Earnings season is heating up, with results from ASX heavyweights CBA and CSL highlighting the divide between market darlings and duds. CBA’s 45% surge over the past year defies gravity - and analyst ratings. Market Index data shows zero buy ratings, one hold, and eight sells, yet investors keep bidding it higher, frustrating fund managers.
CSL, in contrast, has stagnated for five years, underperforming the ASX200 by 22% in the past year. Its latest earnings miss sent shares down 4.95%, the worst single-day fall since 2023. Yet brokers remain bullish, with UBS, Citi, and Macquarie reaffirming buy ratings. Market Index data for January shows not a single sell on the stock.
The healthcare pain didn’t stop there. Ramsay’s CEO and CFO announced their exits, Cochlear hit its lowest levels since 2023 after missing profit and dividend expectations, and even Pro Medicus was sold off despite strong earnings.
Looking ahead, all eyes turn to the RBA, with a 90% chance priced in for a 25bp rate cut - though some economists argue the case is ‘very weak.’ Meanwhile, hotter-than-expected US inflation data has pushed expectations for further Fed rate cuts back to October. It’s a fine line in the fight to cool inflation.
Cuts are coming, equities are full, and Trump is being underestimated by everyone
From investing his paper route money in term deposits when he was nine years old, to racing the two kilometres from one end of Collins Street to the other to submit a handwritten RBA bond tender, to running a market-beating income fund for more than 20 years, Yarra Capital Management’s Roy Keenan has seen it all in his 40+ years in markets. In this Rules of Investing podcast, Keenan shares his current take on markets, why he thinks rate cuts are on the way, equities look full, and where he’s finding opportunities in fixed income. He also shares why he thinks we’re all underestimating the impact of Trump.
FNArena reporting season monitor: February 2025 - Week 2 (47 stocks covered)
Some suburbs quietly appreciate year after year, while others explode in value seemingly overnight. So where should investors be looking? Ray White’s Nerida Conisbee, Capital Property Advisory’s Matthew Hughes, and I opine on the next suburbs primed for serious growth. Whether it’s gentrification, infrastructure spending, or supply constraints, these areas tick all the right boxes. If you’re looking for your next move in the property market, start here.
Chart of the Week: PME is the most expensive ASX stock - pricier than even NVIDIA
Source: Market Index
As the Livewire team prepared for Pro Medicus’s results, one angle stood out - valuation. While PE ratios don’t tell the whole story, they remain a fundamental tool for assessing how richly a stock is priced and whether its growth potential justifies the premium.
That’s when my colleague Kerry Sun and I decided to crunch the numbers on the ASX’s most expensive stock. The result? A staggering 364x PE ratio—higher than even NVIDIA, the poster child of the AI boom.
To make sense of this, I spoke with Jun Bei Liu, co-founder of the newly minted TenCap. She shared the critical insights PME skeptics need to understand why, despite its sky-high valuation, the company still deserves a place in investors’ portfolios.
During the week, Livewire editor Vishal Teckchandani wrote a wire on how investing in property is critical to building real wealth. What's your take?
a) Still the best wealth-building tool. Leverage, rental income, and long-term growth make it unbeatable. b) A mixed bag. Some markets will thrive, but others are overpriced and risky. c) I'd rather stick to shares today. High prices, low yields, and rising rates mean property is overhyped.
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