Buy Hold Sell: 12 key stocks and the defining insights from a historic reporting season

Buy Hold Sell, by Livewire Markets · Feb 26, 2026 · 28m

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

That might be the best way to sum up the February reporting season at the headline level. Of course, there is more nuance to it than that.

The top end of town - the banks and miners in particular - enjoyed solid results and, often, spectacular share price moves; Woolworths up 14%, anyone? Throw into the mix a record high for BHP and a resurgent Commonwealth Bank, as the strong got stronger - 'twas the best of times.

At the other end of the spectrum, if you disappointed the market - even by a smidge in the case of a company like ZIP - you…