Brambles opens on ASX as buyback meets U.S. pallet repair costs

Brambles opens on ASX as buyback meets U.S. pallet repair costs

June 30, 2026

SYDNEY, June 30, 2026, 09:03 AEST

  • Brambles Limited ended Monday’s session at A$19.79, gaining 0.76%. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) added 0.68%.
  • Brambles traded 2.43 million shares Monday, about 55% of its 65-day average. The rebound lacked strong volume.
  • At AUD/USD 0.6888, the extra US$400 million buyback gets around 29.3 million shares at Monday’s close, or about 2.2% of shares outstanding.
  • Brambles is set for its next test on Aug. 20, when the company reports full-year results and plans to give an update on U.S. repair capacity.

Brambles opened in the ASX pre-market Tuesday, with shares off their May lows but still well below last year’s high. The ASX was trading ahead of regular hours at 09:03 AEST. Standard trading on the ASX is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sydney time on business days, and the exchange’s 2026 calendar shows no closure on June 30.

Now the focus is shifting from daily moves to how aggressively Brambles can buy back shares, given its U.S. pallet repair network is still burning cash. The company closed Monday with a market cap of A$26.43 billion and 1.34 billion shares on issue.

Monday tapeBrambles ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO)
CloseA$19.798,823.40
One-day moveup 0.76%up 0.68%
Day rangeA$19.61 to A$19.848,764.20 to 8,823.40
52-week rangeA$16.18 to A$26.938,262.40 to 9,200.90

The stock finished Monday 22.3% over the 52-week low and 26.5% under the 52-week high. Volume hit 2.425 million shares, less than the 65-day average of 4.415 million, per WSJ figures.

The buyback size starts to count. A US$400 million buyback, using AUD/USD 0.6888 and A$19.79 per share, works out to roughly 12 days of Monday’s trading or around seven days of typical volume. The company won’t actually trade like that, but the number is big enough to show up in the tape.

ItemCompany figureScale versus FY26 free cash flow before dividends
Buyback announcedUS$400 mln36%-40%
Expected U.S. repair profit hit FY26US$60 mln5.5%-6.0%
Extra supply-chain cost included aboveUS$40 mln3.6%-4.0%
Capex for new pallets from 4Q26 dealUS$60 mln5.5%-6.0%

Brambles lowered its outlook for FY26 sales revenue growth, now guiding to 2%-3% instead of the earlier 3%-4%. The company also cut underlying profit growth guidance to 3%-5%, down from 8%-11%. It flagged a US$60 million earnings hit in FY26 from its U.S. repair problem, with about US$40 million of that tied to higher repair, handling, transport and storage costs. Brambles said it plans to buy about 2 million new pallets in the fourth quarter.

CEO Graham Chipchase said in May the company can’t compromise on meeting customer needs. He flagged that the problems would drag on FY26 and the first half of FY27, but the FY28 margin expansion goal stays unchanged.

Esther Holloway, equity analyst at Morningstar Australasia, said the sell-off is “overdone” after the downgrade. She cut Brambles’ fair value estimate 8% to A$23 and trimmed her FY26 and FY27 underlying EBIT forecasts by 6% and 5% after slower new business, volume limits and higher costs. Morningstar

Brambles’ next scheduled update is its full-year result, due Aug. 20 at 10:00 a.m. AEST. The company said it still expects to fix its short-term repair capacity issues by the end of the first half of fiscal 2027 and will give another update then.

Konrad Wysocki

Konrad Wysocki is a senior markets reporter at Bez-kabli.pl, specializing in technology stocks, artificial intelligence and global financial markets. A graduate of the University of Rzeszów, he previously worked in investment research and market analysis. His coverage helps readers understand the key trends, companies and innovations influencing investors worldwide.

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