Teleperformance Sinks After Cutting 2026 Revenue Outlook

Shares of French outsourcing group Teleperformance plunged on Friday after it lowered its 2026 revenue outlook, citing a faster-than-expected decline in its Trust and Safety content-moderation business, Investing.com reported. The stock fell as much as 21.3% in Paris before paring losses to trade around 15% lower.

The company, also known as TP, now expects like-for-like revenue for 2026 to fall between 1.5% and 2.5%, a measure that excludes currency swings and acquisitions. According to Investing.com, the previous guidance had been for growth of 0% to 2%. Reuters, via MarketScreener, said weakness in Trust and Safety more than offset growth in TP’s AI-powered and back-office services.

Third-quarter figures

Reported revenue for the quarter ended September 30 rose 1% to €2.53 billion from €2.51 billion, helped by a €62 million currency gain as the US dollar and Colombian peso strengthened against the euro. On a like-for-like basis, revenue fell 1.2% from a year earlier, the same pace of decline as in the second quarter. Excluding Trust and Safety, revenue grew 2%.

Core Services revenue slipped 1% to €2.19 billion but rose 2.9% when Trust and Safety is stripped out. The Americas declined 0.3% to €1.05 billion, while the EMEA and Asia-Pacific region fell 1.5% to €1.15 billion. Specialized Services dropped 2.9% to €338 million. The number of AI projects more than doubled from a year earlier to 1,400.

Chief executive Jorge Amar said Trust and Safety “remained under pressure” and that industry headwinds were slowing the pace of recovery. For the first nine months, revenue was €7.42 billion, down 1.5% like-for-like and 2.7% as reported.

Margin and cash targets kept

TP kept its recurring EBITA margin target of around 14.6%, assuming an average euro-dollar rate of 1.20, and maintained its net free cash flow goal of €800 million to €850 million, excluding one-off payments. Restructuring costs booked this year are trending towards the upper end of the €120 million to €140 million range, with expected annual savings of €150 million to €170 million.

The sell-off came on a weak day for European equities. The Private Banker reported the STOXX 600 fell as much as 1.6%, its steepest one-day drop since July, as technology shares retreated after a rout on Wall Street linked to the US midterm election results.

What’s next

Teleperformance said it will update its 2028 financial targets in the first half of 2027 and issue formal 2027 guidance with its full-year 2026 results on February 25, 2027.

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