Sydney, February 27, 2026, 16:57 AEDT — After-hours trade.
Shares of Coles Group Ltd (COL.AX) tumbled 7.3% to end Friday at A$20.56, following the release of its half-year results. The stock moved within a range of A$20.10 to A$21.50.
For a stock that investors usually see as a safe spot, the reaction is jarring. It drags up an old worry for the sector: just how much profit can stick around when customers get choosy and the large chains keep squeezing on price.
Earlier this week, Woolworths—Coles’ bigger competitor—posted a first-half profit that topped forecasts. Australian food sales climbed 5.8% in the first seven weeks of the second half, and the stock jumped more than 11%. “The market will get a much clearer picture of how the grocery wars are actually playing out,” said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, ahead of Coles’ numbers. Reuters
Coles reported a 2.5% lift in group sales revenue, reaching A$23.618 billion for the 27 weeks ended Jan. 4. EBIT, stripping out “significant items,” jumped 10.2% to A$1.231 billion. Net profit after tax (NPAT), though, slid 11.3% to A$511 million following A$235 million in significant items related to a Federal Court judgment from Fair Work Ombudsman proceedings. Excluding those charges, underlying NPAT climbed 12.5% to A$676 million. The board set an interim dividend at 41 Australian cents per share.
Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, pointed to the sell-off as a sign that investors were looking past the headline figures and zeroing in on what the result meant for future trading sessions. The company’s warning about tougher competition, Rodda said, hinted Coles “might be down on the proverbial scorecard right now”. ABC News
Coles Group’s interim dividend—fully franked, so it includes Australian tax credits—lands on March 30. Shares go ex-dividend March 10, cutting off eligibility for the payout. Investors have until March 12, 5 p.m. AEDT, to submit currency choices and make elections for the dividend reinvestment plan.
Coles reported a 3.7% lift in supermarket sales revenue for the first seven weeks of the third quarter—5.3% higher if you strip out tobacco. Liquor sales, still down, eased their slide to a 2.5% decline. The retailer highlighted roughly A$7 million in second-half one-off costs tied to wrapping up its liquor simplification effort, while online sales penetration reached 13.1% for the half. CEO Leah Weckert noted that value “remains front of mind” for shoppers. Other updates: a broader partnership with Uber Eats, and a ChatGPT Enterprise rollout is underway at store support centres. Coles Group
The risk here is straightforward: sharp discounting keeps pressure on margins, and any legal trouble lands at a bad moment. Coles faces a lawsuit from the ACCC, accused of misleading promotions, with closing arguments finishing up this week, according to ABC.
The market’s closed until the next session, so traders are eyeing any signs of further selling or, possibly, some bargain hunting as the dividend date passes and eyes turn to early Q3 sales. Coles’ third-quarter sales update, per its investor calendar, is slated for May 1.
