SYDNEY, June 11, 2026, 07:04 AEST
- Brambles shares ended at A$18.00 on June 10, adding 2.8% after new buyback details came out.
- The company repurchased 439,272 shares for A$7.56 million on June 9, its latest ASX filing shows.
- Investors continue to weigh the buyback as the company’s May profit-guidance cut is still fresh. That guidance cut was linked to pallet repair bottlenecks in the US.
Brambles Limited shares gained Wednesday, with investors watching signs that the logistics group’s on-market buyback is rolling out, as the company continues to deal with expensive US pallet repairs after last month’s profit warning. Brambles last changed hands at A$18.00, up A$0.49 or 2.8%. The stock hit its session high at A$18.00 after opening at A$17.46.
Brambles revealed in its daily buyback update on June 10 that it purchased 439,272 ordinary shares on June 9, spending A$7.56 million. That takes total repurchases under the current program to 3,172,955 shares before this latest buy. The company’s buyback can trim shares on issue and is sometimes taken as a sign of confidence in its cash position, though it doesn’t fix any underlying operating issues.
Brambles’ latest filing said it paid as much as A$17.45 and as little as A$16.78 for shares it bought on June 9. The company reported 131,051,998 securities were still left for potential buyback as of the end of the day before.
Brambles filed another cessation notice earlier, saying it will cancel 439,272 shares as part of its on-market buyback. The filing put total consideration for the cancelled shares at A$7.56 million. Once these are cancelled, Brambles will have 1,340,569,658 ordinary shares on issue, according to the notice.
Brambles’ latest buyback isn’t about how much it spent in a day, but when it did it. The company is still facing pressure from its May 18 trading update. That’s when it lowered FY26 targets, pointing to US service-centre repair bottlenecks. Despite that, it’s moving ahead with capital management.
Brambles in its latest update cut its FY26 sales revenue growth forecast to 2%–3% at constant exchange rates, down from 3%–4%. The company also slashed guidance for underlying profit growth to 3%–5%, after earlier putting it at 8%–11%. Brambles defines underlying profit as its preferred metric for core operating performance, leaving out some items.
Brambles pointed to a specific operational problem. Subcontractor turnover, labour availability, and stricter repair-quality standards have squeezed repair capacity in parts of its US network. That’s as demand from customers was running ahead of forecasts. The company said it plans to boost pallet relocations, increase repair capacity and purchase around 2 million new pallets in the fourth quarter of FY26.
Brambles said the fixes will come with a price tag. The company put the impact from the US repair bottleneck at about US$60 million on FY26 earnings, with about US$40 million coming from increased supply-chain costs tied to repair, handling, transport and storage. New pallet buys are set to push up capital spending by another US$60 million, and Brambles expects most of the cash outflow in the first half of FY27.
The buyback is being seen as a partial stabiliser after the downgrade, rather than a full reset. Brambles has said the on-market buyback can run through to the end of FY26 and into FY27, up to US$400 million. The company kept the option to vary, suspend or terminate the program, depending on market conditions, share price and its capital management priorities.
Brambles stock is still trading well below its highs. The 52-week range on Google Finance shows a high of A$26.93 and a low of A$16.18. At A$18.00 on Wednesday, shares are much nearer the low end.
Buybacks may lift earnings per share, but they won’t cover a bigger operating miss. If US repair stays slow, or if transport and labour costs remain elevated, or customer demand falls as Brambles keeps adding pallets, the already-cut FY26 profit outlook could come under more strain. Filings show the buyback program is still opportunistic, not locked in.
Brambles’ FY26 results on August 20 are the next big event for the stock. Investors want to see signs that pallet availability is getting better and check if the company still aims to fix the US constraints by the end of the first half of FY27.
