Tag: Stock pick

AIC Mines Ltd (ASX: A1M) reported its first-half results this week, and analysts from two broking houses were impressed, assigning bullish price targets on the company’s shares.

So let’s have a look at the results first.

Profit surging

AIC reported revenue of $110.6 million, up 19% on the previous corresponding period, and a net profit of $17.4 million, up 114%.

The company’s Eloise mine produced 6526 tonnes of copper in the first half at an all-in sustaining cost of $4.92 per pound.

The company said the result met its production and cost guidance and “was underpinned by disciplined cost control and strong gold and silver credits”.

The increase in revenue was underpinned by improved copper and gold prices during the half, with the company receiving $15,845 per tonne of copper, up from $13,576 in the previous corresponding period and $5839 per ounce of gold, up from $4506.

The company also said regarding an ongoing expansion project:

The Eloise expansion project is progressing well and although it is still early in the construction period, it remains on schedule at the end of the period. Earthworks and concrete works were well advanced during the period, with structural and mechanical construction to commence shortly in the March 2026 quarter. Detailed engineering design continues to progress well and was 70% complete at the end of the period. Engineering design work has also commenced for the stage two expansion to 1.5Mtpa.

The company is also developing the Jericho deposit, 4km south of the Eloise processing plant and said that during the half, the Jericho access drive continued, with that drive to connect the deposit directly to the Eloise decline.

The company said its financial position remained strong with $44.9 million in cash on hand at the end of the half-year period.

Shares looking cheap

Analysts from both Shaw and Partners and Bell Potter had a look at this week’s results, and they all like what they see.

Shaw said in a note to clients that Eloise has had an “outstanding couple of years” and reiterated its price target of $1.10 per share for AIC, compared with 58.5 cents currently.

The Shaw team said the demand thematic for copper would remain strong.

As they said:

Coupled with supply fragility throughout 2025 as mudslides at Grasberg and labour strikes in Chile vaporised the global supply surplus, copper market deficits appear likely in 2026 according to the International Energy Agency following decades of chronic underinvestment. In fact, we recently posited in our Copper price upgrade note … that the sheer scale of the energy transition and AI-demand all but ensures long-term structural deficits.

The Bell Potter team also likes AIC shares, increasing their price target from 67 cents to 80 cents.

They also said the company had more growth options.

AIC’s regional exploration shows high potential for success across a large scale, strategic tenement package. The current share price, in our view, represents attractive value for a well-managed, Australian-based copper producer.

The post This copper company’s shares are looking cheap brokers say appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Four mining stocks to watch ahead of reporting season

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.

Shares in Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) are trading higher after the company announced a significant jump in full year profit.

In a statement to the ASX on Friday morning the company said net profit was up 208% year-on-year to $94.4 million, and it had boosted its final dividend, from 3 cents per share to 5 cents per share.

Good growth across the board

The company said it had booked record new credit card spend and loan originations of $9.1 billion, up 10% year-on-year, with total application volumes up 13%, with 307,000 new customers acquired.

Latitude said it had also expanded its retail partner network across core categories, “including home furniture, personal electronics and whitegoods, adding new partners such as E&S Trading and Adairs Retail Group (Focus on Furniture and Mocka), and renewing key partnerships including Harvey Norman”.

Managing director Bob Belan said:

This is a solid result for the company, with FY25 cash NPAT of $105.1 million reflecting the strategic work undertaken over the past two and a half years to simplify and sharpen our focus on what we do best across our core markets. Record volumes of $9.1 billion drove receivables to $7.2 billion, their highest levels in five years. Importantly, net interest margins continued to improve, up 104bps YoY, reflecting targeted pricing initiatives and the benefit of lower funding costs. In the Money Division, new lending of $1.6 billion drove a 10% increase in receivables to a record $3.3 billion, while net interest margin expanded to 11.1% (+109bps YoY), supported by product enhancements, variable rate loan growth outperformance and broker distribution network expansion.

Mr Belan said the company’s balance sheet was further strengthened during the year, with $1.5 billion in new term funding locked in, and $1.5 billion in private facilities refinanced at better terms.

He added:

The group’s performance demonstrates the ability to achieve strong growth while maintaining margins, disciplined credit outcomes and operating efficiency, supporting sustainable long-term value creation.

