Reporting season cheat sheet: what to watch at results time

With share prices whipping around, reporting season can be a confounding time for investors – particularly those who are new to the game.

Interpreting whether a set of results is a “beat” or a “miss” is hard enough; understanding the often highly-specific metrics and terminology that matter for different types of companies is even harder.

So, if you don’t know your Net Interest Margin from your All-in Sustaining Cost, this wire is for you.

Below, we break down some (not all) of the key factors to watch across major sectors on the ASX, what they mean in plain English, and why they matter.

Banks (deposit-funded lenders)

• Net interest margin (NIM): The difference between what a bank earns on loans and what it pays on deposits and wholesale funding. Banks lend hundreds of billions, so even a tiny move of 0.01% can shift profit by tens of millions. Bigger NIM, bigger engine room.
• Loan and deposit mix: Are they growing mortgages or business loans? Cheap transaction deposits or expensive term deposits? This tells you whether growth is coming from real demand or aggressive pricing, and whether funding costs are creeping higher.
• Asset quality and arrears: 30+ and 90+ day late loans are early warning signs. In a high-rate environment, rising arrears often show up before bad debts hit the profit line.
• Loan impairment expense/expected credit losses: This is what the bank sets aside for loans that might go bad. Low charges can mean conditions are strong… or that management is being optimistic. 
• Capital strength (CET1): The financial buffer. Strong capital means more room for dividends and buybacks. Falling capital can mean risk, regulatory pressure, or aggressive lending.

Insurance (general and reinsurance)

• Gross written premium (GWP) growth: Total premiums written. Growth from higher prices is good, but growth from writing risky policies is not. Quality matters as much as quantity.
• Combined operating ratio (COR): Under 100% means the insurer makes money on underwriting (selling policies) before investment income (the money the insurer earns from investing all those premiums we pay). Over 100% means it is losing money and relying on markets to save it.
• Claims inflation: Are repair costs, labour, and building materials rising faster than premiums? If so, margins get squeezed.
• Reserve development: Insurers estimate future claims. If old claims cost less than expected, they release reserves and profits jump. But releases are not a business model.
• Catastrophe costs vs allowance: Bushfires, floods, cyclones. Investors check whether actual events sit within the budgeted “cat allowance” and whether reinsurance protection worked.
• Investment income: Insurers invest the premium float. Higher bond yields help, but check whether gains are recurring yield or one-off market moves.

Diversified financials and asset managers

• Assets under management (AUM) and net flows: Markets can lift AUM, but net flows show whether clients are choosing to invest. Flows are the real report card.
• Fee margin and mix shift: The same AUM can generate very different earnings depending on whether money sits in high-fee active funds or low-fee passive products.
• Performance and transaction fees: These can spike in strong markets and disappear in weak ones. Investors separate steady base fees from cyclical bonuses.
• Capital and liquidity: Strong balance sheets mean flexibility. Weak ones can limit dividends or growth plans.
• Cost base and compensation ratio: When revenue falls but costs stay high, profits drop fast. This is operating leverage in action.

Materials and mining producers

• Production volumes vs guidance: Did they hit what they promised? Miss guidance too often and credibility evaporates.
• Realised prices: The price actually received, which may differ from the headline commodity price due to quality, freight, or contract terms.
• Unit costs: What it costs to produce one tonne or ounce. If costs rise faster than prices, margins shrink quickly.
• Sustaining vs growth capex: Sustaining capex keeps the mine running. Growth capex expands it. Investors love disciplined growth, not empire building.
• Free cash flow and capital returns: Cash after costs and sustaining capex is what funds dividends. Commodity windfalls are great, but mid-cycle sustainability is better.
• Reserves and mine life: How long can this asset produce? Long life equals durability, especially under Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) reporting standards.
• All-in sustaining cost (AISC) for gold: The “true cost” of maintaining gold production. It allows investors to compare miners apples for apples.
• Balance sheet strength: Commodity cycles turn quickly. Low debt gives survival power when prices fall.

