Background: ANZ is one of Australia's Big Four banks, lending to millions of households and businesses across the country. Since its new CEO took over, the bank has been undergoing a major overhaul focused on efficiency and profitability. That's included cutting around 3,500 jobs and targeting $800 million in cost savings this year alone.

What happened: The cost cutting strategy seems to be working. ANZ reported $3.8 billion in cash profit for the six months to March, up 6% year-on-year and ahead of analyst expectations. Operating expenses also fell 4%, while management upgraded its cost-saving target.  

What else: But there's something else investors aren't ignoring... ANZ's home loan market share actually slipped during that same period. So, despite stronger profits and lower costs - the share price rose just 0.8%.

What's the key learning?

💡 Growing isn't enough for investors... companies need to grow faster than the competition. A company can post record numbers and still be losing ground - it just depends on what you measure.

• Measuring growth against last year... OR
• Measuring growth against competitors

💡 ANZ passed the first test, with home loans up 3% year on year and deposits up 4% year on year. But the broader market grew faster, with home loans up 7.3% and deposits up 11%.

💡 Suddenly those ANZ numbers were behind the growth of the overall market. ANZ's slice of the home loan market actually shrank, from 13.6% to 13.2% over the period. It's like running a race: You can bet your own PB, but if everyone else runs faster, you still won't win the race.