Future looking bright

On the outlook the company said it expected to benefit from “strategic initiatives” implemented over the past year to focus on its core consumer segments.

The company said:

Latitude expects credit performance to remain within targeted ranges, underpinned by disciplined underwriting and active portfolio management, while continuing to reflect macro-economic conditions within its core markets. Strong and sustained profit performance and disciplined balance sheet management are expected to create the capacity to prudently return capital to shareholders.

Latitude shares were 6.6% higher in early trade at 93 cents.

The company was valued at $907.2 million at the close of trade on Thursday.

The post Latitude shares jump on surging profit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Inghams shares plunge 13% as earnings slump and FY26 guidance cut
• This copper company’s shares are looking cheap brokers say
• Mineral Resources shares leaping higher on record smashing $3.1 billion revenue
• Megaport shares tumble despite record results
• Guzman y Gomez shares crash to a record low following half-year results

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.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares are charging higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium miner and diversified resources producer closed yesterday trading for $54.09. In morning trade on Friday, shares are changing hands for $56.36 apiece, up 4.2%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.2% at this same time.

This outperformance follows the release of the miner’s half-year results for the six months to 31 December (H1 FY 2026).

Here’s what we know.

Mineral Resources shares jump on record results

Mineral Resources shares are catching plenty of investor interest after the miner reported record half year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.2 billion. That’s up 286% from H1 FY 2025.

Revenue of $3.1 billion, up 33% year-on-year, also marked a new all-time half year high.

The ASX 200 mining stock credited the strong result to an “outstanding operational performance”.

The company cited improved lithium recoveries, record earnings from its Mining Services division, and Onslow Iron sustaining its 35 million tonne per annum (Mtpa) nameplate capacity since August as driving the record results.

Mining Services hit record production of 166 million tonnes with EBITDA of $488 million, up 29% year-on-year.

Over the six months, the miner generated free cash flow of $293 million after capital expenditure of $587 million.

On the bottom line, Mineral Resources shares are catching tailwinds today with underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $343 million, up 275% year on year. Reported NPAT for H1 FY 2026 came in at $573 million, up 171%.

On the balance sheet, the company held cash of $638 million as at 31 December, up 55%. The six months saw liquidity strengthening to $1.4 billion and net debt cut by $471 million to $4.9 billion.

Looking ahead, the ASX 200 miners reaffirmed its full year FY 2026 volume and cost guidance.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results helping boost Mineral Resources shares today, managing director Chris Ellison said, “I’m pleased to report that MinRes has delivered the strongest six-month period in the company’s history.”

According to Ellison:

The result – which was driven by operational performance rather than extraordinary commodity prices – validates the strategic decisions we’ve made over recent years and demonstrates the quality and resilience of our asset base.

The transformation of this business is now evident with Onslow Iron at nameplate capacity. This would not have been possible without our world-class Mining Services business.

Turning to the miner’s lithium division, Ellison said:

Our lithium operations have proven their quality through a challenging market cycle, generating EBITDA of $167 million. Wodgina achieved a milestone 70% processing recovery rate in the December quarter, with further improvements expected as we access more fresh ore towards the end of the calendar year.

With lithium prices having recovered strongly, we are well positioned to capture the upside as market fundamentals continue to improve.

Factoring in today’s intraday moves, Mineral Resources shares are up 118.2% in 12 months, smashing the 8.9% one-year gains posted by the ASX 200.

The post Mineral Resources shares leaping higher on record smashing $3.1 billion revenue appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is it too late to buy surging ASX 200 lithium shares like PLS and Liontown?
• The lithium price could increase by how much!
• Up 288% since April, are Mineral Resources shares still a good buy today?
• 10 most traded ASX shares among 1 million Aussie investors last year
• Buy, hold, sell: IAG, Mineral Resources, and Westpac shares

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.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) shares are under pressure on Friday.

In morning trade, the network-as-a-service provider’s shares are down 4% to $10.51.

This follows the release of its half-year results.

Megaport shares fall on results day

For the six months ended 31 December, Megaport reported a 26% increase in revenue to a record of $134.9 million. This comprises Megaport network revenue of $129.1 million and Latitude.sh revenue of $5.8 million (from 26 November 2025).

Annual recurring revenue (ARR) was up 16% over the prior corresponding period to $263.4 million.

