Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) Share Price Today, 27 November 2025: Capital Return, GST Debate and Market Outlook

Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES) is trading softer on Thursday, 27 November 2025, after a strong run into this week’s inflation-driven market rally and ahead of a major $1.50-per-share capital management payout due next week. At the same time, the conglomerate features in Western Australia’s high‑profile fight over GST funding and is once again being cited as the classic example of how not to expand into the UK retail market. ^[1]

Below is a detailed look at today’s Wesfarmers share price, the latest news dated 27 November 2025, and what investors are watching next.

Key takeaways for Wesfarmers shares today

Share price today: Wesfarmers is trading around A$79.20 on 27 November 2025, down roughly 1.5–1.7% intraday, with a session range so far between about A$78.85 and A$79.83. ^[2]
Market size: The group remains an ASX heavyweight with a market capitalisation close to A$90 billion. ^[3]
12‑month range: Over the last year, WES has traded in a wide band of roughly A$66–A$95 per share, reflecting both macro volatility and strong post‑earnings rallies. ^[4]
Big near‑term catalyst: A A$1.50 per-share capital management distribution (A$1.10 capital return + A$0.40 fully franked special dividend) is scheduled for 4 December 2025, following shareholder approval at the October AGM. ^[5]
Fresh headlines today (27 November):
- Wesfarmers was named among business leaders backing Western Australia’s campaign to defend its GST “floor” at a roundtable highlighted by Mining.com.au. ^[6]
- A ChannelNews piece on Harvey Norman’s UK expansion again uses Wesfarmers’ failed Bunnings UK foray as the key cautionary example for Australian retailers going offshore. ^[7]
Short‑term tone: Recent coverage from Kalkine Media points to record FY25 profits and the capital return, but notes the share price is under short‑term pressure despite resilient retail operations. ^[8]

Important: All prices are delayed and can move quickly. Figures here are indicative only and not a recommendation to buy or sell.

Wesfarmers share price snapshot – 27 November 2025

According to live ASX 200 data from MarketIndex, Wesfarmers shares are trading around A$79.20 today, down about 1.66% for the session. The stock’s intraday range has been roughly A$78.85–A$79.83, on moderate volume, with the company’s 12‑month price gain sitting at about 9%. ^[9]

That pullback comes straight after Wednesday’s strong rally across the Australian market. On 26 November, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.81% to 8,606.50, and the All Ordinaries gained 0.85%, driven by miners, healthcare and consumer discretionary names after hotter‑than‑expected inflation data. Wesfarmers was among the consumer stocks that climbed into that rally, with one report citing a move of roughly +1.9% on the day. ^[10]

Over the last year, different data providers place Wesfarmers’ 52‑week high around A$95 and its 52‑week low in the mid‑A$60s, underscoring how much the stock has already run since late 2024. ^[11]

Today’s Wesfarmers news: GST politics and old UK scars

1. Western Australia fights for “fair GST” – Wesfarmers at the table

The clearest company‑related news dated 27 November 2025 comes from the Western Australian GST debate.

Mining industry outlet Mining.com.au reports that on 27 November, WA business leaders have rallied behind the state’s campaign to protect its 75‑cent in the dollar GST “floor”. The article notes that representatives from Wesfarmers joined a roundtable with the Cook Government alongside major resource and property groups such as Fortescue, Hancock Iron Ore, CBH and others. ^[12]

Key points from that coverage:

The roundtable, held yesterday (26 November), forms part of a national campaign branded “WA’s GST is working for Australia”, aimed at influencing an upcoming Productivity Commission review into GST distribution. ^[13]
Attendees signed an open letter urging the Commission to maintain the current GST floor, arguing that removing it could strip about A$6 billion a year from WA’s economy, with flow‑on effects for infrastructure, jobs and national tax receipts. ^[14]

For Wesfarmers, headquartered in Perth and heavily exposed to the WA economy through Bunnings, industrial operations and its lithium joint venture, being visibly aligned with “Team WA” reinforces its image as a key stakeholder in the state’s long‑term policy settings. It’s not a direct earnings catalyst, but it matters for regulatory relationships, infrastructure investment and long‑term operating certainty in its home market.

