Sopra Steria: Return to Growth in Q1 2026 with Revenue of 1.46 Billion Euros
Sopra Steria recorded a 3.4% revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026, marking a return to growth after a 4.9% decline a year earlier. The IT services group confirms its return to growth initiated at the end of 2025, driven by a rebound in Consulting and an acceleration in the aerospace and defense sectors. All financial targets for 2026 are maintained, despite an uncertain geopolitical environment.
Moderate Growth Largely Driven by Consulting and Defense-Aerospace Sectors
The revenue for the first quarter of 2026 reached 1,463.2 million euros, up 3.4% year-on-year. At constant exchange rates and scope, organic growth was 3.2%, reflecting an improvement in activity trends across most of the group's geographies. However, this growth masks a fragmented dynamic: it benefits largely from the comparison effect with a Q1 2025 that saw a 4.9% decline. The planned discontinuation of the SFT program (for Sparda banks) impacted growth by approximately 1.2 percentage points for the quarter. Excluding this non-recurring impact, the underlying organic growth would have been 4.4%. Consulting activities confirmed their revitalization with a 5% increase, while aerospace (+15%) and defense-security-space (+7%) showed notable accelerations compared to the previous quarter.
France Exceeds 650 Million Euros, Europe Stabilizes
France (44% of the total group) generated revenue of 650.1 million euros, with organic growth of 7.2%, significantly accelerating compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 (+1.6%). With the exception of the energy and telecommunications sector, all verticals showed growth, with the most dynamic being transport, aerospace, public sector, and defense. In the United Kingdom (15% of the group), revenue reached 220 million euros with organic growth of 4.2%. In Europe (35% of the group), excluding SFT, organic growth returned to +1.6% after an average contraction of 2.6% during 2025, signaling a gradual improvement. The Solutions division (6% of the group) increased by 0.9% to 85.3 million euros, with real estate solutions being dynamic while human resources remained stable.
2026 Targets Confirmed Despite Geopolitical Uncertainties
Sopra Steria maintains its course for 2026: organic revenue growth between 1.0% and 2.0% (including the negative non-recurring impact of 2 points from the SFT program), an operating margin of at least 9.5%, and a net cash flow of about 5% of revenue. The group continues its strategy of external growth with the imminent completion of the acquisitions of Starion and Nexova, two companies combining about 700 employees and 100 million euros in annual revenue for 2025, positioned in sovereign and secure digital services for space and cybersecurity. Sopra Steria also plans a share buyback of 40 million euros in 2026, following the cancellation of 858,163 shares (4.2% of the capital) decided at the end of April.
