DANONE SA (BN) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: €45.95B
• Dividend Yield: 2.8%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.01M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 25.7
• Beta (1Y): 0.13
• Revenue Growth: 0.54%
• EPS Growth: 83.09%
• Country: FR
• Employees: 89,528
• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Sector Strength: 42
• Industry: Packaged Foods
• EPS (TTM): 1.89
• Shares Outstanding: 681,394,500
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,201,860
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,009,219
• PEG Ratio: -2.74
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.92
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.81
• P/FCF Ratio: 18.13
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: €84.30
• Price Target Upside: 18.37% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 11
• EPS Forecast (FY): 3.97
• Revenue Forecast (FY): €28.07B

• Rating: 64 Neutral
• Price Target: €79.00 ▲(10.92% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 02/21/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 02/21/26

The score is primarily supported by strong, consistent cash generation and manageable leverage, typical of a defensive packaged foods profile. It is held back by weak recent revenue performance (including a steep latest-period decline) and uneven profitability, while technicals and valuation are mixed—moderate momentum but a relatively high P/E with only a mid-level dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Consistent cash generation

Danone’s recurring operating cash flow and historically positive free cash flow provide durable internal funding for R&D, capex, dividends and deleveraging. Sustained cash generation supports strategic investments and shareholder returns even if earnings fluctuate, improving long-term resilience.

Manageable leverage and sizable equity

A moderate debt-to-equity ratio and large equity base give Danone financial flexibility to fund transformation, M&A or capex without aggressive gearing. This balance-sheet posture reduces refinancing pressure and supports multi-year strategic programs through economic cycles.

Clear multi-engine growth strategy & guidance

Management’s mid-term guidance and explicit focus on scaling medical nutrition, dairy strength, microbiome science and digitalization indicate a structural plan to drive sustained organic growth and margin expansion, aligning capital allocation to higher-return segments.

Negative Factors

Sharp recent revenue decline

A steep reported revenue drop in 2025 materially weakens scale advantages, reduces pricing power and complicates long-term planning. Restoring top-line momentum will be critical to leverage fixed costs and to finance strategic initiatives without eroding margins or asset base.

Free cash flow volatility

Large swings in free cash flow, including a severe 2025 decline, signal volatile cash conversion from working capital, taxes or capex. Such unpredictability undermines planning for reinvestment and payouts and increases sensitivity to adverse shocks despite positive long-run cash generation.

Uneven profitability and ROE sensitivity

Profitability and returns on equity have swung materially with earnings cycles, reflecting sensitivity to demand, costs and portfolio execution. This uneven earnings profile makes long-term return predictability weak and heightens execution risk for margin improvement plans.

DANONE SA Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Danone S.A. operates in the food and beverage industry in Europe, Noram, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. The company operates through three segments: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based, Specialized Nutrition, and Waters. It produces and distributes yogurts; milk products; coffee creamers, drinks, and beverages; plant-based products; and ice creams, desserts, and nutritional powdered protein products under the Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, as well as under the licensed brands, including International Delight, Dunkin' Donuts, and Bailey's. The company also offers specialized nutrition products for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, infants, and young children under the Aptamil, Nutrilon, Gallia, Cow & Gate, Blédina, Bebelac, Olvarit, and Happy Family Organics brands. In addition, it provides tube feeding products under the Nutrison name; oral nutritional supplements under the Fortimel and NutriDrink names; and hypoallergenic products for children with allergies primarily under the Aptamil ProSyneo, Aptamil Pepti Syneo, and Neocate Syneo names. Further, the company offers water with natural fruit extracts, fruit juice, and vitamins under the evian, Volvic, Aqua, Mizone, Bonafont, Villavicencio, Villa del Sur, Hayat, Sirma, Fontvella, Lanjarón, Salus, Aqua d'Or, and Zywiec Zdroj brands. It distributes its products through retail chains and traditional market outlets; convenience stores; hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies; and e-commerce. The company was formerly known as Groupe Danone and changed its name to Danone S.A. in April 2009. Danone S.A. was incorporated in 1899 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

How the Company Makes Money

DANONE generates revenue through multiple key streams, primarily from the sale of dairy products, plant-based alternatives, bottled water, and specialized nutrition products. The company's revenue model is driven by a combination of retail sales, partnerships with supermarkets and grocery chains, and direct-to-consumer channels. Significant partnerships with retailers enhance its market presence and distribution capabilities. Additionally, DANONE invests in innovation and sustainability initiatives to meet changing consumer demands, which can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. The growing trend towards health-conscious eating and environmental sustainability also contributes to the company's earnings, as consumers increasingly prefer products that align with these values.

