Sydney, Feb 25, 2026, 18:37 AEDT — Market closed
- CAR Group finished the day up 2.8% at A$24.59, standing out as the communication services sector slipped.
- Australia’s CPI stayed put at 3.8% year-over-year in January. Trimmed-mean inflation, though, edged up.
- More earnings and rate signals are drawing investor focus now, while CAR’s dividend record date lands in March.
CAR Group Limited (CAR.AX) finished Wednesday up 2.8% at A$24.59, bucking a 1.5% slide in the communication services sector as the broader market closed at a fresh record. Despite today’s gain, shares in the online vehicle marketplace remain roughly 33% lower for the year.
Australia’s consumer prices stayed flat at 3.8% year-on-year through January. The trimmed mean, which the Reserve Bank of Australia tracks closely as it filters out volatile items, ticked up to 3.4%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. “The 3.8 per cent annual CPI inflation to January was unchanged from December,” said Michelle Marquardt, head of prices at ABS. Australian Bureau of Statistics
Sticky inflation reignited the debate over just how long rates might remain tight—a key concern for growth stocks with lofty valuations. Traders nudged up the probability of a rate hike in May. RBA Governor Michele Bullock is set to speak on the CPI numbers later this day at a Melbourne university event, according to Reuters.
Australian shares pressed higher, the S&P/ASX 200 adding 106 points to finish at 9,128.3. Tech stocks staged a comeback. Woolworths leapt after posting results. Eyes now shift to Thursday’s earnings from Qantas, Ramsay Health Care and Super Retail, with sentiment prone to sharp moves in this thinly traded stretch of reporting season.
CAR Group’s latest company update this month reported an 8% lift in revenue from continuing operations to A$625.8 million for the half-year ended Dec. 31. Net profit after tax attributable to members came in at A$143.3 million, up 16.1%. Adjusted net profit, which excludes certain one-off items, rose 11.5% to A$196.8 million, according to the company’s Appendix 4D filing. The board declared an interim dividend of 42.5 Australian cents per share, with a record date set for March 16 and payment slated for April 13.
“A strong first half,” is how chief executive William Elliott summed up CAR Group’s latest results, citing double-digit gains across the company’s main financial yardsticks. Elliott also highlighted fresh AI initiatives—voice search among them—now being rolled out across platforms. ASX Announcements
Wednesday, CAR shares were jostled mostly by market positioning, not any new headlines from the company itself. The stock followed the script set for other ASX online classifieds: shifting rate bets, those persistent growth worries, and the market’s daily appetite to sort “AI winners” from “AI losers.”
The downside? Pretty straightforward. Should inflation stay hot and keep borrowing costs up, expect household demand and dealer ad spending to pull back, hitting both listings and media revenue.
The market’s closed, so eyes turn to tomorrow’s earnings slate and any fresh moves in rate bets after the CPI print. Over at CAR Group, investors are watching March 16, the interim dividend record date.
