Background: Wesfarmers is the Perth-based conglomerate behind Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks and Priceline. It also owns a chemicals and energy division through WesCEF and a lithium business riding the EV wave out of WA. It's retail meets resources meets everything in between.

What happened: Wesfarmers lifted sales 3.1% to $24.2 billion for the half year to December. But in even better news, its net profit jumped more than 9% to $1.6 billion. Bunnings did the heavy lifting, delivering growth across every category and region as well as the lithium biz which also chipped in with improved momentum.

What else: But not every checkout was ringing. Officeworks' earnings slid more than 21% as demand for home office gear cooled. But that’s the beauty of the Wesfarmers model. While stationery sales softened, Bunnings kept tradies busy and lithium kept the EV dream humming, showing that Wesfarmers never banks on just one earnings engine.

What's the key learning?

💡Earnings diversification is when a company makes money from lots of different business units, across different industries. Wesfarmers spans hardware, discount retail, office supplies, health and beauty, chemicals and lithium. Because each division reacts differently to economic conditions, the group is less exposed to a single downturn.

💡When Officeworks feels the pinch from weaker consumer demand, Bunnings or lithium can help balance the books. And investors often reward that kind of resilience, particularly in uncertain times.

💡Compare that to a more concentrated retailer like Myer. If shoppers pull back on apparel, there’s nowhere to hide. That risk has shown up in Myer’s sharp share price slide of 43% in the past 6 months alone, while Wesfarmers continues to lean on multiple growth drivers.