2026 Best Practice Investor Relations Awards winner announced. 4 June 2026 AIRA Announces the 2026 Best Practice Investor Relations Awards & Sell-side Awards for Best Conference and Investor Access Winners BHP named overall winner as AIRA celebrates best practice in investor relations across Australasia Sydney, 4 June 2026 - The Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) has announced the winners of its 2026 Best Practice Investor Relations Awards. The Awards recognise excellence in investor relations at ASX and NZX listed entities, as well as market engagement and investor access across 12 corporate and eight sell-side award categories. Presented at AIRA's annual Best Practice IR Awards and Gala Dinner, held at the Sheraton Grand Sydney following AIRA's Annual Conference, the Awards brought together the Australasian investor relations and capital markets communities to celebrate the companies and stockbrokers voted the best by the investment community for the investor relations awards and by corporates for the sell-side awards. BHP Group Limited was named winner of the award for Overall Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX 200, and also received awards for Best International Investor Relations by an Australasian Company, Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX 50, and Best Investor Event by an Australasian Company. Other multiple-award corporate winners included Commonwealth Bank of Australia for Best ESG and Sustainability Reporting and Best Continuous Improvement in Investor Relations by an Australasian Company, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited received awards for the Best Investor Relations by a New Zealand Company and Best Investor Relations by Company in the S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50. Transurban Group received the Best ESG Engagement by an Australasian Company award, Universal Store Holdings Limited for Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index, Catapult Sports Limited for Best Investor Relations by a Company in the ASX "Mid-Cap 200", and Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited for Best Investor Relations by a Company in the ASX "Mid-Cap 100". The sell-side awards recognise leading investor access and conference programs, with Macquarie Securities winning the Best Equities Conference for Australasian Listed Entities - Generalist Domestic, Best Equities Conference for Australasian Listed Entities - Generalist Offshore and Overall Offshore Institutional Investor Access categories; JP Morgan winning the Best Offshore Sector Equities Conference and Overall Domestic Institutional Investor Access awards; Barrenjoey winning the Best Domestic Sector Equities Conference category; Euroz Hartley winning the Small and Emerging Companies Conference category; and Morgans winning the Overall Retail Investor Access category. "Rapid advances in technology, evolving geopolitical dynamics and increasingly volatile capital markets are creating both challenges and opportunities for listed companies. This recognition is particularly significant for both winners and nominees, as it acknowledges leaders who are embracing change, setting new standards of excellence and helping to shape the future of investor relations," said Ian Matheson, Chief Executive Officer, AIRA. The evening also honoured Justine Brant, Senior Vice President, Depository Receipts, BNY, Hany Messieh, Head of Investor Relations and FP&A at Netwealth, and Chris Vagg, General Manager, Investor Relations at Virgin Australia as AIRA Fellows for their contribution to the investor relations profession and the broader AIRA community. The 2026 Dux recipients of the AIRA Diploma of Investor Relations included Jiamin Chen and Shane Fitzgerald. About AIRA The Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) was established in 2001 to advance the awareness of and best practice in investor relations in Australia and New Zealand and thereby improve the relationship between listed entities and the investment community. The Association's 160 corporate members now represent over A$1.2 trillion of market capitalisation, over 80% of the total market capitalisation of companies listed on ASX. The award winners are listed on the following pages. To access the research methodology and voting criteria, please visit About the Best Practice Awards and About the Sell-Side Awards. 2026 Best Practice Investor Relations Awards - Award Winners | 2026 Best Practice IR Awards Categories | 2026 Award Winners | | Corporate Awards | / | | Overall Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX 200 | BHP Group Limited | | Best International Investor Relations by an Australasian Company | BHP Group Limited | | Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX 50 | BHP Group Limited | | Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited | | Best Investor Relations by a Company in the ASX Mid-Cap 100 | Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited | | Best Investor Relations by a Company in the ASX Mid-Cap 200 | Catapult Sports Limited | | Best Investor Relations by a Company in the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index | Universal Store Holdings Limited | | Best Investor Relations by a New Zealand Company | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited | | Best Continous Improvement in Investor Relations by an Australasian Company | Commonwealth Bank of Australia | | Best ESG Engagement by an Australasian Company* | Transurban Group | | Best ESG and Sustainability Reporting by an Australasian Company* | Commonwealth Bank Australia | | Best Investor Event by an Australasian Company | BHP Group Limited | Data source: Extel - Research conducted in December 2025. *Data source: AIRA - Research conducted in March / April 2026, covering the preceding twelve month period. 2026 Best Practice Investor Relations Awards - Award Winners | Sell-Side Awards | / | | Best Equities Conference for Australasian Listed Entities - Generalist Domestic | Macquarie Securities - Australian Conference | | Best Equities Conference for Australasian Listed Entities - Generalist Offshore | Macquarie Securities - Australia & NZ Corporate Day | | Best Domestic Sector Equities Conference for Australasian Listed Entities | Barrenjoey - Inaugural Perth Metals & Mining Conference | | Best Offshore Sector Equities Conference for Australasian Listed Entities | JP Morgan - Asia REIT Forum | | Best Equities Conference for Small / Emerging Companies organised by a Boutique Broker or Commercial Conference Organiser | Euroz Hartley - Rottnest Island Institutional Conference | | Best Overall Domestic Institutional Investor Access for Australasian Listed Entities | JP Morgan | | Best Overall Offshore Institutional Investor Access for Australasian Listed Entities | Macquarie Securities | | Computershare Award for Best Overall Retail Investor Access for Australasian Listed Entities | Morgans | Data source: AIRA - Research conducted in March / April 2026, covering the preceding twelve month period. Thank you to AIRA Partners and Event Sponsors Ian Matheson, CEO, AIRA M: 0419 444 731

