More than 15% of the ASX 200 – some 32 companies – will report their June 30 performances this week. By Friday, we will have a very good idea of how the reporting season will end up.
Annual results from leading consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi later today (Monday) will give us a good indication of how consumer spending fared in the June half-year and the first seven weeks of 2024-25.
On Wednesday, the biggest company of them all – the Commonwealth Bank – will release its full-year results. The pressure will be on to justify the surge in its share price in the past couple of months. Will the dividend rise, and by how much?
AMP chief economist, Shane Oliver, expects a weak season for earnings, especially from major miners (as we have already seen from Rio Tinto’s half-year report).
“Consensus expectations are for a 3.6% fall in earnings for 2023-24, driven by a sharp fall in energy sector profits. Miners, banks, and consumer staples are also expected to be down, but utilities, healthcare, and industrials are expected to post strong gains,” he wrote at the weekend.
“Key to watch will be guidance around how the consumer is holding up with high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures, along with indications around input cost pressures and pricing power. It’s a bit of a make-or-break earnings season in terms of guidance because after two years of earnings falls, they are expected to rebound to 4.8% growth this financial year,” Dr Oliver noted.
Among the reporters this week will be Aurizon, Car Group, Beach Energy, and JB Hi-Fi today; CSL, Seek, Temple & Webster, and James Hardie (first quarter) on Tuesday; CBA, Evolution Mining, AGL, Seven West Media, Seven Group Holdings, and Challenger on Wednesday; Telstra, Origin, Cochlear, Orora, and Goodman Group on Thursday; and Amcor, ASX, Domain, and Charter Hall Retail REIT on Friday.
US Earnings Season
The US earnings season is almost finished, with 91% of S&P 500 companies having reported. Results have been okay but nothing to boast about.
Overall, companies in the S&P 500 have reported second-quarter results that are 4.1% above expectations, in line with the long-term average of 4.2% above expectations.
Retailers Walmart, Home Depot, Ross Stores, and Dillard’s are among companies reporting earnings this week. Cisco (Reuters reports the company will be cutting thousands more jobs this week) and Deere & Co are also due to report. Internationally, there will be another flood of figures from Europe, China, Japan, and elsewhere.
Three big gold miners – Barrick Gold, Franco-Nevada, and Gold Fields of South Africa – are also due to report.
Nine S&P 500 companies, including three Dow components, are scheduled to report results for the second quarter this week.