The reporting season can make or break the fortunes of ASX shares.
Not only is the company's performance for the 2021 financial year important, but the outlook for the current and future years will also set the tone for the stock price.
Here are 3 August results season winners that Shaw and Partners senior investment advisor Adam Dawes picked out this week:
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Technology and market dominance will keep the pizzas hot
Shares for pizza chain Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) went gangbusters in August.
The stock has gained more than 30% in the past month after it pleased the market with a boost in sales, earnings, profit and dividend.
And Dawes reckons the upward movement has plenty of legs.
"Domino's Pizzas has certainly done really well," he told Switzer TV Investing.
"Mainly because everyone's stuck at home… People are sick and tired of cooking, and they may as well keep the kids happy by buying a couple of pizzas."
The business has strategically placed itself as a "no contact" and low-cost takeaway option, according to Dawes.
But if it's such a COVID beneficiary, wouldn't Domino's shares plummet once Australia's vaccination coverage is up and society re-opens?
After all, this ASX share has already more than doubled in the past 5 years.
While Dawes acknowledged that as a risk, he pointed out a couple of positive forces to cancel out any sales slowdown from Australians getting out of the house more.
"These guys are very technology-driven and I think that's what's separated them from a lot of the other pizza delivery people," he said.
"Also, it's the store dominance that they've got — they're around most corners. They actually place themselves quite comfortably in lower socio-economic areas, also, because their pizzas are quite cheap."
Wilson Asset Management portfolio managers Catriona Burns, Matthew Haupt, and Oscar Oberg last week were also glowing about Domino's prospects.
"We remain positive on Domino's Pizza, with key growth markets such as Japan, Germany, and France reaching an inflection point underpinning a robust organic growth profile, while latent capacity remains for further earnings accretive acquisitions."
'Standout business'
Construction materials business James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) has seen its shares rise by more than 14% over the past month, breaking all-time highs.
Hinting at its history of making asbestos, Dawes acknowledged James Hardie has "a chequered past". But the August results revealed a booming US arm that was going too well to ignore.
"An upgrade that came from the US building and manufacturing business there has absolutely kicked a lot of goals," he said.
"We've seen other companies like Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) try to go overseas and come back with their tail between their legs."
Dawes noted that several Australia-only companies in the construction and materials sector had downgraded this August.
"So I think James Hardie is a really standout business, especially for that US growth and especially for the ability for them to run their business."
Great results, ESG-proof and excellent business
Stocks for small-cap technology company Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) have risen more than 31% in value in the past month.
According to Dawes, the business' flagship technology removes the heat out of cement manufacturing to recycle into energy.
He admitted this ASX share is a riskier bet than James Hardie and Domino's — but the $630 million business has much going for it.
"We've got a 'buy' [rating] on it at Shaw and Partners," said Dawes.
"The ESG [environmental, social and governance] theme plus the royalties they'll get from some of these European operations, I think, is a fantastic one… It's a great business."
It's not just in August that Calix shares have had a good time. They've more than quadrupled in value in the 12 months.
