Dassault Systèmes drops nearly 20% and drags down the CAC 40 amid earnings season

A Day of Verdicts: The Market Scrutinizes the Results

The Paris session this Wednesday, February 11, is marked by annual earnings reports. In the midst of earnings season, the reactions are strong and varied: out of the 40 stocks in the index, 25 are declining while only 15 are rising. None remain stable. This significant discrepancy highlights a market that sharply distinguishes between reports deemed convincing and those that disappoint.
The benchmark index moderately falls to 8,306.57 points (-0.26%), but this apparent steadiness conceals individual movements of rare magnitude. The day is dominated by the dramatic drop of Dassault Systèmes, which pulls down with it other major players in tech and services. Conversely, heavy industry and energy manage to stand out, bolstered by concrete strategic announcements.

ArcelorMittal Leads as Industry and Energy Hold Steady

In a generally cautious market, steel giant ArcelorMittal leads the CAC 40 with a rise of 3.53% to 54.62 euros. The stock is responding to the confirmation of the construction of an electric arc furnace at its Dunkirk site, a significant investment in the decarbonization of steel production in France. The announcement of a decarbonized electricity supply contract with EDF enhances the project's credibility in the eyes of the market.
Behind ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric rises 2.72% to 264.35 euros, confirming the appetite for stocks related to energy transition and electrification. TotalEnergies gains 2.03% to 63.78 euros.
In the telecom and construction sectors, Orange advances 2.25% to 16.83 euros, and Bouygues climbs 1.87% to 49.49 euros, in moves that offer some support to the index despite turbulence elsewhere.

Dassault Systèmes Drops 19%, Capgemini and Kering Penalized

The most notable event of the session was the collapse of Dassault Systèmes. The stock plummeted by 19.34% to 18.10 euros, marking its worst session in years. The industrial software developer released 2025 results characterized by moderate growth and targets of 3 to 5% for 2026, prospects that the market clearly found too restrained. The drop is especially harsh for a company usually perceived as a pillar of European tech.
The tech sector is broadly suffering: Capgemini fell by 4.93% to 108 euros, despite announcing further development of its partnership with Microsoft on sovereign cloud solutions and the launch of sovereign AWS cloud offerings in Europe. These strategic announcements aren't enough to shield the stock amid the prevailing distrust toward digital stocks this Wednesday.
In the luxury sector, Kering slid by 2.60% to 280.50 euros following the release of 2025 results, which showed a 13% decline in revenue. After a strong gain the previous day, the stock is tending to stabilize.
Publicis dropped by 4.13% to 76.52 euros and Stellantis fell by 2.03% to 6.23 euros, completing a picture of declines affecting various sectors—from communications to automotive—but centered clearly on corporate results.