Energy (oil, gas, LNG, coal)

• Production and sales volumes: Energy is a volume business. Reliability and uptime matter as much as price.
• Unit production costs: Small cost changes can dramatically affect margins when oil or gas prices soften.
• Realised prices and contract mix: LNG often sells under long-term oil-linked contracts. Investors check exposure to spot prices versus locked-in pricing.
• Reserves and reserve replacement: Energy assets decline over time. Replacing reserves is critical to long-term value.
• Project delivery and capex control: Large projects can create value or destroy it. Cost blowouts are punished harshly.
• Free cash flow and dividend framework: Energy stocks are priced on their ability to return cash through the cycle, not just at peak prices.

Utilities and energy infrastructure

• Underlying EBITDA: A proxy for recurring earnings. In regulated or contracted models, stability is everything.
• Tariff escalation and regulatory resets: Returns are often locked in by regulators. When resets occur, earnings paths can shift meaningfully.
• Capex pipeline: These businesses spend billions on infrastructure. The key is whether that spending earns acceptable returns.
• Cost discipline: When revenue is capped by regulation, cost control becomes the main profit lever.

Listed infrastructure and concessions

• Traffic or throughput: Toll roads and ports earn per car or per container. Small volume changes can compound significantly.
• Price escalation mechanics: Many assets increase prices with CPI. Investors check whether that link is protected.
• Distribution coverage: Infrastructure is valued for yield. If distributions are not covered by cash flow, risk rises.
• Debt and hedging: These assets use significant leverage. Rising interest costs can erode returns quickly.

Consumer staples

• Sales growth split (volume vs price): Volume shows brand strength. Price rises can mask weakness if customers start trading down.
• Gross margin and promotions: Heavy discounting usually signals competitive pressure.
• Cost pressures: Wages, shrinkage, energy. If costs rise faster than prices, margins suffer.
• Inventory health: Too much stock today means discounting tomorrow.

Consumer discretionary

• Comparable sales: Like-for-like (LFL) growth strips out new store openings and gives the cleanest demand signal.
• Gross margin: If margins fall before sales do, it often means discounting has begun.
• Inventory levels: Rising inventory with slowing sales is rarely a good sign.
• Cost flexibility: High fixed costs amplify downturn pain.
• Online mix: E-commerce growth is good, but only if fulfilment economics make sense.

Healthcare

• Revenue drivers (volume, mix, FX): Many Australian healthcare names earn offshore. Separate real growth from currency effects.
• Margin trajectory: Labour, input costs, and manufacturing efficiency determine whether profits scale.
• R&D and pipeline milestones: For biotech and pharma, tomorrow’s earnings sit in today’s trials.
• Pricing and reimbursement: Government decisions can change profitability overnight.

Technology and software

• Recurring revenue: Subscription income is more predictable than one-off projects.
• Annual recurring revenue (ARR) and retention: These show whether customers are sticking around and spending more.
• Customer rollout progress: Large enterprise deals often drive earnings. Timing matters.
• Gross margin and operating leverage: Software should scale. If margins are not expanding, something is off.

Telecommunications

• Net subscriber adds: Growth in users drives revenue momentum.
• Average revenue per user (ARPU): Are customers paying more, or just using more data?
• Churn: Losing customers is expensive. Low churn often signals pricing power.
• Segment mix: Mobile, fixed, enterprise and infrastructure all behave differently.
• Network capex: Heavy spending today affects dividends tomorrow.

Real estate (A-REITs)

• Funds from operations (FFO): A measure of underlying earnings from property assets, stripping out accounting noise.
• Weighted Average Lease Expiry (WALE): a critical metric in commercial real estate that measures the average time remaining on all leases in a property or portfolio. Weighted by rental income or area, it helps investors, owners, and lenders assess income stability, risk, and tenant retention. 
• Occupancy and leasing spreads: High occupancy and positive leasing spreads signal pricing power.
• Valuations and cap rates: Rising cap rates usually mean falling asset values.
• Gearing and debt maturity: Property trusts are sensitive to rates. Refinancing risk matters.