Teleperformance shares fall 21.3% before trimming losses as it cuts 2026 revenue outlook
Key Facts
Teleperformance shares fell as much as 21.3% during Friday’s session, November 6, before trimming losses to trade down about 15%, after the company cut its 2026 like-for-like revenue outlook. The reduction came with its third-quarter results, which showed like-for-like revenue down 1.2% year over year, the same rate as in the second quarter. The company attributed the revision to a sharper-than-expected decline in Trust and Safety and an acceleration in the shift of jobs to lower-cost locations. The share-price move showed the scale of investors’ response to the change in the outlook, after the stock hit its session low before recovering some losses.
Reported third-quarter revenue was 2.53 billion euros, up 1% from 2.51 billion euros in the same period a year earlier. A 62 million euro currency gain helped lift reported revenue, while like-for-like revenue remained down 1.2%. Excluding Trust and Safety, revenue rose 2%, highlighting the difference between the performance of the rest of the business and the activity that weighed on results. Chief Executive Jorge Amar said the Trust and Safety business “remained under pressure,” adding that industry pressures were slowing the pace of recovery. The decline in content moderation, together with the shift of jobs to lower-cost locations, were the two factors the company linked to its outlook cut.
By region, like-for-like revenue in the Americas fell 0.3% in the third quarter, after growing 1.1% in the second quarter. The region’s revenue was 1.05 billion euros, according to the quarter’s reported figures. The shift from growth to contraction came amid weakness in the group’s like-for-like revenue, which posted a quarterly decline for the second consecutive quarter, at 1.2%. By contrast, 2% revenue growth excluding Trust and Safety indicates that the pressures did not affect all activities in the same direction. The number of the company’s artificial intelligence projects also rose to 1,400 at the end of the third quarter, more than doubling from the same period a year earlier.
In the first nine months of 2026, revenue was 7.42 billion euros, down 1.5% on a like-for-like basis and 2.7% on a reported basis. The figures reflect a continued decline through most of the year, while the cut to the annual outlook sets a negative range for like-for-like revenue, replacing the growth the company had previously expected. At the same time, Teleperformance kept its 2026 recurring EBITA margin outlook at about 14.6%, assuming an average euro-to-dollar exchange rate of 1.20. It also retained its free cash flow target of between 800 and 850 million euros, excluding one-off cash payments. The margin and cash-flow targets therefore remained unchanged despite the revenue outlook cut.
The company said restructuring costs to be recorded in 2026 were heading toward the upper end of the previously announced range of between 120 and 140 million euros. It expects the measures to generate annual savings of between 150 and 170 million euros. These costs and savings put the restructuring plan at the center of investors’ focus on the company’s performance, alongside the revenue trajectory and pressure on Trust and Safety. Teleperformance is due to issue its official 2027 guidance with its 2026 full-year results on February 25, 2027. It also said it would update its 2028 financial targets during the first half of 2027.