This growth was driven by a 15% increase in large customers, a 17% lift in total services, and net revenue retention of 110%.

Also growing strongly was Megaport’s EBITDA. It delivered EBITDA growth of 28% to a record of $35.3 million.

However, on the bottom line, the company posted an underlying net loss of $3.3 million. This excludes acquisition costs of $15.8 million that were incurred during the half.

Nevertheless, at the end of the period, Megaport had a cash balance of $177 million.

Commenting on its performance, the ASX 200 tech stock’s CEO, Michael Reid, said:

Our global business continues to scale, with the United States delivering exceptional momentum, pushing the Americas to 24% YoY ARR growth. This performance was driven by rising NRR and consistent new logo acquisition.

We are also seeing strong adoption of our newer products, alongside a clear shift toward larger bandwidth commitments, more complex global routes, and longer-term contracts. Together, these trends demonstrate expanding wallet share and Megaport’s growing strategic importance within our customers’ infrastructure stack.

Reid also spoke positively about the recently acquired Latitude business. He said:

With Latitude.sh now part of Megaport, we’re accelerating our vision of a global platform where network and compute converge. This is the logical extension of what we’ve always done: automating infrastructure to power the cloud, AI, and data centre ecosystems. By combining private, on-demand connectivity with high-performance, optimised compute, we’re enabling customers to deploy and scale critical workloads anywhere in the world, instantly. This is a new chapter for Megaport, and we’re just getting started.

Outlook

Megaport has updated its guidance to reflect the acquisitions of Latitude.sh and Extreme IX, as well as a weaker US dollar.

It is guiding to revenue of $302 million to $317 million, an EBITDA margin of 21% to 24%, and capex of $90 million to $100 million.

Michael Reid said:

Our updated guidance reflects the strategic expansion of the Group through the acquisitions of Latitude.sh and Extreme IX, as well as the impact of foreign exchange movements. Importantly, we have raised the lower end and tightened the range of our core Megaport Network revenue guidance in constant currency, underscoring the continued strength of the underlying business.

The post Megaport shares tumble despite record results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 top ASX 200 shares I would buy with $5,000
• ASX tech mid-cap stocks to watch this earnings season
• A once-in-a-decade chance to buy ASX 200 tech stocks like WiseTech, Megaport and NextDC?
• 3 of the best Australian stocks to buy and hold until 2036
• My 10 best ASX shares to buy in February

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Megaport. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Megaport. 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.

Shares in Guzman y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG) are under heavy pressure on Friday after the Mexican restaurant chain released its half-year result.

In mid-morning trade, the Guzman y Gomez share price is down 10.11% to $18.31.

At market open, the stock fell as low as $17, marking a record low since the company listed on the ASX in June 2024.

Despite a modest rebound, the shares remain down and are now around 15% lower in 2026.

Here is what the company reported.

Sales and earnings climb in the first-half

For the six months ended 31 December 2025, Guzman y Gomez delivered global network sales of $681.8 million. That is an increase of 18% on the prior corresponding period.

Revenue rose 23% to $261.2 million, while group underlying EBITDA increased 23.3% to $33 million.

Statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) came in at $10.6 million, up 44.9% from $7.3 million a year earlier.

The Australia segment continues to drive performance. Australian network sales rose 17.5% to $673.6 million. Comparable sales growth in Australia was 4.4% for the half.

Segment underlying EBITDA for Australia increased 30% to $41.3 million. As a percentage of network sales, that lifted to 6.1%, up from 5.5% last year.

Average drive-thru restaurant margins were reported at 22%.

Network expansion continues

Guzman y Gomez opened 17 restaurants globally during the half, including 14 in Australia. It ended the period with 272 restaurants across Australia, Asia and the United States.

The company highlighted a strong development pipeline, with 108 restaurants in the pipeline under commercial terms agreed. More than 85% of the pipeline is drive thru format.

In Australia, management pointed to solid franchisee economics. Median franchise restaurant margins increased to 21.4%, while median franchise return on investment was 48%.

In the United States, network sales rose 67% to $8.2 million, driven by new restaurant openings. However, the US segment remains in investment mode, with segment underlying EBITDA of negative $8.3 million for the half.

Dividend declared and balance sheet remains strong

The board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 7.4 cents per share. The ex-dividend date is 13 March 2026, with payment scheduled for 31 March 2026.