2. Harvey Norman’s UK struggles revive the Bunnings UK cautionary tale

Also dated 27 November 2025, ChannelNews publishes a lengthy analysis of Harvey Norman’s UK expansion, asking whether high unemployment and weak brand recognition could derail that strategy. ^[15]

In the process, the article revisits Wesfarmers’ 2016–2018 push into the UK and Ireland via the Bunnings UK/Homebase acquisition. It describes Wesfarmers’ exit — selling the Homebase chain for a nominal amount after heavy losses — as a “disastrous foray” and frames it as a cautionary benchmark Harvey Norman is keen to avoid. ^[16]

For WES investors, this story doesn’t introduce new financial information, but it is a reminder of:

Management’s willingness to pull the plug quickly on underperforming ventures; and
How strongly that episode still colours market thinking whenever Australian retailers talk about offshore expansion risk.

It also underscores why Wesfarmers’ current capital management and investment strategy is heavily centred on domestic retail, health and industrials, with more measured international exposure via supply chains and its lithium partnership rather than big‑bang foreign retail acquisitions. ^[17]

Capital management: A$1.50 per share distribution looms

The biggest near‑term event for Wesfarmers shareholders remains the 2025 capital management initiative, now in its final stages.

According to Wesfarmers’ investor centre, the Board has approved a A$1.50 per share distribution, split into: ^[18]

A$1.10 per share return of capital (Capital Component)
A$0.40 per share fully franked special dividend (Dividend Component)

Key dates:

Record date: 6 November 2025 (already passed)
Ex‑date: 5 November 2025 – WES shares have already traded ex‑capital return and ex‑special dividend. ^[19]
Payment date:Thursday, 4 December 2025, when both the capital return and special dividend will be paid. ^[20]

The initiative totals about A$1.703 billion, funded largely by asset sales including Wesfarmers’ remaining stake in Coles, divestment of Coregas and the sale of LPG/LNG distribution businesses within WesCEF. ^[21]

Wesfarmers explicitly states that:

No shares are being cancelled; the capital return simply reduces share capital and hands cash back to investors. ^[22]
The Board expects the group to retain strong credit metrics and balance‑sheet capacity to pursue future acquisitions and growth investments even after the payout. ^[23]

Combined with ordinary dividends (A$0.95 interim + A$1.11 final for FY25), shareholders are looking at A$2.06 of ordinary dividends plus A$1.50 of capital/special distributions in the current financial year, for a total of A$3.56 per share in cash return — before any future payouts. ^[24]

Fundamentals: record profit, steady retail engines and a lithium drag

Record FY25 profit and dividend growth

Recent coverage from Reuters and Australian business media highlights that for the year to 30 June 2025, Wesfarmers delivered: ^[25]

Net profit after tax (excluding significant items) of around A$2.65 billion, up about 4% year on year.
Total revenue of roughly A$45.7 billion, up about 3–4%.
A total ordinary dividend of A$2.06 per share, a ~4% increase on the prior year, plus the additional A$1.50 capital/special distribution.

Kalkine Media’s recent “Share Price Update” article summarises the situation neatly: record profits, a substantial capital return, and stable performance across key retail divisions, even as the share price experiences short‑term pressure. ^[26]

The main earnings drivers remain:

Bunnings – benefiting from home improvement demand and strong brand loyalty.
Kmart Group – serving cost‑conscious shoppers in a still‑challenging cost‑of‑living environment.
Officeworks – growing more modestly, with some margin pressure. ^[27]

Diversified portfolio and new growth in health & lithium

Wesfarmers describes itself, and is widely recognised, as a multi‑segment conglomerate spanning: ^[28]

Home improvement and building materials (Bunnings)
General merchandise and apparel (Kmart, Target)
Office and technology products (Officeworks)
Health, beauty and wellness retail and pharmaceutical wholesale (Wesfarmers Health)
Chemicals, energy and fertilisers (WesCEF)
Industrial and safety distribution
An integrated lithium joint venture (Covalent Lithium) including mine, concentrator and refinery
Other investments and digital businesses

This diversification is part of the reason many analysts treat WES as a core ASX 200 holding rather than a narrowly defined retailer.

