0002 GMT - Pathology services provider Sonic Healthcare's share price is likely to come under pressure today, says RBC Capital Markets. That's because Sonic's maiden earnings guidance for FY 2026 falls short of expectations. Sonic has guided to Ebitda of A$1.87 billion-A$1.95 billion when currency swings are stripped out. Analyst Craig Wong-Pan had forecast A$2.01 billion, while consensus expectations were for A$1.98 billion. The guidance "implies net profit of A$583 million after working through the other assumptions provided, which is 13% growth but a 9% net profit downgrade to consensus estimates," says RBC. "We expect the stock to underperform today given the weaker than expected outlook." ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2352 GMT - Investors surprised by Goodman's maiden earnings guidance for FY 2026 shouldn't bet on that being what it delivers when the year ends. Goodman forecast annual operating EPS to rise by 9%, slower than the 9.8% growth rate achieved in the previous year. This outlook is 2% below Citi's expectation. Still, analyst Howard Penny views the guidance as conservative and likely to be upgraded during the year. "Progress remains strong along with its valuable underlying data center pipeline," Citi says. It retains a buy call on Goodman. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2351 GMT - Brambles' outlook seems positive to Citi analyst Samuel Seow given the uncertain economic backdrop. He tells clients in a note that the top end of the pallet pooler's 3%-5% revenue guidance range is in line with consensus at actual currency rates, although he conceded that it falls modestly short once depreciation in the U.S. dollar is factored in. The mid-point of the company's underlying profit guidance range looks stronger than consensus at actual currency rates, he adds. Citi has a last-published neutral rating and A$23.60 target price on the stock, which is at A$23.23 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2346 GMT - Brambles' FY 2026 guidance looks conservative to RBC analyst Owen Birrell. He thinks that investors may be disappointed by the pallet provider's expectation of 3%-5% sales revenue growth, which falls short of his 6% forecast. The top end of its free cash flow guidance range is also lower than he had anticipated. The warning of slight like-for-like volume declines against an uncertain economic backdrop appears very conservative, Birrell adds. RBC has a last-published outperform rating and A$25.00 target price on the stock, which is at A$23.23 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2209 GMT - Auckland International Airport's earnings guidance looks underwhelming to Jefferies. Auckland Airport signaled underlying earnings of NZ$280 million-NZ$320 million in FY 2026. At the midpoint of the range, that is some 7% weaker than analyst Amit Kanwatia expected. The miss is driven by a continued slow recovery in passenger volumes in the pandemic's aftermath. Auckland Airport has forecast domestic and international passenger traffic of around 8.6 million and 10.6 million, respectively, in FY 2026. "Management continues to remain cautious about the outlook for FY 2026 while continuing to expect travel demand growth despite airline capacity remaining constrained," Jefferies says. It has a hold call on Auckland Airport, which is down 0.1% at NZ$7.79 early on Thursday. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2206 GMT - Jefferies's view of Fletcher Building's annual result: uncharacteristically inline. There were no negative surprises, which should deepen investors' confidence that the building materials supplier is controlling what it can against a tough operating backdrop, Jefferies says. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was a delay to the timing of asset sales. Fletcher is seeking to sell its Construction business and has begun a strategic review of its Residential and Development arm. Analyst Ramoun Lazar says potential deals appear to have been pushed out to FY 2027. Jefferies retains a buy call on Fletcher. "Path to mid-cycle should see a 15-20% uplift in volumes as well as margin expansion (structural cost-out and operating leverage) which sees a meaningful earnings opportunity in our view," it says. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2158 GMT - Toll road owner Transurban's strategy is working, but for how long if it wants to keep raising dividends to shareholders at the current rate? That's the question pondered by Jefferies analyst Anthony Moulder. Transurban's forecast dividend of 69.0 Australian cents a share in FY 2026 was better than expected. Jefferies had forecast 68.5 Australian cents. Jefferies says Transurban has supplemented lower growth options with cost and productivity improvements. "While a key positive, the unknown is how long these initiatives can continue to deliver, before additional growth options are needed to maintain dividend growth of more than 5%," Jefferies says. It retains a hold call on Transurban's stock. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires