Sodexo Revenue Hits €23.96 Billion, Beating Estimates Despite Profit Decline
Key Facts
Sodexo revenue reached €23.96 billion in the fiscal year ended in August 2026, beating the average analyst estimate of €23.78 billion, according to company results reported by Reuters via Euronext. Revenue recorded organic growth of 2.0%, compared with expectations of 1.5%. Organic growth measures business performance after excluding the effects of currency movements, acquisitions and disposals, so the beat in reported revenue came alongside stronger-than-expected operating performance. However, reported revenue fell 0.5% year on year. The company attributed the decline to a negative currency impact, despite growth in its underlying business.
Sodexo said price increases of about 2.4% supported organic growth during the fiscal year, alongside like-for-like volume growth of about 0.6%. The company cited a strong contribution from its Sodexo Live business, without detailing the size of its contribution in the available figures. The net positive impact of acquisitions and disposals was 0.5%, but was not enough to offset the negative currency impact of 3.0%. Organic growth of 2.0% and part of the impact from inorganic operations therefore offset some of the pressure on reported revenue. These components highlight the difference between reading operating performance and the annual revenue figure after currency translation.
North America remained the company's weakest region, recording negative organic growth of 1.0% in fiscal 2026. Sodexo attributed this mainly to losses on legacy contracts in the education and business services sectors, as well as the reclassification of one contract. The result came as annual organic growth exceeded analyst expectations, highlighting the uneven performance between the group overall and some of its markets. Chief Executive Thierry Delaporte said, "Our overall performance remains below the group's full potential." He added that the company would continue its efforts to restore its competitiveness during fiscal 2027.
The improvement in organic revenue was not matched by profit, as the group's net profit came to €304 million in fiscal 2026, compared with €695 million the previous year. Free cash flow also fell to €379 million from €459 million. The company attributed the decline in cash flow mainly to lower operating profit and higher interest payments and capital expenditure. These figures put the revenue beat in a broader context, as business growth did not translate into an improvement in net profit or available cash. The available results do not include further numerical detail specifying each factor's contribution to the decline in net profit.
The company had cut its fiscal-year organic revenue growth outlook in its first-half results, published in April 2026, to a range of 0.5% to 1.0%. At the time, it set its expected underlying operating margin at between 3.2% and 3.4%. Actual organic growth of 2.0% came in above that previous range and the analyst estimate of 1.5%. Fourth-quarter organic growth was 2.6%, versus a consensus estimate of 0.4%, according to Investing.com coverage citing Jefferies analysts. Sodexo said it was scheduled to report first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue on January 7, 2027.
Sodexo shares closed at €59.95 on October 23, 2026, according to EL7 data. On the same day, Investing.com reported that the shares rose 5.1% to €59.30 after results were published before the market opened. The two sources show different price levels for that day, while the available EL7 data confirm only the closing price. The available data do not include the shares' daily trading range, so the session's high or low cannot be confirmed. First-quarter results, scheduled for release in January, remain the next milestone for tracking the company's performance in fiscal 2027.