BEYOND 2030: investing in growth and sharing value

BEYOND is a wide-ranging plan: what resources is the Group mobilizing to deliver it, and how does it share the value created?

With this new strategic plan, we have set a clear course for the 2026-2030 period: accelerating value creation. Three ambitions guide our trajectory: first, profitable growth, targeting an average annual increase in recurring net earnings per share of +10%¹ (+/- 2%); second, enhanced return on capital employed, with a recurring ROCE above 11%² in 2030; and finally, continued decarbonization, with a 33% reduction in our CO₂ emissions³ by 2035.

Following our Capital Markets Day on October 5, we presented this new roadmap to around one hundred institutional investors during roadshows, and the feedback has been very positive! The BEYOND plan fully meets their expectations, particularly thanks to the right balance between growth investments, a strong focus on markets of the future, and shareholder returns.

This balance is reflected concretely in our capital allocation. We plan to deploy more than €40 billion⁴ over five years. Around €24 billion will be dedicated to growing our industrial activities, primarily in the highest-potential markets: Electronics, driven by artificial intelligence, the Energy Transition, Healthcare, and Space. We also intend to accelerate acquisitions to strengthen our market positions and unlock new growth opportunities.

We are investing for the future while continuing to reward those who support us. Our 970,000 individual shareholders - including more than 31,000 Group employees (nearly one in two) - stand by us for the long term, and we want them to fully benefit from the growth they help make possible. This approach equally benefits our institutional shareholders, who hold 67% of our capital. Specifically, we plan to return between €12 billion and €13 billion in dividends⁵ to all our shareholders - representing roughly 60% of our net profit - and to buy back €4 billion worth of shares by the end of 2028. With fewer shares in circulation following these buybacks, the earnings attributable to each remaining share increase. These buybacks will remain flexible and aligned with our financial ratios in order to maintain our “A” credit rating, which underscores our financial strength.

You recently completed two major bond issuances. How were they received by investors, and how will the funds raised be used?

In a challenging market environment, these two recent operations received an outstanding reception. The €2 billion bond issue, launched right after the presentation of our BEYOND plan, met with resounding success among investors, with demand more than six times oversubscribed. This enabled us to secure an interest rate below 4%, more favorable than the level at which the French government currently borrows. For us, this is tangible proof of investors' confidence in our financial solidity and our strategy. Alongside this, the 390 million Swiss franc bond issue completed in November complements this setup while further diversifying our funding sources.

These bonds will mature across three tranches - at 2, 5, and 10 years for the first, and at 3, 6, and 9 years for the second. This schedule allows us to spread out our debt maturities and secure financing tailored to our major industrial contracts. The proceeds will be used to fund the Group’s general corporate needs and implement BEYOND, particularly in Electronics and our major projects, including the Energy Transition.

In line with the BEYOND plan, the Group announced a major share buyback program. Why make this decision now, and how does it fit alongside the investments required to achieve your growth targets?

This decision reflects a core conviction: combining investment in markets of the future with sharing the value created. Thanks to well-controlled debt and solid cash flow, we have the flexibility to pursue both simultaneously. By the end of 2026, we will have already initiated our €4 billion share buyback commitment with a first €1 billion tranche.

This return to shareholders goes hand in hand with exceptional investment momentum. At the end of September 2026, our investment backlog reached a record level of €6.2 billion, with Electronics serving as the primary growth driver: in just nine months, we invested nearly twice as much in this business as we did in all of 2025!

We are well on track to execute the capital allocation policy defined under BEYOND, which rests on three pillars: an ambitious level of investment, a growing dividend, and flexible share buybacks. This balance gives us the means to successfully deliver our strategic plan and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders.