Perth, May 11, 2026, 02:08 AWST
Wesfarmers Ltd. heads into Monday with its shares under pressure after the latest ASX session, as oil-linked turmoil kept investors focused on whether the Bunnings and Kmart owner can lift prices without hurting demand. The stock last closed at A$72.25 on May 8, down 1.95%, after trading as high as A$73.24, LSEG data carried by the company showed.
That matters now because the cost shock is still live. Reuters reported on Sunday that most Gulf bourses fell after fresh drone attacks and uncertainty around Iran peace talks clouded relief over the first Qatari LNG tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz since the war began.
The selloff was not a Wesfarmers-only story. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.51% to 8,744.4 on Friday, its worst day since mid-March, with Morningstar and AAP reporting that Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Goodman Group and CSL weighed on their sectors; Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said the size of Australia’s underperformance was notable despite an otherwise stronger week.
Wesfarmers has already flagged a direct hit from freight and fuel. Chief Executive Rob Scott told the Macquarie Australia Conference that fuel surcharges from international container shipping companies and domestic transport providers were having the biggest cost impact, adding that “some prices are going to have to go up,” with building supplies such as PVC pipe exposed because petrochemicals, or oil-and-gas based inputs, feed into their production. Reuters
The pressure lands across a broad portfolio. Wesfarmers says its businesses span home improvement and building materials, general merchandise and apparel, office and technology products, health and beauty retail, chemicals, fertilisers, lithium and industrial safety.
The competitive backdrop gives the group less room for blunt price rises. Woolworths’ Big W said in April it had cut shelf prices on more than 2,000 products, while Metcash lists Mitre 10, Home Hardware and Total Tools among its national hardware brands, putting value claims at the centre of both discount retail and hardware.
Oil remains the hinge. Brent crude settled at US$101.29 a barrel on Friday after jumping as much as 3% during the session, and Again Capital partner John Kilduff told Reuters the market was between “a breakthrough” and renewed fighting. Reuters
Wesfarmers also has a new growth lever outside its core retail chains, though it will not change near-term earnings much. The company said last week it would enter a 50:50 venture with Built Group called Built Living and commit up to A$100 million to a Western Australia facility designed to support more than 2,000 apartments a year using Design for Manufacture and Assembly, a factory-led building method; Wesfarmers said the venture was not expected to have a material impact on earnings in the current financial year.
But the downside case is plain. If Gulf disruption keeps freight and fuel costs elevated, Wesfarmers may have to choose between absorbing more costs or passing them through to households already sensitive to price; AMP chief economist Shane Oliver told ABC the longer the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, the “greater the hit” to global and Australian economies. ABC News
Investors now have two near-term markers: Monday’s open for ASX:WES and the company’s next scheduled briefing. Wesfarmers lists a Strategy Briefing Day for June 10 and its 2026 full-year results announcement for August 27.
