European Markets Consolidation And Digital Shift Will Unlock Lasting Value

Key Takeaways

• Expansion into digital solutions, data services, and strategic acquisitions strengthens revenue resilience and operational leverage, supporting sustained growth and improved margin mix.
  
• Leadership in sustainable finance and capital market consolidation positions Euronext to capture rising ESG demand and benefit from regulatory harmonization in Europe.
  
• Reduced market volatility, integration risks, regulatory changes, and heightened competition threaten Euronext's revenue growth, margins, and financial flexibility as it pursues expansion.

Catalysts

Operates securities and derivatives exchanges in the Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, the United States, Norway, Denmark, and internationally.

• Euronext is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing shift of European savings and pensions from traditional bank deposits to capital markets, as reflected in strong, recurring top-line growth and increased demand for its diverse range of capital markets infrastructure and trading services. This trend supports sustained revenue expansion and higher volumes for both retail and institutional clients.
  
• The company is capturing the momentum of digital transformation across Europe by expanding proprietary data, advanced analytics, and post-trade services, shown by continued double-digit growth in Corporate/Investor Solutions and Advanced Data Solutions. These higher-margin, recurring businesses improve Euronext's net margin mix and revenue resilience as capital markets increasingly embrace fintech solutions.
  
• Ongoing integration of recent pan-European acquisitions (e.g., Admincontrol, ATHEX, and ongoing progress on Borsa Italiana) creates a powerful catalyst for cost and revenue synergies, leading to margin expansion and higher operational leverage; this is reinforced by a track record of realizing synergies and disciplined capital allocation, positively impacting EBITDA and net income.
  
• Strategic moves to further consolidate European capital markets-such as the acquisition of ATHEX and expansion into new asset classes (e.g., repo, migration of NASDAQ Nordics power futures)-position Euronext as a leading consolidator in a sector primed for further cross-border capital flows and regulatory harmonization, enabling consistent long-term revenue and earnings growth.
  
• Rising demand for ESG and sustainable finance products will increase listings and trading of green bonds, ETFs, and related securities on Euronext's platforms, which, together with its unique integrated value chain, supports non-volume related revenue growth and margin improvement as investor and regulatory focus on sustainability accelerates across Europe.

Euronext Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming Euronext's revenue will grow by 4.9% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 37.6% today to 37.8% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach €757.3 million (and earnings per share of €7.45) by about August 2028, up from €652.7 million today. However, there is some disagreement amongst the analysts with the more bullish ones expecting earnings as high as €860.6 million.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 22.7x on those 2028 earnings, up from 21.5x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the GB Capital Markets industry at 19.9x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 2.03% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.85%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Euronext Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• Euronext's revenue growth and EBITDA have been significantly boosted by favorable market volatility and elevated trading volumes; a normalization of volatility or a shift toward off-exchange venues (e.g., dark pools) could structurally reduce transaction-based revenues and net margins.
  
• Integration risks from recent and ongoing acquisitions (such as ATHEX and Admincontrol) may result in operational inefficiencies or unachieved synergies, potentially leading to higher-than-expected ongoing costs and pressure on profit margins.
  
• Increased reliance on non-volume-related revenues such as data and technology services is threatened by industry price competition and forthcoming regulatory interventions to open up market data access (consolidated tape), risking a decline in high-margin recurring revenues.
  
• The ongoing expansion into new geographies and asset classes may expose Euronext to greater competition from pan-European and global exchange operators (e.g., Deutsche Börse, ICE, CME), heightening client pricing pressure and risking slower organic revenue growth.
  
• Euronext's rising leverage from acquisition-fueled expansion narrows its financial flexibility for further M&A or to withstand macro or technological disruptions, which could adversely impact earnings growth and return on equity.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of €149.882 for Euronext based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of €174.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just €114.0.
  
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be €2.0 billion, earnings will come to €757.3 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 22.7x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.9%.
  
• Given the current share price of €140.2, the analyst price target of €149.88 is 6.5% higher. The relatively low difference between the current share price and the analyst consensus price target indicates that they believe on average, the company is fairly priced.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.