Invest
Comfort for investors as Aussie companies fight disruption
Despite operating in disrupted sectors, several Australian companies and investor favourites are staging comebacks as they rise to challenging environments, an investment manager has revealed.
Comfort for investors as Aussie companies fight disruption
Despite operating in disrupted sectors, several Australian companies and investor favourites are staging comebacks as they rise to challenging environments, an investment manager has revealed.
Wrapping up the reporting season, BT head of equities strategies Crispin Murray said the market was currently witnessing a resurgence in retail, resource, and other embattled sectors.
“Companies that have been disrupted are fighting back, focusing on cost out and better earnings incomes,” Mr Murray said.
“It’s the capital return that really struck us, with a lot of companies engaging in buy backs such as QBE, Bluescope, Rio, and Crown,” he said.
Signalling a stronger domestic equity market, investors should take comfort in the recovery of some of these major Australian companies.
“A number of these had been facing significant challenges and they’d been working on repairing their balance sheet, fixing their costs, they’ve got more confidence about the future of their business and the returns they’re going to generate and as a result they feel more comfortable returning capital to shareholders and that confidence is what should be taken from this message,” Mr Murray explained.
The retail sector in particular has been at the forefront of this disruption.
“With the introduction of Aldi, we’ve seen new management at Woolworths addressing some of the market share losses they’ve seen and that has been a positive outcome for them,” Mr Murray said.
“[Meanwhile] JB Hi-fi has been consolidating in the consumer digital goods, buying The Good Guys and gaining market share,” he added.
However despite the strength of some of these companies, Mr Murray said investment fears still surround the sector more broadly.
“These companies have performed quite well in a tough retail market.[but] I think the market still remains sceptical of retail,[and] the threat of Amazon entering our market is certainly generating a lot of chatter,” he explained.
“So I think the retail sector is one we should still worry about but the companies within it are doing a good job in this environment.
While data shows the sector declined 0.1 per cent in December capping off a “soft” annual retail sales growth year, volume growth remains reasonable according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver.
“Looking forward retail sales are likely to be supported by surging dwelling completions this year which should support sales of household goods, reasonable jobs growth and low interest rates but record low wages growth and an eventual fading of the wealth effect as the Sydney and Melbourne property markets slow will act as constraints,” Mr Oliver said.
RELATED ARTICLES
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
