Business

News on companies, industries, and corporate developments.

Business
Myer posts $211m loss after Apparel Brands purchase
Myer Group reported a loss last fiscal year following its purchase of Apparel Brands, with shares dropping by 28.9%. Total sales were A$3.67 billion across the fiscal year, up 12.5% due to the acquisition, while Myer Retail sales rose 1.2%. It reported a statutory net loss after tax of $211.2 million, caused by a one-off non-cash impairment from the acquisition. “FY25 was a transition year for Myer Group as we reset the base to position the business for long-term growth. Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions and tough retail markets in Australia and New Zealand, we achieved positive sales growth in our first period as a combined Group,” said Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth. “Our trading for the first seven weeks of FY26 has been positive and we are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, with emerging pockets of improving consumer strength. We also expect to see a return on the enhancements and investments we have made to strengthen the Group and offset ongoing cost of doing business headwinds.” Operating gross profit was $1.41 billion, boosted in the year’s second half by the Apparel Brands purchase. The company reported $656.0 million in FY25’s first half. The company’s cost of doing business rose $43
Business
Kenvue shares dive ahead of Trump autism claims
Shares of Kenvue slid more than 7% before United States President Donald Trump linked its pain medication Tylenol to autism. Trump advised pregnant women and parents of young children not to use or administer the over-the-counter painkiller although this is not supported by medical advice. "I want to say it like it is, don't take Tylenol. Don't take it," Trump told a news conference. "Fight like hell not to take it. There may be a point where you have to, and that you'll have to work out with yourself, so don't take Tylenol." The advice from Trump, who admitted "I'm not a doctor", is counter to medical advice, which cites studies showing acetaminophen, the generic name for the drug branded as Tylenol, plays a safe role in the well-being of pregnant women. In an extraordinary news conference at the White House, the President also linked autism to childhood vaccines. Kenvue shares fell $1.37 (7.47%) to $16.97, capitalising the consumer health company at $32.57 billion, before recovering to $17.74 in after-hours trade. The stock fell ahead of the announcement because investors were expecting the announcement. The share price had fallen to a record low earlier this month after a newspaper report that United Sta
Business
Oracle names cloud infrastructure heads as new co-CEOs
Oracle has named its cloud infrastructure presidents Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co-CEOs, as the company’s cloud and artificial intelligence offerings drive a major surge in its share price. Magouyrk and Sicilia will continue to expand Oracle’s AI products, the company said. Oracle Outgoing CEO Safra Catz has been named executive vice chair, and Larry Ellison will continue as board chair and chief technology officer. “Humanity is investing enormous resources in the race to advance Artificial Intelligence. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is playing a major part in that effort,” said Ellison. “A few years ago, Clay and Mike committed Oracle’s Infrastructure and Applications businesses to AI—it’s paying off,” Ellison said. “Oracle’s future is bright.” Magouyrk was at Amazon Web Services before joining Oracle in 2014, and co-founded Oracle’s cloud engineering team. Sicilia was formerly president of Oracle Industries, and joined Oracle with its acquisition of Primavera Systems in 2008. Catz was named co-CEO in 2014 alongside Mark Hurd after Ellison left the role, and became sole CEO after Hurd’s death in 2019. Oracle’s share price spiked by over 30% this month after its earnings report disclosed remaining performanc
Business
Heineken pays US$3.2bn for Central American beer empire
Heineken NV is writing a hefty cheque - US$3.2 billion to be exact - for Florida Ice and Farm Company's (FIFCO) beverage empire across Central America. The deal brings Costa Rica's century-old Imperial beer brand into Heineken's stable and ownership of fast-growing businesses in Panama and Nicaragua. While an 11.6x EV/EBITDA multiple has some analysts raising eyebrows, the Dutch brewer is betting big on geographic diversification as European beer territories continue their sluggish performance. As part of the deal, Heineken will secure >300 proximity retail outlets spanning Costa Rica, increasing its direct-to-consumer capabilities in the region. “By integrating FIFCO’s iconic brands, deep market expertise, and exemplary sustainability credentials, we are accelerating our EverGreen strategy and entering new profit pools across Central America,” Heineken chair Dolf van den Brink said.Premium purchase, volatile trendsThe takeover sits above current industry benchmarks, and Heineken's own shares trade at a 9.1x EBITDA, meaning the company is paying a ~28% premium to its own valuation. Recently, beverage companies have been trading at median EBITDA multiples - 9.6x in 2024 - down from 14.7x in 2023, reflecting a broa
Business
Porsche cuts guidance, delays electric SUVs
Porsche has cut its guidance and will delay the rollout of its new electric SUVs amid a decline in profits, with shares dropping by 7.2% during Monday's European session. The company previously said its new SUV series would be fully electric, but these models will instead be initially available as combustion engine and plug-in hybrids. It has forecast an additional operating profit hit of up to EU€1.8 billion (A$3.22 billion) this year. “Today we have set the final steps in the realignment of our product strategy. We are currently experiencing massive changes within the automotive environment. That's why we're realigning Porsche across the board,” says Porsche CEO Oliver Blume. “In doing so, we want to meet new market realities and changing customer demands – with fantastic products for our customers and robust financial results for our investors.” A new platform for electric vehicles that Porsche planned to introduce in the 2030s will also be delayed, the company said. Porsche said its operating profit is set to drop due to the United States’ tariffs and the slowdown in China’s luxury market, as well as the delay in its electric vehicle plans. Its updated guidance includes a return on sales of up to 2%, down from 5

