...CBA is ASX's NVIDIA and pretty much defines ASX advancement to date. If it weren't for CBA, ASX performance would have been much more muted.
...foreign funds seeking shelter in commodity currency AUD flock to the safest perceived stock on ASX, i.e CBA avoiding the cyclical resourec sector. CBA becomes first ASX-listed stock to be worth more than $300b Nicola BlackburnMarkets reporter
Updated Jun 4, 2025 – 1.25pm,first published at 1.00pm
Commonwealth Bank has become the first ASX-listed company to be valued at more than $300 billion, defying long-held forecasts from some investors and almost every broker who believes it is wildly overpriced.
The bank’s share price has risen 17 per cent since the start of the year, hitting $179.84 on Wednesday, well ahead of the broader S&P/ASX 200 financial sector, which has risen 7.9 per cent over that time.
The increase pushed CBA’s market capitalisation to $300.9 billion on Thursday, well ahead of the second-largest company by value, BHP. The iron ore giant had been the ASX’s biggest stock, but was overtaken by the bank in July, when both had market capitalisation of about $220 billion.
Since that time, BHP’s market capitalisation has subsided to $193 billion.
In April, The Australian Financial Review’s Chanticleer column pointed to institutional investors in the United States as some of the biggest buyers of the stock as they sought a safe haven from the market turmoil caused by the Trump administration’s trade policies and economic agenda.
CBA has been helped by complications at other banks. National Australia Bank is in the midst of senior management change and has a relatively new chief executive in Andrew Irvine. ANZ has also installed a new chief executive and is being investigated by the corporate regulator.
Buying by index funds, which gravitate towards the larger stocks to fulfil their mandates, has also likely pushed up CBA’s share price.
“We think it’s a function of non-fundamental investor flow exceeding fundamental,” wrote Jarden analyst Matthew Wilson last month. “Passive, defined as ‘buy & hold’, yet with current constant inflows they have money to buy each day without regard for price or investment arithmetic.”
The relentless share price has come despite every major broker in the market recommending clients sell CBA shares.
Morgan Stanley’s respected banking analyst Richard Wiles is the most bullish on CBA shares, and still has a fair price valuation on the stock of $128. Macquarie, Citi and Barrenjoey have all told clients that it is worth about $100 per share.
