Société Générale stock, CAC 40 laggard, drops 3.5%
The bank headquartered in La Défense is establishing itself as the CAC 40 laggard at midday on Thursday, in a Paris index oriented downward, as inflation accelerates in the eurozone. The decline amplifies a slide that began several weeks ago, bringing the stock to levels that further widen the gap with its moving averages.
A 3.67% fall that brings Société Générale to its recent lows, below its three moving averages
Société Générale loses 3.67% to €67.01 in trading, clearly at the tail end of the CAC 40 which itself falls 1.16%. Over one week, the bank posts a decline of 7.25%, and of 13.39% over three months. The technical configuration is degraded on all timeframes: the price is below the 20-day moving average at €72.85 (gap of 8%), below the 50-day moving average at €76.45 (gap of 12.35%) and below the 200-day moving average at €72.13 (gap of 7.10%).
These three moving averages now form a staggered resistance above the price, contrary to the rebound observed following the presentation of the 2029 strategic plan on September 21. The RSI at 37 is approaching the oversold zone without yet tipping into it, leaving room for additional downward pressure. The support level is at €69.56, a level corresponding to the previous close, with distant resistance at €77.02.
Solid half-year results and a dividend in sight, but an unfavorable macro environment for banks
When publishing the first half of 2026 results on July 30, Société Générale had posted a net income attributable to the Group of 3.5 billion euros, up 13.9% year-over-year, with a ROTE of 12%, and had raised its 2026 ROTE target to approximately 11%. The share buyback program of 1.5 billion euros announced in August was executed at approximately 84% as of September 25, testifying to an active return to shareholders. Despite these elements, the stock is suffering today from pressure from a more difficult macro environment: inflation in the eurozone accelerates in September (3.4% in France, 5% in Spain on an annual basis), fueled by the surge in energy linked to Middle East tensions, feeding expectations of further ECB rate hikes.
Yet the stock is historically sensitive to household lending rates (negative correlation): the rise in the 3-month Euribor to 2.635% and the average effective mortgage rate to 4.05% weigh on credit production prospects. Based on expected earnings per share, according to the consensus of analysts surveyed, the stock trades at approximately 8.5 times 2026 earnings and 7.4 times 2027 earnings, with expected EPS growth of 14.4%. The next concrete event remains the dividend ex-date, scheduled for October 5.
