0010 GMT - Consensus expectations for Harvey Norman's 2H earnings look optimistic to Jefferies. Harvey Norman reported sales growth of 3.5% on-year in Australia in January. That was slower than the 4% growth reported by rival JB Hi-Fi for its own-name stores. Analyst Michael Simotas notes there was an extra Saturday in 2026 than the same period a year earlier. That should have been a tailwind for sales. The upshot is that Harvey Norman's sales growth is lagging consensus expectations in 2H of a more than 5% improvement, Jefferies says. So, "consensus expectations for 19% 2H net profit growth look optimistic," it says. Jefferies had a hold call and A$7.10/share price target ahead of the 1H result. Harvey Norman is down 7.7% at A$5.84 today. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2026 19:10 ET (00:10 GMT)

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