Reporting season ended on Monday, and the FY26 numbers are no longer the accountants’ problem.

Hundreds of ASX companies reported through August.

Guidance was revised, brokers rebuilt their models, and volatility impacted many ASX stocks.

Once the noise settles, a handful of lessons are worth carrying into FY27.

Here are the five that struck me most.

1. The outlook mattered more than the result

CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) posted the ugliest headline of the month and one of the best share price reactions.

FY26 revenue slipped 1% to US$15.8 billion and impairments of US$7.1 billion drove a statutory loss of US$2.6 billion, yet the shares rose 17.9% on the day anyway.

Investors ignored the write-downs entirely and focused on FY27 guidance of roughly 5% underlying profit growth, against a 2% consensus.

The lesson is simple enough: the market is pricing next year, not last year.

2. Costs are now the swing factor for miners

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) reported a record FY26 profit and still disappointed.

Underlying net profit after tax reached $1.8 billion on revenue of $7.6 billion.

The problem sat in FY27 guidance, which put all-in sustaining costs at $3,050 to $3,450 an ounce against $2,698 in FY26.

For a decade, the commodity price was the only variable that mattered for Australian miners.

That is no longer true, and cost guidance now moves share prices as much as spot prices do.

3. Cash flow separated reporting season’s winners from the headlines

Northern Star makes this point too.

A $1.8 billion underlying profit produced only $190 million of underlying free cash flow, because capital spending at the KCGM mine peaked during the year.

Plenty of companies reported record profits this reporting season while funding enormous capital programs.

For investors, the cash flow statement has become more and more important.

That is a healthy development, and I expect it to continue through FY27.

4. The income came from resources, not the banks

FY26 flipped the usual assumption about where dividends live.

Utilities shares paid an average yield of 5.98% across the year, with energy at 5.14% and materials at 4.63%, against an S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) average of 4.23%.

Final dividends declared in August have followed the same pattern, and the largest payments this month are coming from energy and mining companies rather than financials.

Anyone building an income portfolio around the big four banks may want to reconsider their strategy in the short to medium term.

5. Growth was repriced, not abandoned

The harshest treatment this reporting season went to companies that grew but missed expectations.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) is down 58% over twelve months, and Objective Corporation Ltd (ASX: OCL) has fallen 69% to five-year lows.

Yet brokers still see upside of 52% and 33% respectively.

The market has not stopped believing in growth, but it has stopped paying extreme multiples for that growth, and that discipline is likely to persist.

What reporting season means heading into FY27

Two macro threads run underneath all five points.

The economy is slowing, which showed up in softer credit growth and weaker consumer spending across the results.

Inflation also remains stubborn, and Morgan Stanley now expects the Reserve Bank to raise the cash rate when it meets on 29 September.

Neither is fatal, but both argue for owning businesses with strong pricing power and real cash generation.

Foolish takeaway

Reporting season is useful because it forces companies to be specific about what is driving their business.

Guidance, costs and cash flow are all much harder to spin than a headline profit number.

CSL showed that a terrible statutory result can still be a good investment case.

On the other hand, Northern Star showed that a record profit can still be a warning.

All in all, the investors who did best out of this reporting season were the ones reading the outlook statement rather than the press release.

The post 5 things reporting season taught ASX investors about FY27 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX gold shares soared 34% in August. Is the run over?
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• CSL shares are up more than 40% in a month. What just happened in the US?
• WiseTech shares enjoy best month in over a year. More to come?
• Where will CSL shares be in 12 months? Brokers weigh in

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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 CSL, Objective, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Objective and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The clock is ticking for passive income investors who want to bank – or reinvest – the upcoming BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) dividend.

In morning trade today, shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant are trading for $66.23 apiece.

That sees the BHP share price up 55.1% since this time last year. And it doesn’t include the two fully franked BHP dividends the miner has paid (or shortly will pay) for FY 2026.

BHP currently trades on a 3.7% fully franked trailing dividend yield, or 5.2% grossed up if we factor in those franking credits.

How do I get the BHP dividend?

When BHP released its full year results on 18 August, the miner reported a 15% year-on-year increase in revenue to US$58.8 billion. And on the bottom line, BHP achieved a 30% increase in underlying profit to US$13.2 billion.

This saw management boost the final dividend to 99 US cents per share. The company said it won’t determine the precise Aussie dollar equivalent until “on or around 7 September”. But CommSec currently has it listed at AU$1.392 per share. That’s up more than 51% from last year’s final dividend.

