Companies

There’s a consistent view of the consumer emerging from Australia’s Financial year 2026 (FY26) retail reporting season.

Households haven’t stopped spending, but they’ve become more selective, more value-conscious and increasingly willing to postpone discretionary purchases or wait for promotions and sales.

The pressure is most evident in big-ticket categories like furniture, appliances, and homewares. Nick Scali (ASX:NCK) noted a significant decline in store traffic late in the year; JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) mentioned that customers are focusing their purchases around major sales; and Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) said that while browsing continues, customers are delaying their buying decisions. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Consumer discretionary, Economics, Editor's Pick, Manufacturing, Market commentary, Market Valuation.

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In recent days, we have seen three ASX listed companies receive offers by private equity, and in each case, it appears their ownership will likely head overseas. 

I Squared Capital

New York based “Sophisticated and long-term infrastructure investor”, I Squared Capital has bid $1.70 per share for oOh!media Limited (ASX: OML), thus valuing the company at over $1.0 billion in Enterprise Value (EV), including the $130 million of net debt as at June 2026. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Companies, Economics, Global markets, Insightful Insights, Market commentary, Market Valuation.

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Despite the utterings from our senior politicians when discussing Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this figure takes neither the rate of inflation, nor our population growth into consideration.

When our real GDP per capita for the June 2026 Quarter is released on Wednesday 2 September, I am concerned we will see another negative number, delivering lower living standards for Australians, as experienced over recent years. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Market commentary, Market Valuation.

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In this video I discuss Aussie Broadband (ASX: ABB), a growing challenger in Australia’s retail broadband market with around 15 per cent of the NBN market across its retail and wholesale services.

The company has delivered double-digit organic sales growth alongside acquisitions, while increasing scale may support further growth and operating efficiencies. Earnings are expected to grow over the next two years, supported by a cashflow-generative business and relatively low gearing.

While concerns around competition from Starlink have recently weighed on the share price, I explain why the current valuation may offer an attractive entry point if ABB continues to execute on its growth strategy. continue…

by Gary Rollo Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Insightful Insights, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Popular, Small Caps, Stocks We Like, Video Insights.

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Australia’s August reporting season is now underway, with investors turning their attention from macroeconomic headlines to what ultimately matters most over the long term: company earnings and outlook statements.

This reporting season arrives against the backdrop of uncertainty in the economy. We expect strong results from major resource companies following a favourable year for commodity prices, while many consumer-facing and housing-related businesses may disappoint and are likely to deliver more cautious guidance as elevated interest rates, higher operating costs and ever-changing tax settings continue to pressure margins. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Popular.

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If you’ve been following the technology headlines, you might be confused by two seemingly contradictory statements. The first is that artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming dramatically cheaper to run, and the second is that tech companies are spending more money on AI compute than ever before.

How can we reconcile these statements, and what does the conclusion mean for companies like Pro Medicus (ASX: PME), Xero (ASX: XRO), NEXTDC (ASX: NXT), Megaport (ASX: MP1) and others?

If the unit price of AI is plummeting, shouldn’t the overall costs be going down? And if AI software is taking over the world, shouldn’t every startup building an AI application (App) be printing money?

To help explain the apparent dichotomy, you need to understand a 160-year-old economic concept called Jevons Paradox that’s currently being referenced everywhere and said to be driving the entire AI industry. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Energy / Resources, Insightful Insights, Manufacturing, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Technology & Telecommunications.

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I joined Juliette Saly on Ausbiz to discuss the ASX debut of FDC Consolidated (ASX), outlining why I believe the construction and fit-out business presents a compelling investment opportunity. I highlighted its 36-year track record, strong insider ownership, large work in progress, repeat client base and attractive forecast yield, while noting that quality businesses can still attract investor demand despite a subdued Initial Public Offering (IPO) market. We also discussed Australia’s fragile consumer confidence, with high household debt, rising rents and ongoing cost-of-living pressures continuing to weigh on sentiment, even as confidence gradually recovers from its 53-year low.

Watch here: FDC’s ASX debut – a builder with bite  continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Insightful Insights, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Small Caps, Stocks We Like, TV Appearances.

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As we begin Fiscal 2027, it is worth taking a step back to reflect on the major themes that shaped global markets over the past year. I explore the key developments across equities, bonds, interest rates, commodities and currencies, and consider what they may mean for investors going forward.

From Magnificent Seven to Memory Seven

In the three calendar years 2023-2025, the Magnificent Seven (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla), rose by an average 333 per cent, turning $1.00 into $4.33.

That strong upward trajectory came to an end in the six months to June 2026, with an average decline of 2 per cent. With Microsoft (-23 per cent),Meta (-15 per cent) and Tesla (-6 per cent) leading the fall.

The baton has been passed to the “Memory” sector with an average 419 per cent capital appreciation across seven companies in six months to June 2026 being reported, namely: SanDisk (+858 per cent), Kioxia (+759 per cent), Micron Technology (+304 per cent), SK Hynix (+305 per cent), Intel (+278 per cent), Marvell Technology (+251 per cent) and Samsung (+177 per cent). continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Companies, Economics, Editor's Pick, Feature Article, Financial Services, Global markets, Insightful Insights, Investing Education, Market commentary, Popular, Property.

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) needs to follow California’s lead and get on this! 

I want to tell you about a product called Kalibrate Fuel Pricing. Kalibrate, the company that provides artificial intelligence (AI) driven fuel pricing and market analytics software, is owned by the private equity firm Hanover Bidco.

Kalibrate Fuel Pricing requests petrol station owners to provide sensitive, non-public data, including historical gas sale costs, volumes, forecasted costs, and margins. Using this private data alongside publicly available information, it offers pricing recommendations for petrol. Kalibrate describes this approach as “competitor-led fuel pricing decisions” and claims to provide “complete visibility on your competitors.”

That all sounds reasonable when thinking about an individual station using the service. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Energy / Resources, Market commentary.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the market’s biggest investment theme, with strong earnings and seemingly reasonable valuations convincing many investors the rally still has further to run.

But beneath the surface, several warning signs suggest the picture may not be as strong as it appears.

Big claims, bigger questions

Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Total Addressable Market (TAM) in Enterprise AI is US$26.5 trillion. Outside estimates suggest $US50-$300 billion. This leaves the ‘buyers’ and the ‘sellers’ with some important questions. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Market Valuation.

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