Operating cash flow improved during the half, supported by earnings growth. Capital expenditure totalled $23.1 million, largely directed towards new restaurant openings and refurbishments.

As at 31 December 2025, Guzman y Gomez held $236.4 million in cash and term deposits and had no debt. Management said the strong balance sheet supports continued network expansion.

Outlook unchanged despite share price weakness

Looking ahead, Guzman y Gomez maintained its FY26 outlook.

For Australia, the company expects strong sales growth supported by new restaurant openings, menu innovation, daypart expansion, marketing, and digital initiatives. Segment underlying EBITDA as a percentage of network sales is expected to remain in the 6% to 6.2% range for FY26.

In the US, management expects restaurant productivity and margins to improve over time as the network matures. However, losses are forecast to increase slightly in FY26 compared to FY25 as expansion continues.

Despite record sales and rising earnings, investors are heading for the exits. After a strong run since listing, today’s sell off suggests the market is reassessing the company’s valuation and near-term growth outlook.

The coming months will show whether Guzman y Gomez can turn solid operating momentum into stronger share price performance.

The post Guzman y Gomez shares crash to a record low following half-year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Guzman y Gomez posts 1H26 earnings
• Are these ASX shares too cheap to pass up?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 13 ASX 200 shares hit multi-year lows as the market takes a breather
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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.

Shares in shipbuilder Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB) are trading higher after the company announced it had been awarded a $4 billion contract with the Australian Government.

In a statement to the ASX on Friday morning, the company said its Australian defence division had been awarded a contract to build eight landing craft heavy (LCH) vessels, under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (SSA) with the Commonwealth of Australia.

Austal said the construction would take place at its Henderson shipyard in Western Australia and would start in 2026 and carry on until 2038.

A key defence partner

Austal Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the award of the contract reinforced the company’s status as a trusted partner to the Australian Defence Force.

He went on to say:

This contract represents another significant investment in Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability – and Austal Defence Australia is ready to deliver these highly capable vessels to support the ADF’s operational requirements. Constructing the landing craft heavy vessels at Henderson will create and develop thousands of new, skilled jobs in Western Australia and provide further opportunities for the local defence industry supply chain. While Austal’s US business has traditionally accounted for a large share of our defence order book in recent years, this contract reflects the growing strength and success of Austal’s Australian operations — and Australian industry — within the national shipbuilding and sustainment enterprise. This LCH construction contract balances out the split and provides greater geographic diversity of earnings. It also provides earnings and employment stability for the next 12 years.

Racking up the wins

Austal said the contract was the second major award for the company under the SSA, following the $1.029 billion landing craft medium design and build contract awarded in December.

Austal Defence Australia Executive General Manager, strategic shipbuilding, Gavin Stewart, said the construction project would provide outstanding opportunities for people to work within the company and for its supply chain partners.

The newly contracted vessels will be about 100m in length, 16m wide, and have a crew of more than 200.

They can also carry either six Abrams tanks or nine Redback infantry fighting vehicles.

Austal also said that Austal USA was presently constructing up to 12 smaller Landing Craft Utility vessels for the US Navy at its Mobile, Alabama, US shipyard.

Austal shares were 5.4% higher at $6.29 on Friday morning.

The company was valued at $2.46 billion at the close of trade on Thursday.

The post Austal shares take off on new Aussie contract win appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Are Austal shares a buy, hold or sell after soaring 20% on Monday?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Austal, Cochlear, Nick Scali, and WiseTech shares are tumbling today
• Why are Austal shares plunging more than 20% today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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.

The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.3% in early trade today, while ASX All Ords gold stock St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) is marching higher.

St Barbara shares closed yesterday trading for 75.5 cents. In morning trade on Friday, shares are swapping hands for, well, 76.5 cents each, up 1.3%

This sees the St Barbara share price up a jaw dropping 194.2% since this time last year, racing ahead of the 8.0% one-year gains delivered by the benchmark index.

Today the miner released its half year results for the six months to 31 December (H1 FY 2026).

Here are the highlights.

ASX All Ords gold stock swings back to profit

The St Barbara share price is marching higher with the company reporting a 32% year on year increase in revenue from ordinary activities to $128.8 million.