Commenting on the dividend payout on the day, BHP CEO Brandon Craig said:

Alongside unlocking of capital from undervalued assets and investing in growth, net debt fell to below US$9 bn, while returning substantial cash to shareholders through a final dividend of 99 US cents per share…

This brings total cash returns to shareholders announced for the year to US$8.7 billion, which is US$1.72 per share fully franked, the highest in four years. Including this dividend, we will have returned more than US$115 billion to shareholders since the introduction of the CAF [capital allocation framework] in 2016.

If you want to bank the boosted dividend, you’ll need to own BHP shares at market close tomorrow, 2 September. The ASX 200 miner trades ex-dividend on Thursday. You can then expect to see that passive income hit your bank account on 23 September.

You can also make use of the company’s dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) to receive the payout as new BHP shares instead of cash.

Are BHP shares a good buy today?

Morgans’ Damien Nguyen recently issued a buy recommendation for BHP shares (courtesy of The Bull).

According to Nguyen:

BHP offers exposure to a portfolio of high-quality mining assets and remains well positioned to benefit from long term demand for copper and other critical minerals. A strong operating performance, healthy cash generation and a disciplined approach to capital allocation continue to support the investment case. While iron ore remains important, increasing copper exposure provides leverage to electrification and decarbonisation trends.

BHP appeals for potential capital growth, income and for diversified resources exposure. The company posted an attributable profit of US$9.8 billion in full year 2026, up 9% on the prior corresponding period. Revenue of US$58.8 billion was up 15%.

Nguyen also pointed to the boosted BHP dividend.

“BHP recently declared a final fully franked dividend of US 99 cents a share,” he noted.

The post Want to bank the boosted BHP dividend? You’d better hurry! 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.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are down 0.3% to 9,051.6 points on Tuesday.

Let’s check out some new ratings for ASX 200 shares this week.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)

The Mineral Resources share price is $64.27, down 0.6% today and up 74% over 12 months. 

Bell Potter has a buy rating on this ASX 200 mining share. 

Analyst James Williamson said: 

MIN reported record FY26 underlying EBITDA of $2.6b (BPe $2.5b; VA cons. $2.5b) and underlying NPAT of $822m (BPe $774m; VA consensus $765m). Statutory NPAT was $1.2b (BPe $1.1b; VA cons. $966m) with $393m non-recurring items.

Completion of the US$765m MIN-POSCO lithium transaction will accelerate balance sheet deleveraging paired with strong cash flows from iron ore and lithium operations.

MIN’s mining services platform delivers a stable earnings stream that is expected to expand with internal and third-party volume growth.

The company is strongly positioned to execute its next phase of growth, having reinstated dividends.

Ansell Ltd (ASX: ANN)

The Ansell share price is $40.52, down 0.6% today and up 17% over 12 months. 

Morgans has a hold rating on this ASX 200 healthcare share. 

The broker said: 

FY26 result was strong, with adjusted EPS of US148.6c (+18%) at the top end of guidance, with adjusted EBIT of US$322m (+15% organic cc) above our forecast.

Importantly, 2H adjusted sales growth accelerated to 9.2%, with volumes improving providing some evidence that volume recovery is emerging.

While FY27 EPS guidance of US158-170c (6-14%) looks solid, the majority of gains comes from FX and buybacks rather than operating earnings, with sustainability of Healthcare growth and Industrial margins yet to be proven.

We increase FY27-28 EPS forecasts up to 5.9%, with our DCF/SOTP price target increasing to A$37.85.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The CBA share price is $160.25, up 0.2% today and down 5% over 12 months. 

Remo Greco from Sanlam Private Wealth has a sell rating on this ASX 200 bank share. 

On The Bull this week, Greco said:   

This leading Australian bank posted cash net profit after tax of $10.982 billion in full year 2026, up 7 per cent on the prior corresponding period.

Revenue from ordinary activities of $30.153 billion was up 7 per cent. Investors are concerned about slowing housing credit growth.

Home loan applications fell about 15 per cent since the federal budget in May and the company’s full year result in August.

Mortgage competition remains elevated. Investors may want to consider cashing in some gains until a clearer picture emerges about the state of Australia’s housing market, the outlook for interest rates and the broader outlook for credit growth moving forward.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Mineral Resources, Ansell, CBA shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Buy, hold, sell: Commonwealth Bank, Goodman Group, CSL shares

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