BofA Highlights Potential FY26 Guidance Hike in Orange SA's Upcoming Q3 Results

01:58 AM EDT, 10/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- BofA Global Research sees room for Orange SA (ORA.PA) to upgrade its full-year 2026 guidance in its third-quarter results, amid an improving French backdrop and sustained strength in Africa. "We expect Orange's competitive backdrop to remain mixed but broadly manageable in the coming quarter. In France, reduced low-end mobile promotions should support trading, although management described the improvement as fragile and continues to see pressure on mobile-only pricing, with convergence, retention and upselling central to protecting ARPU. Spain remains the principal competitive risk, particularly across entry-level and mid-market segments, but improving churn, declining customer acquisition at Digi [DIGIS.MC] and better defence against Vodafone [VOD.L]/Zegona [ZEG.L] support management's confidence in selective pricing and further retail revenue stabilisation during H2," according to a third-quarter earnings preview note focused on European telecoms. The research firm said it sees "no material competitive deterioration" in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while a "challenging" enterprise industry is expected to continue to weigh on Orange Business. Ahead of the French telecommunications group's earnings report on Oct. 27, analysts forecast a 3.3% year-over-year increase in third-quarter revenue to 12.16 billion euros, while EBITDAaL is expected to rise 3.7% to 4.10 billion euros. The research firm lifted its 2026 revenue and EBITDAaL projections by 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, on "more constructive competitive trends" in France. BofA rates the stock at buy, with a price objective of 19.2 euros.