Business
Beleaguered Reece jumps 12% on $250m buy-back offer
In an effort to fix its leaking market value, plumbing giant Reece Limited (ASX: REH) has announced an A$250 million share buyback - potentially expanding to $400 million with an on-market raise. The stock price jumped 12% after the news broke - temporary relief for shareholders nursing a 60% decline from $29 to below $12 over the past year. Eligible shareholders can offer to sell some or all of their shares to Reece at a floor price of $11.00, representing a 6.6% premium to the last close, at a nominated price between $11.00-$13.00 (inclusive), in 20 cent intervals; and/or at the final buy-back price within that range determined by Reece. The Wilson family, which has controlled Reece since 1969, won't participate in the buyback. Their stake will increase from 67.1% to potentially 71.1% however, further concentrating ownership during the company's most challenging period in decades. “We carefully evaluated all available options in accordance with our capital allocation framework and believe the buy-back is an efficient way to return excess capital to shareholders, while maintaining a conservative leverage ratio," Reece chairman Peter Wilson said. “Despite the challenging near-term outlook, we remain optimistic for t
Business
Berkshire Hathaway has exited its BYD investment
Berkshire Hathaway has exited its investment in Chinese electric vehicle company BYD, after seeing BYD’s share price soar over the past 17 years. It first bought a 10% stake in BYD in 2008, but had cut this to just under 5% by June 2024 after selling around 76% of its shares. Berkshire said in a filing for its energy subsidiary that it had sold its remaining 415 BYD shares across 2025’s first quarter. Berkshire has not explained its reasons for the sale. Its BYD purchase was spearheaded by late vice chair Charlie Munger. “I have never helped do anything at Berkshire that was as good as BYD,” said Munger in 2023. BYD’s share price rose by around 3890% during the period Berkshire invested in the company. Berkshire purchased its initial stake of 225 million shares for US$230 million. While BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged to an all-time high of HK$158.76 in May, its share price sank during the first half of September after it reported its first drop in quarterly profit in more than three years. China’s regulators have urged BYD to halt its aggressive price-cutting strategy in recent months, arguing that price wars could heavily damage the country’s electric vehicle sector. BYD’s (SEHK: 1211) share price close
Business
How far along are the Mag 7 in building our AI future?
Here's a number that'll make your head spin: US$390 billion. That's what the 'Magnificent 7' are hurling at AI infrastructure this year. That's more than South Africa's entire GDP, and the spending spree is pumping half a percentage point into United States economic growth. The companies pouring billions into artificial intelligence's capabilities will likely control tomorrow's economy. These are the world's +1 trillion dollar companies, the American tech stocks of Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Tesla and Apple - which aren't just buying servers anymore - they're building the digital backbone of whatever comes next. Amazon's going full throttle$100 billion has been committed this year to Amazon's AWS cloud infrastructure. Another $4 billion went to doubling down on Anthropic, bringing its Claude AI stake to $8 billion. CEO Andy Jassy reckons GPU shortages will ease in the second half. "I predict those constraints really start to relax," he told analysts. Translation? All that capex is about to become revenue. Here's where it gets interesting though: Amazon's playing a different game than Microsoft. Where Redmond's tied itself to OpenAI like a ball and chain, Amazon stays neutral. With multiple AI providers
Business
Azzet Unpacked: Fed cuts spark frenzied week in business
What a week to be watching markets. The Fed finally delivered its first rate cut of 2025, TikTok drama got sorted (again), and everyone from uranium miners to luxury carmakers made headlines. But if you blinked, you missed half the action - because this week was absolutely chock-full of market-moving news. Let's unpack the lot. All the top moves, shakes, and red-hot takes from Azzet's editorial team are right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (19 September, 2025).The Fed's careful danceThe big kahuna this week was Wednesday's United States Federal Reserve meeting, where Chair Jerome Powell and his merry band of rate-setters delivered a 25-basis-point cut to 4%-4.25%. It was the first cut since December 2024, and frankly, it was about bloody time. An 11-to-1 vote meant less drama than Wall Street expected, with newly minted Governor Stephen Miran - Trump's pick - being the lone dissenter. But here's the kicker: Miran wanted a bigger 50-basis-point cut, not a smaller one. That tells you everything about the political pressure cooker Powell's been operating in. The dot plot revealed two more cuts expected this year, but only one in 2026 and one in 2027. Translation? The Fed's not in any rush to slash rates ag