Lunch Wrap: Earnings season delivers blows as Woolies and WiseTech plunge

• ASX edges higher as Wall Street shrugs off weak confidence
• Woolies slumps while Coles shines in retail showdown
• Earnings season fireworks with rockets and wrecks from SiteMinder to Domino’s

The ASX was still edging higher at lunch, up 0.2% after an early 0.3% burst out of the gates.

Wall Street gave us a steady lead overnight, with all three major US indices in the green despite US consumer confidence sliding for an eighth consecutive month.

That index is now well below the danger line that usually points to recession.

Back home, Aussie inflation has poked higher.

According to ABS data this morning, CPI rose to 2.8% in July, up from 1.9% in June and above the 2.3% forecast.

Here on the ASX, the heavy lifting came from miners.

Gold names like Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) and Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM) climbed around 2% after Trump threatened to boot Fed board member Lisa Cook, a move that sent traders scrambling back into shiny metal.

But consumer staples were the real dead weight today.

Woolworths (ASX:WOW) plunged 13% after cutting its dividend and revealing a 17% profit slump. The numbers weren’t a disaster, but the outlook was soggy.

That stings even more next to Coles’ numbers yesterday, where sales up 4.3% to $40b, EBIT ahead of forecasts, and the stock ripping 8% on the day.

Wednesday’s ASX earnings wrap

Earnings season is firing live rounds.

Hotel software outfit SiteMinder (ASX:SDR) was the rocket of the day, up as much as 30%. Annual recurring revenue jumped 31%, and analysts are calling it one of the few ASX techs with genuine global legs. That’s rare oxygen, and investors piled in like it was a fresh IPO.

Logistics software firm WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) sank 7.5%. The results weren’t even bad, revenue up 14%, fat 53% margins, cash pouring in. But when you’re priced for perfection, “good” is never good enough.

Bookmaker Tabcorp Holdings (ASX:TAH) was the shock rocket, soaring 23% after swinging back to profit on $2.6 billion in revenue. For years it’s been the stock everyone loved to hate, but today it finally gave punters something to cheer.

Fast-fashion jeweller Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV) surged 17% on another year of growth, with revenue up 14%. As long as teens keep queuing for cheap sparkle, the market will keep queuing for its stock.

Travel agent Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) slipped 5% as profits came in soft. The post-Covid sugar hit is gone, the fourth quarter was weak, and competition is chewing margins. Investors know the easy money is over.

Then came the wreckage. Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) crashed 19% after posting a $3.7 million full-year loss and cutting its dividend. Asia was a bloodbath, down 32%, and early FY26 sales are already running behind.

And finally, oil producer Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) gave us a mixed bag. Full year profits were down 61% on weaker prices and volumes, but Brazilian reserves were upgraded 35%, stretching the Baúna field’s life out to 2039. Less money now, promises of more oil later.

ASX LEADERS

Today’s best performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:

Basin Energy (ASX:BSN)’s shares rocketed 165% after it struck a binding deal to acquire a huge package of uranium and rare earth projects in northwest Queensland, right next door to Paladin’s Valhalla uranium deposit and Red Metal’s Sybella rare earth find. The deal hands Basin control of nearly 6,000km² of ground with three walk-up, drill-ready targets covering paleochannel uranium, granite-hosted rare earths and clay-hosted rare earths.

To fund the push, Basin raised $1.25m at a 9% premium, leaving it fully cashed up alongside a $150k Queensland government grant. Drilling kicks off in Q4 with shallow, low-cost programs already lined up. CEO Pete Moorhouse said the acquisition “propels Basin into Australia’s uranium and rare earth exploration landscape” with “exceptional geology, strategic scale and compelling upside”.

Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ) has landed a transformational deal with Qatar’s Al Mansour Holdings (AMH). AMH is taking a 19.9% stake in Invictus at a premium, tipping in $37.8m upfront and lining up up to US$500m in future funding to drive the Cabora Bassa gas project in Zimbabwe through to production.

As part of the tie-up, Invictus and AMH have created a new Africa-focused upstream company called Al Mansour Oil & Gas, which will chase producing and near-term oil and gas assets across the continent. Invictus will run the technical and commercial side, while AMH bankrolls acquisitions through its Qatar investors.

ASX LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Decidr AI Industries (ASX:DAI) has struck a binding deal to acquire the remaining 49% stake in Decidr.ai, giving it full ownership of the agentic AI platform.

True North Copper’s (ASX:TNC) infill extension IP survey at Aquila has uncovered a treasure trove of new drilling targets within the Mt Oxide project.