Rudi’s View: August Results; Standouts, Turnarounds, Failures & Misfits

Rudi's View | Sep 10 2025

Making sense out of August performances by corporate Australia through a broader, macro lens.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor

While mulling over earnings reports and their potential ramifications for the year(s) ahead, I reminded myself of that old verse of wisdom regarding friends and acquaintances we all meet in life:

Some are there for a reason, others for the season, and only a few are here for life.

I am by no means suggesting one should treat listed equities as a personal "friend", but the underlying principle can certainly be applied more broadly.

Some companies are worth holding on to, sometimes for years and years on end. Others are best treated as a short-term experience. Usain Bolt might have been the world's fastest runner in his heydays, he simply wasn't suited for a long-distance contest.

The quicker we, as investors, understand this, the better our strategy, execution and investment return.

Note: there's no such thing as perfect execution, and luck always plays its part, but we can but do our best to read the signals and interpret them in the best ways possible.

And yet, a lot comes down to what kind of investor we are, and what our specific strategy and investment horizon is.

Below are some of the trends and characteristics identified from the recent August results season.

To be read and interpreted in line with our own risk appetite and personal investment approach.

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Category #1 - Hercules & Friends

There's a group of ASX-listed companies that is operating from a purple patch. Everything works out fine. The occasional cloud in the sky is nothing but a short-term distraction. Shareholders are smiling all the way to the bank (proverbially).

Some of these companies have been on a strong winning streak for many years, and there doesn't appear a pothole or bend in the road. Alas, for those investors not yet on board, share price valuations tend to reflect the wonderfully, strong and healthy conditions.

My personal view is every portfolio should have at least some exposure to some of these Corporate Champions, but when is the right time to jump on board?

Investors are noticeably more nervous about equities suffering a "correction" or "pullback" in the weeks or months ahead.

Observe, for example, the views expressed by market strategists at Bell Potter on Monday morning:

"We are tactically cautious US equities over the next 3-4 months due to the elevated risk of a market correction in the near term.

"The US equity markets resilience is likely to be tested by some short-term risks. The threat of slowing economic growth and reaccelerating inflation could be a key catalyst.

"Elevated valuations leave little margin for error, making the market highly sensitive to negative catalysts and vulnerable to a correction."

And:

"The ASX200 has continued to rally despite an ongoing earnings downgrade cycle, taking its lead from global markets in a move we believe is unjustified given Australia's weaker growth outlook."

Many of these share prices got wallopped back in April, only to sprint back to fresh all-time record highs once the tariffs tension subsided.

Maybe such a downward move in markets will offer another opportunity to revisit the Strong and the Mighty at lower, more comfortable price levels?

Pick your pick from the following list:

-Aussie Broadband ((ABB))
-Breville Group ((BRG))
-Car Group ((CAR))
-Codan ((CDA))
-Coles Group ((COL))
-Generation Development ((GDG))
-Goodman Group ((GMG))
-Hub24 ((HUB))
-JB Hi-Fi ((JBH))
-Life360 ((360))
-Netwealth Group ((NWL))
-Pinnacle Investment Management ((PNI))
-Pro Medicus ((PME))
-Qualitas ((QAL))
-REA Group ((REA))
-Regal Partners ((RPL))
-ResMed ((RMD))
-Sigma Healthcare ((SIG))
-Superloop ((SLC))
-Temple & Webster ((TPW))
-Wesfarmers ((WES))