Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) shares are sliding today.
Shares in the diversified S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) conglomerate – whose retail subsidiaries include Bunnings Warehouse, Kmart Australia, Officeworks, and Priceline – closed yesterday trading for $74.06.
As we head into the Friday lunch hour, shares are changing hands for $72.60 apiece, down 2%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.5% at this same time.
Longer term, Wesfarmers shares are down 2.6% over 12 months, trailing the 13.9% one-year gains posted by the benchmark index.
Though that doesn't include the $2.53 in fully-franked dividends the company has paid eligible stockholders over this time. Wesfarmers stock trades on a fully-franked trailing dividend yield of 2.5%.
Which brings us back to our headline question.
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Should you buy Wesfarmers shares today?
Shaw and Partners' Jed Richards recently ran his slide rule over Wesfarmers stock (courtesy of The Bull).
"This company continues to deliver reliable earnings through its diversified portfolio of quality retail and industrial businesses," he said.
Digging into Wesfarmers' half-year results (H1 FY 2026), released on 19 February, Richards said:
Company net profit after tax rose 9.3% in the first half of 2026 when compared to the prior corresponding period. Revenue was up 3.1%. Hardware giant Bunnings lifted total sales by 4%. Total sales at Officeworks were up 4.7%. Strong balance sheet discipline and management execution support resilience across economic cycles.
Despite that solid growth, Richards doesn't believe now is the best time to buy Wesfarmers shares. He concluded:
Much of this is already reflected in the share price, limiting near term upside, in my view. While it remains a high-quality core holding, we believe a hold rating is appropriate until a lower share price or growth catalyst emerges.
Commanding a market cap of almost $83 billion, Wesfarmers shares trade on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 27 times.
What's the latest from the ASX 200 stock?
The last price-sensitive news out from Wesfarmers was the half-year report Richards mentioned above.
With profits up 9.3%, the company rewarded passive income investors with a fully franked interim dividend of $1.02 per share, up 7.4% from the prior year's interim dividend payout.
Commenting on the half-year results, Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said, "Wesfarmers' increase in profit was supported by strong earnings contributions from our largest divisions – Bunnings, Kmart Group and WesCEF."
Scott added:
During the half, Wesfarmers' divisions benefited from productivity initiatives to navigate ongoing challenging market conditions… The divisions performed well, driving productivity to mitigate cost pressures and keep prices low for customers.
Wesfarmers shares closed down 5.6% on the day of the results release.