The ASX All Ords gold stock also notched a big improvement in earnings, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) coming in at $8.56 million, up from a loss of $39.8 million in H1 FY 2025.

On the cost front, the miner spent $40.5 million on growth capital, studies and exploration expenditure, up from the $23.9 million expenditure in H1 FY 2025.

And investors will have noted that the miner has swung to a profit, with underlying profit after tax of $1.3 million, up from a loss of $48.1 million in the prior corresponding half.

St Barbara’s statutory loss after tax of $249,000 was also a big improvement from the $48.5 million loss reported a year ago.

The ASX All Ords gold stock’s focus remains the development of its New Simberi Gold Project, located in Papua New Guinea, and the development of its 15 Mile Processing Hub Project, located in Canada.

Turning to the balance sheet, St Barbara had cash on hand of $74.8 million as at 31 December.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results that are helping to boost the ASX All Ords gold stock today, St Barbara CEO Andrew Strelein said:

We have delivered a number of project milestones in the first half with the delivery of the Feasibility Study for the New Simberi Gold Project, the Touquoy Restart Pre-Feasibility and, subsequent to the end of the December half year we announced the results of Pre-Feasibility Study for 15-Mile Processing Hub

In December, the company announced combined agreements with Lingbao Gold and the PNG government owned Kumul Minerals enabling the New Simberi Gold Project to progress to FID, with St Barbara to be fully funded for its share of development costs whilst retaining a 40% attributable share in the expanded operation.

St Barbara also updated its Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement this morning.

The ASX All Ords gold stock reported Total Ore Reserves of 3.8 million ounces of contained gold and Total Mineral Resources of 7.9 million ounces of contained silver.

“For the first time at Simberi we have also reported Mineral Resources of 15.3 million ounces of contained silver and Ore Reserves of 4.5 million ounces of contained silver,” Strelein said.

The post Up 194% in a year, why is this ASX All Ords gold stock lifting off again on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• A major green light sends this ASX gold stock higher today
• Why the St Barbara share price is halted today
• Why is this gold miner’s share price heading higher today?

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.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) shares are recovering on Friday after a savage selloff on Thursday.

In morning trade, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are up 5% to $1.94.

Why are Zip shares rebounding?

Investors have been buying Zip shares today after it announced its intention to undertake an on-market share buy-back of up to $50 million of ordinary shares.

The release notes that the buy-back program is expected to commence on or about 6 March 2026, and will run for a period of up to 12 months.

It also points out that the number of Zip shares purchased under the buy-back will depend on several factors including market conditions, its prevailing share price, and opportunities to utilise capital within the business as they emerge. The company advised that it reserves the right to vary, suspend, or terminate the buy-back program at any time.

Why is it buying back shares?

It seems that the company believes yesterday’s 30%+ decline has left its shares trading at a level that makes them undervalued.

And given its strong balance sheet, management sees this as a way to return surplus capital to its shareholders.

Commenting on the decision, Zip’s CEO and managing director, Cynthia Scott, said:

Today’s announcement reflects Zip’s disciplined and balanced approach to capital management. The Buy-Back program is consistent with our capital management framework and objective to maximise shareholder value. It demonstrates confidence in the strength of our balance sheet, and long-term strategy. We remain focused on investing in growth and driving sustainable profitability, while also returning surplus capital to shareholders where appropriate.

Should you invest?

The team at Jefferies believes that this week’s share price weakness has created a buying opportunity for investors.

According to a note released this morning, the broker has upgraded its shares to a buy rating (from hold) with a reduced price target of $4.20 (from $5.00).

Based on its current share price, this implies potential upside of 115% for investors over the next 12 months.

Elsewhere, UBS remains positive on the company. In response to its results release, the broker has retained its buy rating on Zip shares with a reduced price target of $4.50 (from $5.20).

This suggests that the company’s shares could rise by approximately 130% between now and this time next year.

The post Why are Zip shares rebounding 5% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Recap: Winners and losers from earnings season week 3
• Buy, hold, or sell? Goodman Group, Wesfarmers, Zip shares
• 3 beaten down ASX shares I’d load up on at these prices
• Is the Zip share price crash a buying opportunity or a warning sign?
• Why Goodman, Lovisa, Medibank, and Zip shares are falling today

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 Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB) share price is in focus today after the company delivered another record half-year result, with underlying revenue up 12.9% to $2.36 billion and a strong 30.5% increase in its interim dividend.

