Why Is AMP (ASX: AMP) #2 on the FMP ASX 300 Momentum List?

Written by Christopher Hall, AdvDipFP | Authorised Representative, AFSL 526688 | July 2026

Analysis sourced from Gary Glover (AR 259215), Authorised Representative, Novus Capital Limited (AFSL 238 168)

AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) ranks #2 on the Finer Market Points ASX 300 momentum list as at 28 July 2026, carrying a momentum score of 0.2458 and a quarterly gain of 49.65% — the fourth-strongest quarterly performance in the ASX 300 universe. AMP is a diversified Australian financial-services group, and the move follows a company trading update that lifted first-half earnings guidance. AMP closed at A$2.14 on 28 July 2026.

The Catalyst Is Company-Disclosed

In an ASX release on 16 July 2026, AMP said underlying net profit after tax for the first half of 2026 was expected to be A$170 million to A$180 million. The release attributed the increase to five post-tax items: approximately A$56 million from AMP's China partnerships, a 24% increase on the second half of 2025; roughly A$5 million each from favourable group investment income and the North Guarantee in the platforms business; approximately A$13 million of carried interest tied to a legacy fund retained from the sale of AMP Capital's International Infrastructure Equity business; and a negative revaluation of approximately A$12 million in sponsor investments. AMP has indicated it will report on 6 August 2026.

Recurring or Lumpy? What the Broker Notes Focused On

Analyst commentary reported by Dow Jones Newswires in the days after the update converged on a single question: how much of the beat repeats.

Jefferies analyst Simon Fitzgerald noted the guidance sat well above a consensus of A$142 million, while flagging that the half includes the A$13 million of carried interest, A$5 million of North Capital Guaranteed hedging gains and the A$12 million negative sponsor-capital revaluation — items he described as potentially "volatile or lumpy". Jefferies raised its price target 18% to A$2.07.

Citi analyst Nigel Pittaway called the guidance a 25% beat to consensus and said solid assets-under-management growth at China Life Pension Company "seems to imply profits from Partnerships will be sustainably higher going forward", lifting FY26 and FY27 earnings-per-share forecasts by 13% and 7% and retaining a buy call. Macquarie's analysts, whose forecast the guidance exceeded by at least A$27 million, said the growth "appears to be recurring" while awaiting further detail; Macquarie raised its target 6.6% to A$1.94 and maintained a neutral rating. UBS separately noted A$287 million of surplus CET1 capital after a completed A$150 million buyback, and assumed a further A$150 million of capital returns in the second half.

These are third-party broker views reported by Dow Jones Newswires, reproduced here as market context. Finer Market Points does not endorse them, and their inclusion is not a recommendation.

The Earnings Sequence That Matters

Gary Glover (AR 259215), Authorised Representative of Novus Capital Limited (AFSL 238 168), reviews ASX momentum stocks in a recorded weekly session with Finer Market Points. His anecdotal observation, developed across his trading career, speaks directly to this kind of sequence:

"The second consecutive positive earnings result is the specific moment at which long-term institutional investors begin preparing to deploy capital — not the first positive result, which may be dismissed as a one-quarter anomaly, but the second, which confirms the turn is structural."

On that framing, a guidance upgrade is an awareness event rather than a confirmation, and the 6 August 2026 result is the next scheduled data point. The mechanism is covered in more depth in how two consecutive earnings upgrades signal institutional accumulation.

Why a Large-Cap Appears on an ASX 300 Momentum List

The ASX 300 is a different universe from the ASX as a whole. Ranking the 300 largest listed companies against one another removes the micro-caps that ordinarily dominate a whole-of-market momentum list — it is rare for a company of BHP, Commonwealth Bank or CSL scale to out-move a company with a fraction of its market capitalisation, and that is normally the nature of markets. Finer Market Points has documented that the leading percentage movers in commodity cycles consistently emerge from outside the ASX 300. Restricting the field measures something different: which large and mid-cap companies are re-rating fastest against their own peer group. AMP at #2 is that narrower measurement, not a whole-of-market ranking.

A new company can also enter a large-cap universe and lead it quickly — the rewritten Nasdaq-100 inclusion rule around the SpaceX listing being a recent illustration, examined in Finer Market Points' research on index inclusion.

The Calendar Overlay

AMP's 49.65% quarterly figure is measured across a window that straddles the Australian end of financial year — a period with a documented seasonal pattern. The foundational study by Brown, Keim, Kleidon and Marsh (1983), published in the Journal of Financial Economics, used Australia as its test case precisely because a July–June tax year predicts a July effect where the US calendar tax year predicts the January effect. Finer Market Points covers the mechanics in the FY2026 Dogs of the ASX and EOFY tax-loss selling article. This is context for reading any quarterly figure spanning June and July; the catalyst AMP itself disclosed is the earnings upgrade.

Key Metrics

Metric	Value
Rank (FMP ASX 300 momentum list, 28 July 2026)	#2
Momentum score	0.2458
Quarterly performance	+49.65% (ASX 300 rank #4)
Weekly performance	+1.42% (ASX 300 rank #90)
Sessions on the ASX 300 momentum Top 30	45+ (counter censored at 45)
Launch Pad entry	17 trading sessions ago
Gain since entering the Launch Pad	+24.42%
Share price, 28 July 2026 close	A$2.14
Sector (plain English)	Diversified financial services — wealth management, superannuation platforms and banking
Data source	FMP Momentum Research, 28 July 2026

All ranks above are measured within the ASX 300 universe and are not comparable with the whole-of-market figures in the weekly ASX momentum leaders list, which ranks the full ASX and counts list tenure separately. Remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results, and all trading involves risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) do?

