As the 2019 August reporting season wraps up this week, it's time to take a look at 3 big takeaways from the latest round of ASX200 results.
1. Not all WAAAX stocks are created equal
Some of the hottest Aussie tech stocks make up WAAAX, an acronym for the group comprising WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU) and Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO).
Despite the WAAAX share prices plummeting in early August as US-China trade war tensions ramped up, some of the group's share prices roared back into the gains following a strong earnings season.
The WiseTech share price shot higher after posting a $54.1 million full-year net profit after tax (NPAT), up 33% on the prior corresponding period (pcp), and increased its full-year dividend by 18%.
The Afterpay share price has climbed 19.4% so far this August after the buy now, pay later group reported an 86% increase in revenue to $264.1 million and announced a new strategic partnership with global payments giant Visa.
However, the news wasn't as good for the Altium, Appen and Xero share prices which all look set to close out the month marginally lower as results failed to spark a strong rebound.
2. The Aussie retail sector isn't dead…. yet
For all the talk over the last 18 months or so about the dying growth prospects of Aussie retail, which has been largely backed up by the data coming out of the sector, the August reporting season suggests otherwise.
The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price is up 23% this month after the online retail group passed half a billion dollars in gross sales and posted a $17.2 million net profit.
Fellow ASX retailers City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX) and Woolworths Ltd (ASX: WOW) also proved that bricks-and-mortar retail is still travelling nicely in 2019, with both companies posting solid profits and sound growth forecasts.
3. All eyes should be on the Big Four banks
Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd (ASX: CBA) was the only Big Four bank to report its full-year earnings in August, with the remaining three set to report in late October or early November.
However, while the major banks have been a printing press of profits in recent years, the first full-year earnings result after the 2018 Royal Commission has proven that billion-dollar profit growth can't go on forever.
Australia's largest bank saw its net profit slump 8% to $8.6 billion, down from $9.4 billion in FY18, while underlying cash profit marginally missed expectations at $8.5 billion.
I'd be keeping an eye on CBA's Big Four peers ahead of their respective results, with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) having seen its net interest margin (NIM) slide lower in recent years.
