SYDNEY, July 9, 2026, 08:03 AEST
Brambles shares climbed in the latest session, doing better than the weaker local market as investors watched for signs the pallet-pooling company was addressing its U.S. repair delays.
Brambles ended Wednesday at A$19.36, gaining 15 cents, or 0.8%. Shares fell to A$18.81 at the session low. The CHEP owner remains down 15.8% for the year. The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.21% lower at 8,785.10.
This is key right now since Brambles sits in the window between its earlier warning and when it will show the results. The company will post its full-year 2026 numbers on Aug. 20. Investors will be watching for updates on U.S. service levels, repair capacity, and cash generation.
Brambles isn’t a typical freight company. The group runs CHEP in around 60 countries, overseeing roughly 348 million pallets, crates and containers that end up in retailer and manufacturer supply chains.
Brambles in May lowered its FY26 sales revenue growth outlook to 2%-3% at constant currency, down from 3%-4%. The company also reduced its underlying profit growth forecast to 3%-5% from 8%-11%. Brambles blamed the cuts on a projected US$60 million hit to earnings from U.S. repair-capacity issues.
Brambles is running into operational issues as customers with automated handling need pallets fixed to stricter specs, right when some U.S. repair sites have less capacity thanks to subcontractor turnover and labor shortages. Brambles said it plans to boost repair capacity, shuffle inventory in the network, and purchase around 2 million new pallets in Q4 of FY26.
CEO Graham Chipchase called the response urgent, saying, “Our immediate priority is to meet our customers’ needs and to restore stability and service,” in the May update.
Brambles shares got hit after the downgrade. Reuters said May 18 the stock dropped 20.2% to A$17.63, its steepest one-day slide since late 2002, and landed among the day’s biggest laggards on the benchmark index.
Analysts say the issue can be fixed, but it’s not risk-free. Capital Brief quoted RBC Capital Markets analyst Owen Birrell saying investors will likely stay cautious on FY26 until management proves the cost pressures are under control.
There’s a legal cloud too. Brambles said July 1 it lodged a notice of appeal against a Federal Court class-action ruling over shareholders who bought Brambles between Aug. 18, 2016, and Feb. 17, 2017. The company said insurance is in place.
Aurizon climbed 1.7% to A$4.16 on Wednesday. Shares in Brambles traded on company news as investors looked at repair progress, customer demand and cash returns after expectations recently reset.
Cash flow has kept the stock from being just a downgrade play. At the half, Brambles posted US$481.7 million in free cash flow before dividends, up US$52.5 million. The company raised its interim dividend 21% to 23 U.S. cents, and said the up to US$400 million FY26 buyback was still on schedule.
The outlook isn’t clear. Brambles says it’s tied to macro trends, customer demand, destocking, lumber and other input costs, supply-chain moves and FX. If U.S. repair stays slow, consumer demand in Europe drops, or transport and fuel costs jump again, there’ll be less margin for error in August.