What did Qube report?

• Underlying revenue rose 12.9% to $2.36 billion for H1 FY26
• Underlying EBITA increased 9.8% to $196.3 million
• Statutory NPAT jumped 101.1% to $212.6 million (boosted by a major asset sale)
• Underlying NPATA grew 10.1% to $157.5 million
• Earnings per share (pre-amortisation) up 9.8% to 8.9 cents
• Interim dividend up 30.5% to 5.35 cents per share (fully franked)

What else do investors need to know?

Qube’s result was supported by solid performance in its Operating Division, with positive contributions from new acquisitions including AAT Webb Dock West, Coleman, ABH bulk handling in WA, and Nexus Logistics in New Zealand. The 101% jump in statutory net profit included a significant $101.5 million pre-tax boost from the sale of land at Beveridge, Victoria.

The company also highlighted ongoing efforts to improve safety, with a 22% reduction in its Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate. However, the period was marked by a tragic contractor fatality in October 2025 at Qube’s Narromine Agri facility, with support continuing for the investigation.

Qube has entered into a scheme implementation deed with a Macquarie Asset Management-led consortium, which proposes to acquire 100% of Qube’s shares by way of scheme of arrangement, subject to customary conditions.

What did Qube management say?

Qube Managing Director Paul Digney said:

Qube again delivered revenue and earnings growth in the period, underpinned by our proven ability to deliver reliable, valuable and efficient logistics services for a diversified customer base … These results underscore the value generated through Qube’s successful strategy of making targeted acquisitions to enhance service capabilities and then further investing in these acquisitions to support our customer base and deliver sustainable earnings growth.

What’s next for Qube?

Looking ahead, Qube expects to deliver continued solid underlying earnings growth for FY26, with NPATA and EPSA forecast to rise 6–10% versus FY25, despite some headwinds from higher interest expenses and fluctuations between its Ports & Bulk and Logistics & Infrastructure business units.

The company is planning full-year gross capex of $400 million to $450 million, and remains confident in its strategy of growth through acquisitions, investing to support customers, and maintaining a robust safety culture.

Qube share price snapshot

Over the past 12 month, Qube shares have risen 25%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 9% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Qube reports record half-year result and higher dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Ramsay Health Care unveils plan to separate Ramsay Santé in strategic shift
• Guzman y Gomez posts 1H26 earnings
• DigiCo Infrastructure REIT posts 1H FY26 earnings and accelerates SYD1 expansion
• QBE Insurance posts 2025 profit and dividend increase in FY25
• Buy, hold, or sell? Goodman Group, Wesfarmers, Zip shares

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 Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie 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.

So… here’s another “I was going to write about something else until…” article.

I was going to write about the hugely disparate recent returns of the different ASX sectors over the past year, but that’ll have to wait until next week.

Because I want to talk about something that’s, frankly, a little drier (way to grab people’s attention, Scott!), but far more consequential, because the impacts may be measured over decades.

And while I’m putting readers off, it’s also something that I’ve written about only reasonably recently (but please read on, anyway!):

Capital gains tax.

Yes, some of you may yawn. But I hope most of you might have just leaned in a little.

Because as investors, regardless of the asset class in which we’re invested, the rate and basis of capital gains tax has a significant impact on our total returns.

So we really should be paying attention.

Especially when our politicians (and various lobbyists) are arguing about potential changes.

Now, last time I wrote about CGT, it was to disabuse my readers of the notion that changes to the way capital gains are taxed would have any significant long-term impact on house prices.

Frankly, I’ve not seen a serious piece of economic research, from anywhere across the ideological spectrum, that suggests CGT changes would have any sizeable ongoing impact on housing affordability – a view that completely accords with my own.

You can read that article here.

So why am I returning to the well? Not to restate that view on house prices, but because it seems that there is a groundswell to change CGT anyway.

And, if it’s going to change, my fear is that focus-group-focused politicians will be inclined to make a change that sounds good, and maybe one that lends itself to a good headline, rather than one that makes any sense.

(Yes, that’s not a stretch, based on recent policy announcements from both sides of politics! But that’s why I thought it was important to step once more into the breach.)

That last article has a little of the history of CGT, including the past approach of ‘indexation’ which you can read at will, if you like.