CommBank continues its rise in the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands and enters top 10 in global financial services category. AI propels unprecedented growth of world's top 100 with Google crowned new no.1. Sydney, 14 May 2026: CommBank has been listed as the 68th most valuable brand in the world in Kantar's BrandZ 2026 Most Valuable Global Brands released today, which quantifies how brand contributes to enterprise value. CommBank achieved a brand value of USD $43.3 billion, rising six places from 2025. It also enters the top 10 this year in the most valuable financial services brands category at #10, rising one place from 2025. The rankings solidify CommBank's position as a leader in financial services and highlights its impact on consumers. Globally, the financial services sector experienced significant growth, with gains driven by a strong performance in traditional banks like Chase and HSBC building stronger consumer relationships rooted in trust. Kantar Australia Head of Brand Strategy Ryan France says success through brand investment has seen CommBank enjoy a long run of strong year-on-year performance, almost tripling its brand value since before the pandemic. "CommBank's strength is that it doesn't rely on telling people it's better. It shows them. The experience matches the promise: it's smoother, the tech is more intuitive, and improvements are visible over time. It's in how the brand shows up too: more human, less institutional, and connected to modern Australian life, all wrapped in distinctive and consistent brand codes." "While many competitors are investing in similar areas, CommBank has been more successful at turning that investment into something customers genuinely notice and value. This goes beyond simply being 'big'. CommBank is sustaining brand-driven demand that is strong enough for customers to tolerate frictions like fees and rate moves better than they might with a more commoditised bank." CommBank Chief Marketing Officer Jo Boundy says, "Being recognised as one of the world's most valuable brands, and the only Australian brand in the Global 100, reflects the work our teams do every day to deliver better experiences for our customers. Across the bank, we're focused on making banking simpler, more intuitive and more relevant to people's everyday lives through digital tools, technology and how we show up in communities. Supporting the communities we serve is central to this, because building trust and long-term value is a whole of bank effort that goes beyond products and services." The other Australian highlight is Woolworths ($10.7 billion) rising one place in the retail category at #19. It's been a positive year overall for retail globally, as its top brands grow 18%. Category leader Amazon remains far ahead and has risen 17% year on year. Like many leading retail brands, it has benefitted from two big sector shifts: AI's move from pilot to mainstream and the rise of retail media networks. AI's acceleration results in a profound shift in brand value AI is pushing the threshold to enter the Kantar BrandZ global top 100 ranking to its highest level. People are now experiencing brands through thousands of AI-shaped moments, from personalised feeds to LLMs that influence what they see and choose. As machines increasingly surface and weigh content, standing out as meaningful and different has become more important for brands, not less. Kantar's latest data proves that the power of brand persists, with the combined value of the BrandZ global top 100 now a record $13.1 trillion (up 22% on last year). In a historic first, three brands have simultaneously broken the trillion-dollar threshold, with Google (#1: $1.5tn), Microsoft (#3: $1.1tn) and Amazon (#4: $1.0tn) joining Apple (#: $1.4tn). Google's brand value surged by 57% year-on-year to claim the number one spot for the first time since 2018, ending Apple's four consecutive years at the top. Its rise has been carefully built around the integration of Gemini into all existing products, the introduction of agentic features in search and continued investment in data centres. A standout in the ranking this year, Claude has debuted in the global top 100 at #27, with a brand value of just under $100bn ($96.6bn). Meanwhile, ChatGPT recorded the highest year-on-year brand value increase, rising by 285%; the only brand in history to see a bigger increase in the top 100 was Blackberry, which rose by 390% in 2008. Zara has also become the world's most valuable apparel brand, overtaking longstanding leader Nike in a clear testament to its ability to build relevance through personalised AI-powered shopping experiences. Gareth O'Neill, Head of Brand Guidance for Kantar in Australia and APAC, says "AI is accelerating growth. And it has also made marketing harder. Marketers are digesting more signals than ever, decisions have to be made faster, and it's less clear what actually matters. The brands outperforming the market are using AI to bring judgement back into the system: to identify which signals to trust, connect what people are doing to real business choices, and do so quickly and confidently. In a market this fragmented, sustained growth is coming from clarity." About Kantar BrandZ Kantar BrandZ is the global currency when assessing brand value, quantifying the contribution of brands to business' financial performance. Kantar's annual global and local brand valuation rankings combine rigorously analysed financial data with extensive brand equity research. Since 1998, BrandZ has shared brand-building insights with business leaders based on interviews with 4.6 million consumers, for over 22,000 brands in 54 markets. Discover more about Kantar BrandZ here. About Kantar Kantar is the world's leading marketing data and analytics business. Kantar Australia deliver the intelligence needed to power brand growth. Kantar Australia provide the signals that help organisations act quickly and confidently. Kantar Australia empower brands to make effective marketing decisions based on predictive evidence. And Kantar Australia help them craft powerful growth strategies rooted in the connection between consumers, brands and enterprise value. All this is powered by its uniquely robust human and synthetic data, its unrivalled IP, its AI-native platform and the team of global brand experts that bring this all together. www.kantar.com