BFG - Bell financial group

 BFG

25-07-26

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https://koalagains.com/stocks/ASX/bfg

https://stockanalysis.com/quote/asx/bfg/statistics/

https://www.marketindex.com.au/asx/bfg

https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/ASX-BFG/financials-overview/

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Over the last 5 years, Bell Financial Group (ASX:BFG) has maintained a strong, debt-free balance sheet and steady profitability, recovering from post-pandemic market normalization to deliver a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $36.0 million on revenues of $278.44 million for FY2025/latest trailing 12 months. [1, 2, 3, 4]

"performance is tied directly to volatile capital markets, leading to unpredictable earnings. A heavy reliance on brokerage commissions makes revenue unstable during market downturns.This makes it suitable for income investors who can tolerate significant market-driven swings.".

Profit and Revenue Trends

Revenue (TTM): ~$278.4 million, up roughly 8% to 10% annually through 2024 and 2025, though broader 5-year cyclicality in equity capital markets meant flat-to-lower periods in 2022–2023. [1, 2, 3]
Net Profit After Tax (NPAT): $36.0 million for FY2025 (a 17% increase year-on-year from $30.7 million in 2024 and $24.3 million in 2023). [1]
Funds Under Advice (FUA): Grew consistently to a record $92.1 billion (up 7.3% over the prior year), anchored heavily by the high-margin platforms division (Bell Direct and Desktop Broker), which generates a disproportionate share of group profits. [1, 2]

Debt and Balance Sheet

Core Debt: Effectively zero core or operating debt.
Cash Position: Robust cash reserves of roughly $146 million (along with separate client-related cash funds), allowing strong capital flexibility. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Return on Equity (ROE) and Returns

Return on Equity (ROE): Strong efficiency metrics, with the latest full-year ROE jumping to 20.3% (and trailing averages stabilizing around 14.1%–14.5%). [1, 2, 3]
Dividends: Paid a final FY2025 dividend of 6.5 cents per share (bringing total yearly dividends to 9.5 cents), translating to an attractive trailing yield near 6.4%, well above the broader market average. [1, 2, 3]
Share Price: Trading around $1.54 AUD, showing positive 1-year momentum (+23% to +27%), though flat-to-modestly lower over the full 5-year horizon due to earlier macro headwinds in 2022–2023. [1, 2, 3, 4]

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Bell Financial Group (ASX: BFG) has operated with a 10-year median P/E ratio of approximately 13.1x, experiencing its lowest valuation multiples in 2015 and peaking during the post-pandemic market boom. [1]

Annual P/E Ratio Breakdown (2015–2025)

The historical price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios for BFG at the close of each fiscal year (ending December 31) are outlined below:

Year	P/E Ratio	Valuation Context
2025	11.64x	Stronger Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) compressed the multiple.
2024	13.90x	Rebounded close to historical median levels.
2023	16.50x	Peak valuation of the 5-year cycle due to price expansion.
2022	10.50x	Market corrections pulled multiples down to a cyclical low.
2021	10.20x	Earnings remained exceptionally elevated post-pandemic.
2020	8.33x	Initial COVID volatility suppressed financial sector multiples.
2019	7.97x	Stable single-digit multiple typical of pre-2020 BFG.
2018	6.24x	Lower sector liquidity reduced valuation multiples.
2017	4.92x	Earnings recovery outpaced slow share price movement.
2016	6.00x	Gradual baseline appreciation.
2015	4.34x	The 10-year low point for the stock's multi-year cycle.

Historical Key Drivers

Brokerage Sensitivity: As a diversified financial services group, BFG's earnings are highly cyclical. Its P/E compressed during periods of high profitability (like 2021) and expanded when market trading volumes thinned out relative to fixed costs (like 2023). [1, 2, 3, 4]
Yield Focus: BFG historically commands a lower long-term P/E ratio compared to the broader S&P/ASX 200 index because investors value it primarily as a dividend-yielding asset (averaging a payout ratio above 80%) rather than an aggressive growth company. [1, 2, 3]

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For Bell Financial Group (ASX:BFG), current data shows a Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) of 10.55% against a Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) of 8.55%. Detailed historical, year-by-year 10-year tracking for the exact ROIC vs. WACC spread for this small-cap broker is not compiled as a continuous public time-series, but current performance indicates a positive value-creation spread. [1]

Current Value Creation Metrics

ROIC: 10.55% measures how efficiently the firm turns capital into profit.
WACC: 8.55% represents Bell Financial Group's blended minimum cost of debt and equity.
Spread: +2.00% (ROIC exceeds WACC), meaning the company currently creates economic value for shareholders. [1, 2, 3]

Key Takeaways

Value Status: A positive spread implies efficient utilization of capital relative to financing costs.
Data Limits: Ten-year historical yearly breakdowns for BFG's specific WACC configurations require proprietary terminal databases (such as Bloomberg or GuruFocus Pro), as public aggregators only present trailing snapshots

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