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PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN STOCKS NEWS: Telstra (TLS AT) reaffirmed FY guidance provided in August, subject to previously stated conditions, and is increasing mobile network density and security investment

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PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN STOCKS NEWS: Telstra (TLS AT) reaffirmed FY guidance provided in August, subject to previously stated conditions, and is increasing mobile network density and security investment

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Abacus Group (ABG AT) - Co. has launched a search for a new Managing Director after Steven Sewell announced plans to retire, with an internal candidate emerging as the frontrunner. (The Australian)

Domino's Pizza Enterprises (DMP AT) - Co. is seeking a new Australia and New Zealand CEO after Merrill Pereyra departed less than a year into the role, with Group CEO Andrew Gregory assuming immediate responsibility for the division, which operates almost 880 stores. (AFR)

Maas Group (MGH AT) - Co. is confident it will collect AUD 1.1bln owed by Firmus under existing contracts despite the data centre operator's failed IPO wiping almost AUD 850mln from Maas Group's market capitalisation. (The Australian)

Telstra (TLS AT) - Co. reaffirmed FY guidance provided in August, subject to previously stated conditions, and is increasing mobile network density and security investment while developing network-as-a-product capabilities and assessing opportunities in subsea cables and AI infrastructure. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Woodside Energy (WDS AT) - Co. appointed Stephane Drouaud as Managing Director of its Mexico operations, alongside his existing role as Vice President of the Trion Project. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Other News - Australia Post is selling AUD 320mln of Sydney property assets to fund growth in its parcels business. (The Australian)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

  • Ampol (ALD AT) - Price target raised 4.5% to AUD 46.00/shr by Morgan Stanley.
  • BHP Group (BHP AT) - Price target raised 1% to AUD 69.00/shr by Morgan Stanley.
  • Iluka Resources (ILU AT) - Price target cut 13% to AUD 7.05/shr by Morgan Stanley.
  • Lynas Rare Earths (LYC AT) - Upgraded to Overweight from Equal-weight, price target cut 5% to AUD 14.65/shr by Morgan Stanley.
  • Paladin Energy (PDN AT) - Price target cut 13% to AUD 10.45/shr by Morgan Stanley.
  • Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (SXE AT) - Price target raised 7% to AUD 6.00/shr by Macquarie.
  • Viva Energy (VEA AT) - Price target raised 12% to AUD 3.23/shr by Morgan Stanley.
  • Whitehaven Coal (WHC AT) - Price target raised 6% to AUD 8.95/shr by Morgan Stanley.

Context

A reaffirmation of existing guidance, unchanged in level and still subject to previously stated conditions, is the lowest-information outcome in the guidance cycle and has historically tended to settle a stock back toward its pre-statement path once the relief bid fades; the market-moving cases in such episodes are the cut or the raise, not the hold. Telstra's case is instructive in this respect: guidance reaffirmations from incumbent telcos have typically mattered less than the associated capex signals, and the flagged step-up in mobile network density and security investment is the part of the statement with genuine cash flow consequences, since elevated capex has been the recurring pressure point on free cash flow and dividend cover across the sector's prior investment cycles. The exploratory language on subsea cables and AI infrastructure sits at the optionality end and has tended in comparable corporate updates to remain unpriced until capital is formally committed. The wider wrap follows the familiar pre-market sequence: the contested item is Maas Group's receivable exposure after a counterparty IPO failure, a credit-risk question of the kind that has historically resolved slowly through contract enforcement rather than at the open. The Morgan Stanley target changes lean positive on the energy and coal complex and negative on the rare earth and uranium names, a pattern consistent with commodity-price-driven revisions rather than company-specific calls.

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