RBC Upbeat on Carrefour's H2 Profitability Amid Improving French Market Position; Outperform Reaffirmed

06:47 AM EDT, 08/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- RBC Capital Markets reiterated its outperform rating on Carrefour (CA.PA) amid its view that the French retailer is now in a better market position in France, supported by improving consumer confidence and consumption trends in the country. "We see several reasons to be more confident about Carrefour's profitability in H2: 1) France is benefitting from price investment; 2) Cora & Match should annualise investment and see volume acceleration; 3) Argentina is finally seeing green shoots," analysts said Monday. "We think the backdrop in France remains tough relative to other European countries. Even so, we are encouraged by an improvement in consumer sentiment in recent months, and household food consumption has trended closer to neutral (versus negative). Carrefour should also benefit from easier comparables in France in Q3." The research firm noted that Carrefour faces a headwind related to store disposals but expects the company's better trading and efficiencies to offset this. The retailer is projected to see between 500 million euros and 600 million euros of gross disposals in the second half, without any risks on the timing of the asset deals. The stock's price target stands at 22 euros.