How four JSE stocks make their money

If you look through all the noise, you’ll find some really encouraging growth stories that are available on the local market. Four of these names showcase the breadth of opportunity that you’ll find on the JSE, spanning business models from large banks and disruptive fintechs, through to single-commodity mining houses and FMCG enablers in Africa.

Let’s take a closer look.

Alphamin: money from tin

If you bought Alphamin a year ago, you would’ve doubled your money by now. Not bad, huh? There are two major reasons for this incredible outcome.

The first is that Alphamin was in huge trouble in March 2025. Security issues near Alphamin’s mine in Democratic Republic of the Congo led the company to suspend its tin operations. The share price plunged in response, with the market unwilling to take a chance on how long these issues might last. With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that the suspension lasted for roughly a month.

Alphamin’s luck then turned dramatically. After weathering the operational disruption, it found itself in a world where tin prices were being boosted by a new and exciting source of demand: data centres. With hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into investment in AI around the world, the “hyperscalers” (like Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet) are driving demand for tin.

That won’t be good news for buyers of canned foods, but it certainly does wonders for Alphamin. The current tin price is around $50,000/tonne, miles higher than the average in Q4’25 of $37,995/T. Alphamin is capable of generating strong profits at the levels we saw in 2025, so you can imagine what the financials might look like in 2026 if tin prices remain high.

And if the company is really lucky, then the security issues won’t make an unwelcome return.

Absa: money from Africa

Absa just released results for the year ended December 2025. They were solid to say the least, with headline earnings per share (Heps) up 12.2% and the dividend per share following suit. Return on equity — a key metric for banks — increased from 14.8% to 15.0%. The red bank’s numbers were firmly in the green.

The share price is up 23% over 12 months, despite tremendous profit-taking since the markets panicked over Iran. The share price is 17% off the 52-week high (achieved on 26th February 2026).

Investors might be given a decent entry point if this sell-off continues, as the underlying story at Absa is strong. The macroeconomic improvement in Africa over the past year has been a lovely boost for earnings, with Absa’s Africa Regions business unit posting a fantastic 51% increase in earnings.

The Africa Regions unit only considers the personal and business banking activities in Africa. The investment banking contribution is found inside Corporate and Investment Banking, where Africa contributed R5.5-billion in headline earnings (up 16% year-on-year). For context, South Africa contributed nearly R7.5-billion, with a growth rate of 12%.

The year 2025 was an exceptional period for Absa, with the bank hoping to achieve more progress in 2026. Notably, it is targeting a return on equity of 16%, which would be a significant improvement from the current level of 15%.

CA Sales: money from clever diversification

At the time of writing, the only update available on CA Sales Holdings is a trading statement. The detailed numbers for this FMCG company will be released later this month. But even with so little information to work with, there’s a story here that is worth telling.

CA Sales makes more money in Botswana than anywhere else. In the six months to June 2025, Botswana contributed R132-million in earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit), or nearly 40% of total segmental Ebit. With the Botswana economy facing huge headwinds at the moment, thanks to the fallout in the mined diamonds sector, the market has been concerned about what this would mean for CA Sales.

The trading statement for the year ended December 2025 expects Heps to grow by between 15% and 20%, so the company has shrugged off the risks and just keeps delivering. Interim Heps was up by 16.1%, so the second half of the year was simply a continuation of the first half.

Botswana’s Ebit contribution was already slightly down year-on-year in the interim period, so I don’t think that this result is a function of a miracle outcome in that country. Instead, it will be because of the growth achieved in other regions through a mix of existing and newly acquired businesses.

CA Sales regularly executes “bolt-on” acquisitions that are designed to plug gaps in the existing offering. It’s clearly a strategy that works.

We will know for sure when the full results are released.

Weaver Fintech: money from disruption

We end with one of the most exciting companies on the JSE: Weaver Fintech. I’m a shareholder here, as Weaver offers a unique way to invest in the buy now, pay later trend. As the market leader in that space, thanks to the acquisition of PayJustNow during the pandemic, Weaver is building a solid financial services ecosystem.

Key to this strategy is a deep understanding of its core customer. Weaver Fintech consistently refers to “she” and “her” in all its materials, as it has all the data on who uses its platforms and buys its products, whether through the legacy Homechoice retail footprint or the more exciting fintech operations.

With Heps up by 40% for the year ended December 2025, the company is doing exceptionally well. The full-year dividend increased by 42%, so these are “real” earnings that are backed up by cash conversion.

And with 1.2 million incremental customers added in the past year, Weaver’s growth looks set to continue. I’ve already more than doubled my money in this stock, and I plan to keep holding. DM