Italian Exhibition Group: High-Margin Growth, Self-Funded Expansion, and Valuation Upside Support Buy Rating

TP ICAP MIDCAP analyst Alessio Olmi has maintained their bullish stance on IEG stock, giving a Buy rating yesterday.

Alessio Olmi has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that highlight both the strength of Italian Exhibition Group SpA’s current business and the credibility of its long-term growth plan. He views the 2025–2030 strategic roadmap as realistic and well aligned with the company’s strong track record, including growth that has significantly outpaced the broader market and a share price that has already reacted positively. A key pillar of his stance is IEG’s outstanding profitability profile, with one of the highest EBITDA margins globally in the sector and a clear target to further enhance this metric through the scaling up of higher-margin digital services.

Olmi also emphasizes the balanced growth strategy that combines disciplined international expansion, focused on attractive markets such as India and Turkey, with continued organic development in Italy through new events and the enlargement of exhibition venues. He considers management’s operational assumptions prudent, with additional upside from parallel events, digital revenues and improved international accessibility linked to potential airport developments. On the financial side, he highlights the company’s exceptional cash generation and high cash conversion, which allow it to finance most of its investment plan internally while reducing leverage. Finally, he argues that IEG’s enhanced competitive positioning is not fully reflected in its current valuation, as the shares still trade at a noticeable discount to comparable European operators even after raising his target price, supporting his conviction in a Buy recommendation.

In another report released yesterday, Intermonte also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a €12.50 price target.

IEG’s price has also changed moderately for the past six months – from EUR8.320 to EUR10.650, which is a 28.00% increase.