AMP Limited is a diversified Australian financial-services group. Its business spans wealth management, superannuation and investment platforms, AMP Bank, and offshore retirement and pension partnerships — including interests in China, which the company identified as the largest single driver of its first-half 2026 earnings upgrade. It is an established, profitable, dividend-paying company rather than a pre-revenue or early-stage business.

Why is AMP in the FMP ASX 300 momentum top 10?

AMP ranks #2 on the Finer Market Points ASX 300 momentum list as at 28 July 2026 with a momentum score of 0.2458. The score weighs price performance across more than one time window, which is why AMP qualifies despite a modest week: its +1.42% weekly move ranks only #90 in the ASX 300, while its +49.65% quarterly gain ranks #4. A momentum-list appearance measures recent price performance only.

Why has AMP's share price gone up so much?

AMP disclosed a trading update to the ASX on 16 July 2026 lifting expected first-half 2026 underlying net profit after tax to A$170–180 million, above a market consensus that Jefferies put at A$142 million. The company named its China partnerships — approximately A$56 million, a 24% increase on the second half of 2025 — as the largest contributor. The quarterly gain of 49.65% is measured to 28 July 2026 and is a historical figure, not a guide to future returns.

Is AMP a top ASX 300 stock?

A momentum-list ranking is not an assessment of company quality, valuation or investment merit. AMP is one of several ASX 300 companies showing strong recent price momentum, and its #2 position reflects price performance across the measured windows only. This is general educational information, not a recommendation.

How is the FMP ASX 300 momentum list different from the FMP ASX momentum top 10?

The two lists draw on different universes and are not interchangeable. The weekly Finer Market Points momentum list ranks the full ASX, where micro-cap and exploration companies typically produce the largest percentage moves. The ASX 300 list ranks only the 300 largest listed companies against one another, surfacing large and mid-cap re-ratings that a whole-of-market list rarely shows. Ranks, quarterly ranks and list-tenure counters are calculated within each universe separately.

When does AMP report its first-half 2026 result?

AMP has indicated it will announce its first-half 2026 results on 6 August 2026, and said it would provide further guidance on the full-year 2026 outlook at that time. The A$170–180 million figure disclosed on 16 July 2026 is company guidance ahead of that result, not a reported outcome.

Access the Research

Finer Market Points members access the weekly Top 30 ASX momentum data — the same proprietary research that flagged AMP — 19 hours before the Gary Glover weekly session goes live. Join the Finer Market Points membership.

Sources

#	Source	Type
1	AMP Limited (ASX: AMP), 16 July 2026, "AMP expects NPAT (underlying) to be $170m-$180m for 1H 26"	ASX Announcement
2	Stuart Condie, Dow Jones Newswires, 20 July 2026, "Drivers of AMP's 1H Beat Should Be Recurring — Market Talk" (Macquarie)	Analyst Note
3	David Winning, Dow Jones Newswires, 17 July 2026, "AMP Bull Encouraged by Profit Upgrade — Market Talk" (Jefferies, Simon Fitzgerald)	Analyst Note
4	David Winning, Dow Jones Newswires, 17 July 2026, "Extent of China Partnerships Boost to Earnings Surprises AMP Bull — Market Talk" (Citi, Nigel Pittaway)	Analyst Note
5	David Winning, Dow Jones Newswires, 3 July 2026, "AMP Has Scope for Additional Capital Management — Market Talk" (UBS)	Analyst Note
6	Finer Market Points, FMP ASX 300 Momentum Research, 28 July 2026; ASX market data, 28 July 2026 close	Company Disclosures
7	Gary Glover, Finer Market Points recorded session, 19 May 2026	Management Interview
8	Brown, Keim, Kleidon and Marsh, 1983, "Stock Return Seasonalities and the Tax-Loss Selling Hypothesis", Journal of Financial Economics	Academic Study

Gary Glover's contribution is an anecdotal practitioner observation drawn from a recorded Finer Market Points session, not a formal study.

Related Finer Market Points Educational Resources

• How Two Consecutive Earnings Upgrades Signal Institutional Accumulation

• Dogs of the ASX: FY2026 Performers and the EOFY Tax-Loss Selling Trap

• The SpaceX IPO, Index Inclusion and Australian Superannuation

• ASX Momentum Leaders — the weekly whole-of-market Top 10

This article includes a general trading observation made by Gary Glover (AR 259215), Authorised Representative of Novus Capital Limited (AFSL 238 168), during a recorded Finer Market Points session on 19 May 2026. The observation reflects Gary Glover's general approach and was not made in relation to AMP Limited (ASX: AMP). Content has been edited and summarised by Finer Market Points for educational purposes. Gary Glover has not independently reviewed or endorsed this publication.

Educational Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Consider your financial situation and seek professional advice before making investment decisions.

Finer Market Points Pty Ltd, CAR 1304002, AFSL 526688, ABN 87 645 284 680. This general information is educational only and not financial advice, recommendation, forecast or solicitation. Consider your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting. Seek appropriate professional advice. We accept no liability for any loss or damages arising from use. Authors and presenters may hold positions in discussed companies and investment products.