However, not all segments are yet pulling in the same direction. Coverage earlier this year noted that the lithium venture is expected to post a substantial start‑up loss (around A$60 million) as Covalent ramps up production, before contributing more meaningfully later in the decade. ^[29]

That mix — highly cash‑generative retail, capital‑intensive but potentially lucrative lithium, and steady industrial businesses — helps explain why:

WES can fund a large capital return while maintaining strong credit ratings; and
Some investors see it as both a defensive dividend stock and a long‑term growth story tied to the energy transition.

Short‑term technicals and options expiry on 27 November

Today’s trading also coincides with ASX equity options expiry for several Wesfarmers series.

Data from Intelligent Investor shows a series of WES options expiring on 27 November 2025, including: ^[30]

A call option with a strike of A$78.58 (code WES5V7)
Other near‑the‑money strikes around A$82.51, A$86.42, A$89.37, A$90.35 and A$91.34, across various call and put series

With WES trading a little above A$79 today, some of those contracts sit in or near the money, which can:

Encourage hedging or unwinding of positions by traders; and
Add a layer of short‑term volume and price noise that is largely unrelated to fundamentals.

For long‑term shareholders, this may simply translate to a bit of extra volatility around today’s close, especially with the capital return payment only a week away.

How the market currently values Wesfarmers

Pulling the numbers together:

Price today (intraday): ~A$79.20
12‑month total return: about +9% on price alone, before dividends. ^[31]
Market capitalisation: ~A$90–92 billion, depending on the data source and exact price used. ^[32]
52‑week range: roughly A$66–A$95, indicating the stock is currently trading toward the middle‑lower portion of its recent range after pulling back from above A$90 following the FY25 results. ^[33]

Some recent commentary in the financial press has framed Wesfarmers as a “dividend stalwart”, pointing to a forecast fully‑franked yield around the high‑3% range for FY26 alongside an intention to keep lifting dividends over time, subject to earnings and franking capacity. ^[34]

At the same time, chart‑based services such as StockInvest highlight that WES has seen short‑term weakness in recent sessions, even as the long‑term technical picture remains constructive after the rally into the mid‑A$90s earlier this year. ^[35]

What to watch next for WES shareholders

Looking beyond today’s headlines, several near‑term and medium‑term catalysts stand out:

4 December 2025 – cash hits accounts
- The capital return and special dividend land next Thursday. That could trigger portfolio rebalancing among income investors, and some may reinvest cash back into WES or rotate into other high‑yield ASX names. ^[36]
Consumer spending and inflation data
- Yesterday’s hotter‑than‑expected CPI print lifted the ASX on expectations of “higher for longer” rates, but also underlines the pressure on household budgets. Wesfarmers has historically benefited when shoppers trade down to value formats like Kmart and Bunnings, yet higher rates can eventually weigh on big‑ticket retail. ^[37]
Covalent Lithium ramp‑up
- Any update on production volumes, costs, or pricing for its lithium joint venture will be watched closely. Early‑stage losses are already flagged, but clearer evidence of progress could shift market sentiment toward the long‑run EV‑and‑battery growth story. ^[38]
Regulatory and tax settings in WA
- While today’s GST campaign is a macro‑political story, Wesfarmers’ seat at the table highlights that changes to state revenue flows, infrastructure spending and tax arrangements can indirectly influence its long‑term growth platform in Western Australia. ^[39]
Next earnings date – February 2026
- Several data providers list mid‑February 2026 as the next scheduled earnings window, when management will give a detailed trading update for the first half of FY26 and more colour on capital allocation after this year’s big payout. ^[40]

Bottom line

On 27 November 2025, Wesfarmers shares are taking a breather around the high‑A$70s after a strong run, even as the company:

Prepares to deliver a A$1.50 per‑share capital return and special dividend next week,
Continues to post record‑level profits from its retail engines, and
Navigates new growth frontiers in health and lithium, while old lessons from Bunnings UK continue to shape how investors think about its offshore ambitions. ^[41]

For investors, the combination of solid fundamentals, generous capital returns and cyclical exposure to consumer spending and construction makes Wesfarmers a name that’s likely to stay front‑and‑centre on the ASX 200 watchlist — especially on days like today when policy debates and technical flows both intersect with the share price.

Disclaimer: This article is a general news and information service only. It is not personal financial advice or a recommendation to buy, hold or sell Wesfarmers shares. Always do your own research and consider seeking advice from a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.

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