Carrefour falls by more than 12% on the stock market after lowering its 2026 financial objectives

Carrefour shares fell by more than 12% on Wednesday on the Paris Stock Exchange, the day after the retailer lowered its 2026 targets due to the deterioration of the social and security situation in France and its effects on consumption.

Around 9:40 a.m., the stock tumbled 12.24% to 14.31 euros, the biggest drop in the CAC 40. It has lost more than 13% since Monday and has almost erased all its gains since the start of the year.

Carrefour estimates that the violence and looting last weekend, which affected around fifty stores, will weigh on its current operating income to the tune of 80 to 200 million euros this year. “It’s a message that I didn’t want to convey, but as a matter of responsibility, I must tell the truth of what I see,” said the group’s CEO, Alexandre Bompard, on France Inter on Wednesday.

Carrefour, forced to lower its 2026 targets

As a crucial “end of year period” approaches for the sector, “this situation has a significant impact on consumption” and “the operation of our stores,” explained the group’s financial director, Matthieu Malige, during a telephone press briefing Tuesday evening. “The extent of the impact is extremely difficult to assess at this stage,” say analysts at Jefferies.

Beyond the violence, “the slowdown in sales in France in September and further price drops” are “all reasons for concern” for investors, they add. In the third quarter, Carrefour's turnover increased by 3.9% year-on-year, to nearly 22.7 billion euros.

“It’s a lot of frustration. We worked very well for nine months, we were in line with our objectives and then the deterioration of social and security conditions led us to take responsibility to tell our investors, to tell the market, that we were no longer able to achieve the objectives that we had set for the last quarter,” declared the CEO of Carrefour on France Inter.