Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares had remarkably different runs in the month just past.
While Coles shares underperformed the 3.7% gains posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in February, Woolies stock raced ahead of those gains.
On 30 January, Coles shares were trading for $21.28. When the closing bell sounded on 27 February, shares were changing hands for $20.56 apiece, down 3.4% for the month.
Woolworths shares, on the other hand, closed out January trading for $30.94 and ended February at $36 each, up 16.4%.
Here's what's been happening with the ASX 200 supermarket giants.
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Woolworths shares rocket on results
The biggest news out of Woolworths in February was the release of the company's half-year results on 25 February.
Woolworths shares closed up 13% on the day after reporting (before significant items) a 3.4% year-on-year increase in sales for the six-month period to $37.14 billion.
And with all of the company's segments achieving year-on-year earnings growth, the ASX 200 supermarket achieved 14.4% growth in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $1.66 billion.
On the bottom line, Woolies reported a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $859 million, up 16.4% year on year.
The Woolworths shares also likely got a boost from passive income investors after management increased the fully-franked interim dividend by 15.4% from last year's payout to 45 cents per share.
If you want to bank the interim Woolworths dividend, you'll have to hurry. Woolies stock trades ex-dividend tomorrow, meaning you'll need to own shares at market close today to receive that payout. You can then expect to receive the Woolworths dividend on 2 April.
Coles shares hammered on results
Coles released its own half-year results two days later, on 27 February.
Unlike Woolworths shares, Coles stock closed down 7.4% on the day the supermarket reported.
Market expectations were clearly high following Woolworths' strong results, with Coles coming under selling pressure despite reporting a 2.5% year-on-year increase in sales revenue to $23.6 billion.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) – excluding significant items – of $2.21 billion increased by 7.8%.
And Coles' NPAT of $676 million was up 12.5% from H1 FY 2025.
With profits up, management declared a fully-franked interim dividend of 41 cents per share. That's up 10.8% from last year's interim payout.
You've got a little more time if you're looking to grab the Coles dividend. The ASX 200 stock trades ex-dividend on 10 March, meaning you'll need to own shares at market close on 9 March. You can then expect to see that passive income payout on 30 March.
Comparing the results between the two supermarket giants, Woolworths shares look to have benefited from materially stronger key growth metrics than Coles posted in the first half.
