Carrefour's half-year revenue misses estimates as French shoppers trade down. Brazil growth and cost savings provide a partial offset, but the margin squeeze in the retailer's home market remains the central question for the second half.
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Carrefour SA (CRRFY) posted its half-year results for the 26 weeks ending June 30, 2026, with the numbers reflecting a European consumer under pressure. The French retailer's domestic business, which accounts for roughly half of group revenue, saw like-for-like sales growth slow to 1.8% from 3.2% in the prior-year period, the company said in its filing.
Group revenue came in at €44.7 billion, up 2.1% on a reported basis but missing the consensus estimate of €45.2 billion compiled by Bloomberg. The miss was concentrated in France, where shoppers traded down to private-label goods and clipped spending on general merchandise. Carrefour's French operating margin narrowed to 3.1% from 3.6% a year earlier, the filing said.
International markets were a relative bright spot. Brazil, Carrefour's second-largest market, delivered 5.4% like-for-like sales growth, helped by food inflation and a stable real. Spain and Italy also showed positive momentum, with growth of 3.1% and 2.7% respectively, the company said.
The retailer's e-commerce division, which includes its partnership with Uber Eats and its own drive-pickup service, grew gross merchandise volume by 12% to €3.1 billion. Digital now represents just under 7% of total group revenue, a share that has held steady for three consecutive quarters, the filing showed.
Carrefour reiterated its full-year guidance for recurring operating income of €2.0 billion to €2.2 billion, a range it first set in February. The midpoint of that range implies flat operating profit versus 2025, a target that some analysts see as ambitious given the French margin compression. In a note published after the results, analysts at Jefferies said the French margin trajectory was "the key variable" for second-half earnings, and that achieving the full-year target would require a pickup in volumes during the crucial holiday quarter.
The company also highlighted its cost-cutting program, which aims to deliver €1 billion in gross savings by the end of 2027. It said it had achieved €320 million in savings in the first half, on track for the full-year target of €700 million. Carrefour's net debt stood at €5.8 billion, down from €6.2 billion at the end of 2025, partly reflecting asset disposals in Taiwan and Indonesia that closed in early 2026.
Carrefour shares trade on the Paris exchange under the ticker CA and are available in the U.S. via the CRRFY over-the-counter listing. The stock is down roughly 8% this year, underperforming the broader European retail sector. The company's next scheduled update is its third-quarter sales release on Oct. 22.
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