This week delivers the densest run of ASX earnings on the August calendar.
More than 250 companies report across the month, but three of the most important land within 48 hours of each other.
Between them they cover banking, telecommunications and energy.
Image source: Getty Images
CBA headlines the ASX earnings week
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) reports its FY26 result on Wednesday 12 August.
It is the largest single earnings event of the month by some distance.
The bank set a strong pace in the first half, with cash net profit after tax rising 6% to a record $5.445 billion.
It declared a fully franked interim dividend of $2.35 per share on a normalised payout ratio near 74%.
The third quarter update was more subdued.
Cash profit of roughly $2.7 billion was up 4% year-on-year, but down 1% against the first-half quarterly average.
Three things will move the stock.
Net interest margin sat at 2.04% at the half, down four basis points, and the trend from here matters as the replicating portfolio tailwind fades.
Credit quality is the second, with mortgage arrears the number worth reading closely after three rate rises this year.
The final dividend is the third.
Telstra follows on Thursday
Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) releases its FY26 result on Thursday 13 August, with the webcast starting at 9:15am AEST.
The telco enters the result with momentum.
First-half underlying EBITDA grew across Mobiles, Fixed Consumer and Small Business, InfraCo Fixed and Amplitel.
Mobile services revenue rose 5.6% for the half, and underlying operating expenses fell by $179 million.
As a result, management tightened FY26 underlying EBITDAaL guidance to between $8.2 billion and $8.4 billion.
Income investors should watch the franking rather than just the headline payout. The interim dividend rose to 10.5 cents per share but came 90.5% franked, down from a fully franked 9.5 cents a year earlier.
A larger dividend with less franking attached is not straightforwardly better for an Australian taxpayer, and the final payout will tell us whether that shift persists.
Telstra also lifted its on-market buyback from up to $1 billion to up to $1.25 billion, having already deployed $637 million of it during the half.
Origin Energy rounds out the ASX earnings run
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) reports its FY26 numbers on Thursday 13 August as well.
The first half was mixed for Origin.
Underlying EBITDA fell to $860 million from $1,251 million a year earlier, reflecting lower realised LNG prices and volumes at Australia Pacific LNG.
Even so, the company upgraded full-year guidance for Energy Markets and held its interim dividend at 30 cents per share, fully franked.
The June quarter update pointed to Australia Pacific LNG production of 668 PJ and distributions to Origin of $911 million.
The Octopus Energy and Kraken businesses remain the swing factor in how the market values the group, particularly after Kraken formally separated from Octopus in July.
Watch the commentary on both, because that is where the valuation debate sits rather than in the LNG numbers.
Foolish takeaway
Three results, two days, and a Reserve Bank decision the day before CBA reports.
That is a lot of information arriving at once, and share price reactions during ASX earnings season often say more about expectations than performance.
Consequently, the outlook statements usually matter more than the reported numbers.
Read what management says about FY27 before drawing conclusions from a one-day move.
For long-term holders, a single result rarely changes an investment case built over years.
