Sopra Steria raises annual revenue growth target to 3% after 4.3% quarterly organic growth
Key Facts
Sopra Steria reported revenue of 1,420.1 million euros in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.9% overall and 4.3% organically, and raised its full-year organic revenue growth target for the second time this year. The company said in a statement that the target was now growth of between 2.5% and 3.0%, compared with a previous range of 2.0% to 2.5%. Revenue came in above the average analyst estimate of 1,385.9 million euros and the median of 1,391.3 million euros. Those estimates were compiled between 18 September and 5 October 2026. The new revision applies to the annual target; third-quarter revenue was a reporting-period result, not a quarterly target raised by the company.
The comparison showed that quarterly revenue exceeded the restated figure for the corresponding quarter of 2025, at 1,361.0 million euros on the basis of the 2026 business scope and exchange rates. It also surpassed the revenue reported at the time, which was 1,315.8 million euros. Revenue for the first nine months of 2026 totaled 4,379.0 million euros, an overall increase of 5.3% and organic growth of 3.4% on a like-for-like basis for business scope, exchange rates and accounting standards. These figures place the quarter’s performance within a broader growth trajectory since the start of the year. The company said the completion of the SFT program would have a one-off dilutive effect of about two percentage points on its targeted organic revenue growth for 2026.
The company attributed business momentum to demand in the defense, security, space and aviation sectors, as well as cybersecurity and consulting. Defense, security and space activities grew 13% in the third quarter, while aviation activity also rose 13%. Cybersecurity recorded growth of 18%, while consulting grew 7%. Chief Executive Rajesh Krishnamurthy said customers “need to improve their performance while expanding their control over their critical technologies.” He added that the company’s European footprint and expertise in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity helped it support those two goals.
Growth varied across the four reporting units: France posted organic growth of 6.1%, the United Kingdom 8.2%, while Europe contracted 0.3% and Solutions grew 7.5%. The breakdown shows that quarterly growth was uneven across the regions and activities reported by the company. At the end of September, the group had 52,814 employees, compared with 50,768 on 30 September 2025, including recent acquisitions. Sopra Steria kept its two other 2026 financial targets unchanged: an operating margin on business activity of at least 9.5%, and free cash flow equivalent to about 5% of revenue.
Looking ahead, the company expected revenue at its UK unit to decline in the fourth quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, due to an unfavorable base effect. It nevertheless expected overall second-half performance to remain close to the level of the second half of 2025. The company is scheduled to report fiscal 2026 revenue at a meeting on 25 February 2027 at 8:30 a.m. It also noted that IFRS 18 will become mandatory for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, and said it does not currently expect its adoption to have a material impact on its results.