DANONE SA Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Cash generation is a clear strength (consistently healthy operating cash flow and positive free cash flow), and leverage looks moderate/manageable (debt-to-equity ~0.8–1.0). Offsetting this, revenue has been weak with a sharp decline in the latest annual period (2025 revenue growth -26.7%) and profitability has been volatile, indicating uneven bottom-line consistency.

Income Statement

Revenue has been broadly flat to slightly down over the last several years, with a sharp decline in the latest annual period (2025 revenue growth of -26.7%), which weighs on the growth profile. Profitability is mixed: operating profit improved versus 2023 (EBIT rose to €3.4B in 2024 from €2.0B in 2023), but net margin has been volatile—strong in 2020–2021 (~8%) and meaningfully lower in 2022–2024 (~3%–7%). Overall, the business shows decent operating resilience but inconsistent bottom-line performance and weak recent top-line momentum.

Balance Sheet

Leverage appears manageable for a large packaged foods company: debt-to-equity has generally sat around ~0.8–1.0 (0.80 in 2024; 0.96 in 2023), indicating moderate balance-sheet risk rather than aggressive gearing. Equity is sizable (€17.8B in 2024), but it has not steadily increased and dipped in 2023, suggesting limited balance-sheet expansion. Returns on equity have been solid in stronger earnings years (about 11%–12% in 2020–2021 and 11% in 2024) but fell materially in weaker years (about 5% in 2022–2023), highlighting sensitivity of shareholder returns to earnings swings.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a relative strength: operating cash flow has been consistently healthy (~€3.0B–€3.8B from 2020–2024) and free cash flow has remained positive each year (~€2.0B–€2.9B). Free cash flow has typically covered a large portion of net income (roughly ~0.68–0.76 in 2020–2024), supporting earnings quality. The main weakness is volatility in free cash flow growth (negative in 2020 and 2022, positive in 2021/2023/2024, and sharply negative in 2025 at -505%), which suggests periodic swings in working capital, taxes, or capital spending.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	27.28B	27.38B	27.62B	27.66B	24.28B
Gross Profit	13.81B	13.61B	13.08B	12.74B	11.52B
EBITDA	3.03B	4.36B	4.75B	4.25B	4.15B
Net Income	1.82B	2.02B	881.00M	959.00M	1.92B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	45.07B	45.29B	44.49B	45.28B	45.42B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	6.57B	6.16B	6.00B	4.68B	5.86B
Total Debt	15.12B	14.19B	15.60B	14.16B	16.21B
Total Liabilities	28.10B	27.44B	28.26B	27.29B	28.05B
Stockholders Equity	16.92B	17.80B	16.18B	17.92B	17.27B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	2.72B	2.91B	2.60B	2.09B	2.43B
Operating Cash Flow	3.78B	3.83B	3.44B	2.96B	3.47B
Investing Cash Flow	-1.77B	-463.00M	-834.00M	-749.00M	561.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-1.61B	-3.82B	-1.94B	-1.93B	-4.03B

DANONE SA Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Neutral
• Last Price: 71.22
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FR:BN, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 71.22 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 71.62, below the 50-day MA of 72.90, and below the 200-day MA of 73.45, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.26 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 53.20 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 38.62 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for FR:BN.

DANONE SA Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
LOUP	73 Outperform	€3.50B	13.72	11.24%	1.76%	514.19%	-7.82%
SAVE	72 Outperform	€847.59M	9.39	5.22%	2.73%	5.30%	-14.66%
BN	64 Neutral	€45.95B	25.73	11.27%	2.80%	0.54%	83.09%
Sector *	62 Neutral	$20.33B	14.63	-3.31%	3.23%	1.93%	-12.26%
ALFLE	60 Neutral	€101.13M	15.56	―	5.18%	0.17%	-97.54%
BON	54 Neutral	€276.54M	5.83	3.16%	1.98%	-7.08%	90.42%