ASX Futures Lower Amid Weak Global Cues
ASX 200 futures fell 39 points or 0.45% early Friday. The decline followed a soft Wall Street lead, where the Equal-weight S&P 500 fell 0.32%, the Dow lost 0.70%, and the Russell 2000 shed 1.36%, reflecting broad selling across sectors.
ASX 200 chart as of 12:09 PM AEST
Alphabet Surpasses Q2 Expectations
Alphabet delivered stronger-than-expected Q2 results, reporting 14% revenue growth to US$96.4 billion. The increase accelerated from Q1’s 12% gain. All key segments, including Google Search, YouTube, Advertising, and Cloud, recorded double-digit growth.
Revenue beat market expectations by 2.2%. Search revenues rose 12% year-on-year, above the forecasted 9%, while Cloud revenue jumped 32%, outpacing the 27% estimate. Alphabet raised its FY25 capital expenditure guidance by US$10 billion to US$85 billion to support data centre expansion. Despite the solid result, shares gained only 0.8%, pulling back from intraday highs of 3.9%.
Newmont Smashes Q2 Forecasts
Newmont shares rose 4.0% in extended trading after beating Q2 estimates. The miner reported US$5.32 billion in revenue, up 20% and 9.7% above estimates. Adjusted EPS surged 150% to US$1.43, exceeding expectations by 23.3%.
Newmont produced 1.5 million ounces of gold and 36,000 tonnes of copper. It reaffirmed FY25 guidance, including 5.9 million ounces of gold and an AISC of US$1,630/oz. The board also approved an additional US$3.0 billion share buyback program.
Bapcor Shares Plunge on Weak Outlook
Bapcor shares sank 28% after flagging weaker FY25 results, including $48–50 million in write-downs and a May–June sales slump. Three board members resigned amid the turmoil.
Broker reactions were swift. RBC Capital cut its target by 18% to $4.50 but upgraded to Outperform, citing trade segment weakness and potential wholesale margin gains. Macquarie downgraded to Neutral, slashing its target by 35% to $3.80, and flagged limited FY26 visibility. Canaccord Genuity lowered its target to $4.15 but upgraded to Buy, noting potential suitor interest in Bapcor’s trade business.
Fortescue Delivers Strong Quarterly, Cautious Outlook Prevails
Fortescue posted a strong operational update, beating key June quarter and FY25 targets. Shipments hit 55.2Mt, beating estimates by 2.1%, while ore mined reached 64.3Mwmt, exceeding forecasts by 5.2%. Hematite C1 costs were $16.29/wmt, 10.3% below estimates.
FY26 guidance was upgraded to include higher production and lower costs. Shipments are now forecast at 195–205Mt, and Iron Bridge output at 10–12Mt. Hematite costs are expected between $17.50–18.50/wmt.
RBC maintained Outperform and raised its target to $20.00. Goldman Sachs kept a Neutral rating with a $15.50 target, flagging capex pressures. JPMorgan held Overweight with a $20.00 target, noting sentiment-driven risks despite strong metrics.
Cuscal and Steadfast Announce CFO Transitions
Cuscal CFO Sean O’Donoghue will retire in the second half of 2025. Jennifer Brice, current CFO at Australian Payments Plus, will replace him from 27 October 2025.
Steadfast CFO Stephen Humphrys will retire on 31 August 2025, citing health and family reasons. Hannah Lee, Group Financial Controller, will act as interim CFO.
Also Read: Catalina Targets High-Grade Gold and Rare Earth Zones in WA Expansion Drive
Dimerix Cash Position Strengthens
Dimerix reported cash flows of A$45.6 million for the June quarter. The result included a US$30 million upfront payment from Amicus Therapeutics for a US licence agreement on DMX-200.
Dimerix now holds A$68.3 million in cash. The DMX-200 asset has secured four regional deals across the US, EU, MENA, and Japan, with combined potential value of A$1.4 billion and more than A$65 million received.
Whitehaven Meets FY25 Guidance
Whitehaven delivered strong June quarter results with ROM production up 15% quarter-on-quarter to 10.6Mt. Full-year production reached 39.1Mt, exceeding guidance midpoint by 5.0%. Coal sales hit 30.2Mt, with equity sales of 26.5Mt. Unit costs were A$139/t, beating guidance by 5.8%.
Whitehaven shares surged 13.9% this week after China ordered high-output coal mines to halt operations.
Citi Downgrades Northern Star
Citi downgraded Northern Star to Neutral and cut its price target to $18.00 from $21.00. The downgrade followed Thursday’s quarterly update, which provided limited clarity on post-FY26 capex. Analysts added $165 million to FY27–28 capex and cut EBITDA forecasts by 3–7%.
Metals X Reports Strong Tin Cashflow
Metals X posted Q2 tin production of 2,724 tonnes from the Renison mine. Revenue reached $136.4 million, with EBITDA of $67.05 million and net cash flow of $44.2 million.
The company holds $230.5 million in cash and has invested 73% of that in five term deposits yielding 4.51% p.a.
Regal Upgrades Half-Year Forecast
Regal reported FUM of $17.7 billion at 30 June 2025, a 7.0% increase over the quarter. The rise came from client inflows and investment performance.
Regal upgraded 1H25 performance fee revenue guidance to “at least $40 million” from $35 million. It also expects normalised NPAT of “at least $40 million.”