But let’s start from first principles.

If you buy an asset today, and hold it for more than a year, there’s a very good chance that part of the increase in the price of that asset is the result of inflation.

Let’s assume you invest in a mint condition old-school Coca-Cola yo-yo (kids, ask your parents) for $50 today.

In a year’s time, you sell it for $55. But during that time, inflation was 4%.

Now, inflation doesn’t impact all prices by exactly the same rate, but it’s fair to assume that, on average, some of the price increase from $50 to $55 is because of inflation.

If the government was to tax you on your full $5 gain, they’d essentially be taxing inflation.

That’d be… bad.

The solution? A fair policy would note that inflation would have taken the price from $50 to $52, so the true investment gain is just the difference between $52 and $55, or $3.

And feel free to take a different view, but I’m yet to have anyone disagree with that basic logic.

So, if you were going to design a system to tax capital gains, you’d allow a taxpayer to ‘index the cost base’ (that is, increase it by inflation) before calculating the true (‘real’ in the economic jargon) gain for the purposes of taxation.

Yes, you’ll need the inflation numbers, but the Australian Bureau of Statistics is very good at providing those, and the ATO could just give us a standard table to use. Throw in computerisation, and it’s a doddle that the average primary school kid could do standing on their heads.

Spoiler alert: if that approach feels familiar, it should: ‘indexation’ is the approach we used to use between 1985 when CGT was introduced, and 1999, when a new method replaced it.

And the new method is what’s now being discussed.

It introduced an arbitrary 50% discount to all capital gains, and did away with the indexation method.

Why 50%?

Politics. (The argument was that it was ‘simpler’, and it is, a very little bit, but it was unnecessary in 1999 and even less so now, in the age of ubiquitous computerisation.)

And the current debate? Well, some are saying the discount should be cut to 33%. Or 25%.

Why? Again, politics.

I’ve seen no cogent argument as to why a 33% or 25% discount is a more appropriate and justified basis for taxing capital gains.

You’ll get the usual motherhood ‘It makes property investing less attractive for investors’ and the like, but given the research I mentioned above, that’s a very, very thin argument, even if the good intentions – giving more young people a fighting chance to buy their first home – is admirable, and is a vital thing for us to tackle.

See, even if they’re directionally right (though the impact would likely be tiny), the proposed changes are entirely arbitrary. At best, ‘less incentive is better’. At worst ‘the punters will think we’re doing something about housing’.

And there will still be absolutely no policy-based justification for the approach.

The only intellectually honest way to tax capital gains is by recognising that inflation shouldn’t be taxed.

(By the way, the discount, whether 50%, 33% or 25%, could mean you end up being taxed on inflation – or make a windfall gain – depending on the relative levels of the investment gain and the inflation rate. An investor in any asset shouldn’t have to take a punt on the future inflation level when deciding what to invest in.)

I understand the interest in potentially changing CGT, based on concerns about housing affordability. It’s a poor tool for that job, given the history and research, but for some, it’s better than nothing.

That aside – or maybe because of that – it’s important that any change to CGT is not just a knee-jerk reaction to perceived issues, and that any new CGT structure is based on sound economic and tax policy thinking.

My fear is that, if we don’t speak up, those in power will go for a ‘simple-but-wrong’ answer instead. And that’s why I went back to the well on CGT, today.

Don’t get sucked into the political games, particularly that CGT will be a meaningful contributor to housing affordability.

It should be changed, but to a more justified policy-based regime – not as a pretend fix to a very real problem.

So, to be 100% clear:

1. Capital Gains Tax shouldn’t tax inflation

2. An arbitrary discount – 50%, 33% or 25% – is a poor way to achieve that

3. ‘Indexation’ – increasing the cost base by inflation, before calculating the ‘real’ gain, is the best approach

Remember, if we don’t speak up, the louder voices will have their way, instead. And that’s why it was important to write about this again, today.

Have a great weekend!

Fool on!

The post Don’t let them screw up CGT appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Up 194% in a year, why is this ASX All Ords gold stock lifting off again on Friday?
• Why are Zip shares rebounding 5% today?
• Qube reports record half-year result and higher dividend
• Ramsay Health Care unveils plan to separate Ramsay Santé in strategic shift
• Guzman y Gomez posts 1H26 earnings

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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.