Coles Group Ltd (COL) reported a 13.7% year-over-year increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) to A$1.26 billion for the fiscal year ended June 2026, outpacing market expectations and lifting its shares by 2.43% in after-hours trading. The supermarket operator posted group sales of A$45.6 billion, a 2.8% rise, while supermarket earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) climbed 12.2% with a 43-basis-point margin expansion to 5.7%. E-commerce revenue surged 26.4% to A$5.6 billion, representing 13.6% of total sales.
The liquor segment underperformed, with EBIT falling 47.8% to A$59 million, prompting plans to close 30 stores in FY2027. Coles also announced a full-year dividend of A$0.78 per share, up 13%, and outlined A$1.55 billion in capital expenditure for FY2027, including a new automated distribution centre in Victoria. As of August 24, Coles traded at A$23.19, with a market capitalization of A$30.3 billion and a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 30.3x.
Woolworths Ltd (WOW) is positioned to face heightened investor expectations when it reports FY2026 earnings on August 26, following Coles' strong performance. Consensus estimates project Woolworths' FY2026 revenue at A$71.64 billion, nearly A$26 billion ahead of Coles, though its net margin is expected to remain at 1.4%, below Coles' 2.4%. Earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at A$1.26, a recovery from A$0.78 in FY2025, with FY2027 EPS projected at A$1.42.
Woolworths' profitability has shown volatility in recent years, collapsing from 13.0% in FY2022—distorted by asset sales—to near breakeven at 0.2% in FY2024, before recovering to 1.4% in FY2025. The company's valuation metrics reflect this earnings base, with a trailing P/E of 79.4x and a forward P/E of 30.6x. As of August 24, Woolworths traded at A$38.93, with a market cap of A$47.5 billion, a dividend yield of 2.3%, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 371.1%, which analysts note limits flexibility for dividend increases or capital expenditure relative to Coles.
