WOW +13%: Delivered a strong underlying earnings beat, accelerating sales momentum, and a confident outlook.
1H26 Highlights
- Underlying NPAT $859m, +16% YoY, ahead of consensus of $819.3m
- Sales: $37.14bn, +3.4% YoY (in line with estimates)
- Australian Food sales: $27.63bn, +3.6% YoY
- Australian Food comparable sales: +3%
- EBIT (before significant items): $1.66bn, +14% YoY, ahead of consensus og $1.55bn
- Interim dividend: 45c, up from 39c, ahead of expectations
2Q / early 2H trading
- Australian Food sales (2Q): +5.1% YoY – very strong
- Comparable sales: +4.4% (vs +1.6% QoQ)
- Australian Food sales: +5.8% in the first 7 weeks of 2H (+7.2% ex-tobacco)
Underlying earnings beat consensus, while the trading update was the real catalyst. Australian Food sales growth accelerated meaningfully into the second half, signaling that Woolworths may be regaining sales leadership after a period of losing ground to Coles.
Management flagged that FY26 Australian Food EBIT growth is now expected at the upper end of the mid-to-high single-digit range, which implies close to $3bn in FY26 EBIT. That guidance upgrade, combined with improving like-for-like trends, drove strong buying interest.
- A great result from Woolies and this is now a business with strong momentum
MM remains bullish WOW ~$35
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