With February reporting season fast approaching, investors face a familiar decision. Do you wait for results and risk paying a higher price, or do you act early and accept the uncertainty that comes with buying ahead of updates?
If I were putting money to work before reporting season begins, these are three S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares I would seriously consider buying.
Each has clear near-term catalysts, but more importantly, each has a longer-term story that I think remains intact regardless of short-term volatility.
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Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG)
Sigma is approaching reporting season with far more momentum than it had a year ago. The merger with Chemist Warehouse has reshaped the business into a much larger and more strategically important healthcare retail and distribution group. That scale matters. It improves buying power, strengthens supplier relationships, and increases the resilience of earnings across the cycle.
When it next releases its results, the market will be looking for confirmation that the Chemist Warehouse integration is tracking to plan and that cost and revenue synergies are beginning to emerge. Even without aggressive assumptions, I think Sigma now sits in a structurally stronger position than it did pre-merger, which makes the risk-reward ahead of results more appealing.
REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA)
REA is one of those businesses where timing matters less than long-term ownership. Reporting season tends to remind the market why that is the case. The company dominates Australian property listings with its realestate.com.au platform, and its pricing power is closely tied to transaction volumes rather than house prices themselves.
With housing activity showing early signs of stabilisation, February results could reinforce the view that REA is positioned to benefit from any recovery in listings and developer activity. Even if conditions remain uneven, REA's margin profile and competitive moat mean it does not need a booming property market to continue growing earnings over time. That is a quality I look for when making investments.
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX)
Telix remains one of the more interesting healthcare names heading into earnings season. The company has already commercialised key products, which sets it apart from many earlier-stage biotech peers, and it continues to expand its pipeline and geographic reach.
It has already released a sales update for FY25, so there will be no surprises in February during reporting season. Instead, investors can focus on more important factors such as progress across clinical programs and the path toward broader adoption of its radiopharmaceutical therapies.
Speaking of which, I think 2026 could be an exciting year for this ASX 200 share with potential game-changing US FDA approvals for two key products.
Foolish Takeaway
Buying shares before reporting season is never about certainty. It is about deciding whether the long-term opportunity outweighs the risk of near-term disappointment.
If I were investing today, these are three ASX 200 shares I would feel comfortable owning through February, knowing that volatility may come, but believing the underlying businesses are worth backing beyond the next few weeks and long into the future.
