Annuity sales of $6.2 billion were up 19 per cent. It delivered a normalised return on equity of 11.6 per cent.

The full year ordinary dividend of 31.5 cents, fully franked, was up 7 per cent. The share buy-back was upsized to $450 million.

The shares have performed strongly since March. Hold for the buy-back and yield, and perhaps consider adding on any weakness.

APA Group Ltd (ASX: APA)

The APA share price is $10.82, down 0.6% today and up 22% over 12 months. 

Morgans has a sell rating on this ASX 200 utilities share. 

Analyst Damien Nguyen said: 

This energy infrastructure business provides investors with stable, regulated cash flows and a defensive earnings profile.

Total revenue was down 6.3 per cent in full year 2026, but profit after tax was up 81.4 per cent.

Balance sheet leverage is significant, in our view, and funding costs can be a challenging headwind.

The market is concerned about the shift away from gas may create uncertainty about future demand in the longer term.

Although APA is pursuing energy transition opportunities, we believe these are unlikely to materially improve earnings in the near term.

We believe investors can find better risk-adjusted opportunities elsewhere.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Challenger, APA Group, Mesoblast shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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