Nexans (NEX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: €5.10B
• Dividend Yield: 2.08%
• Average Volume (3M): 149.59K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 15.6
• Beta (1Y): 0.93
• Revenue Growth: 12.65%
• EPS Growth: 81.77%
• Country: FR
• Employees: 28,500
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Electrical Equipment & Parts
• EPS (TTM): 3.42
• Shares Outstanding: 43,744,778
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 221,446
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 149,595
• PEG Ratio: 0.59
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.79
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.71
• P/FCF Ratio: 11.98
• 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: €148.50
• Price Target Upside: 27.25% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 6
• EPS Forecast (FY): 7.57
• Revenue Forecast (FY): €7.33B

• Rating: 60 Neutral
• Price Target: €128.00 ▲(9.68% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 02/28/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 02/28/26

The score is driven primarily by generally healthy financial performance (improved profitability and strong operating/free cash flow), partially offset by 2025’s sharp revenue decline and uncertainty from unusual 2025 balance sheet metrics. Technical indicators are notably weak and pull the score down, while valuation is supportive but not enough to overcome the current negative momentum.

Positive Factors

Strong cash generation

Nexans generates robust operating cash flow (847M in 2025) with positive free cash flow each year (464M in 2025). This durable cash generation supports capex, project execution, dividends and debt reduction, increasing financial flexibility over the medium term.

Improved profitability and margins

Net income rose materially from 78M (2020) to 357M (2025) and margins have improved, with sustained EBITDA and rising EBIT margins. These profit trends indicate better cost control and pricing power that bolster long-term earnings quality and resilience across cycles.

Stronger balance sheet / lower leverage

Reported leverage fell materially and equity has increased substantially, expanding the company's capital base. Greater equity and lower reported debt enhance capacity to bid on large infrastructure projects, fund renewables contracts, and absorb cyclical downturns over the medium term.

Negative Factors

Sharp revenue decline and growth volatility

Revenue dropped 13.4% in 2025 following prior-year growth, highlighting demand cyclicality and volatility. For a project-driven cable business, uneven top-line trends reduce visibility into backlog conversion, strain margin planning and can pressurize long-term investment and hiring decisions.

Weaker cash conversion in 2025

Although FCF remains positive, the drop in FCF and the fall in FCF-to-net-income ratio suggest weaker cash conversion and potential working-capital or margin pressure. Lower conversion constrains internal funding for capex and dividends and raises reliance on external financing in stress scenarios.

Balance sheet reporting discontinuity / comparability risk

The reported 0 debt and 0 ROE in 2025 create a comparability and quality question versus prior mid-teens ROE and positive debt. Such anomalies can mask one-off items or classification changes and hinder reliable assessment of leverage, credit risk and sustainable returns.

Nexans Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Nexans S.A. manufactures and sells cables in France and internationally. It operates through four segments: Building & Territories, High Voltage & Projects, Telecom & Data, and Industry & Solutions. The Building & Territories segment provides cabling systems and smart energy solutions for buildings, smart cities/grids, e-mobility, local infrastructures, decentralized energy systems, and rural electrifications. The High Voltage & Projects segment offers design, engineering, financing, asset management, and systems management solutions for offshore wind farms, subsea interconnections, and land high voltage, as well as smart solutions for the oil and gas sector. The Telecom & Data segment helps customers to deploy copper and fiber optic infrastructures, which include data transmission, telecom networks, hyperscale data centers, and LAN cabling solutions. The Industry & Solutions segment provides customized cabling and connectivity solutions to support OEMs and industrial infrastructure project managers in transport, automatic devices, renewable energy, resources, and other sectors. It also offers wire rods, electrical wires, and winding wires. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Courbevoie, France.

How the Company Makes Money

Nexans generates revenue primarily through the sale of its cable products and solutions across multiple sectors. Key revenue streams include the sale of energy cables for utilities and renewable energy projects, telecommunications cables for network infrastructure, and specialized cables for industrial applications. The company benefits from long-term contracts with major utilities and infrastructure projects, which provide stable income. Additionally, Nexans engages in partnerships and collaborations with key industry players, enhancing its market reach and technological capabilities. The focus on high-margin products and solutions, coupled with strategic investments in R&D, allows Nexans to maintain competitiveness and drive profitability.

Nexans Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Fundamentals are solid but not flawless: profitability improved materially over time (net income up to 357M in 2025 with net margin ~4.6%) and cash generation is strong (operating cash flow 847M; free cash flow 464M in 2025). Offsetting this, 2025 revenue declined sharply (-13.4%) with some margin pressure, and the 2025 balance sheet shows unusual discontinuities (debt reported at 0 and ROE at 0), creating uncertainty around trend interpretation.

Income Statement

Profitability has improved meaningfully versus earlier years, with net income rising from 78M (2020) to 357M (2025) and net margin expanding from ~1.3% to ~4.6%. Operating profitability is steady-to-improving, with EBITDA margin generally around ~6–8% and EBIT margin moving from ~3.5% (2021) to ~4.7% (2025). The key weakness is growth volatility: revenue fell sharply in 2025 (-13.4%) after a stronger 2024 (+9.7%), and gross margin dipped in 2025 versus 2024, indicating some pressure from mix/pricing and/or costs.

Balance Sheet

Leverage improved substantially, with debt-to-equity declining from ~1.07x (2024) and ~1.09x (2020) to 0.0x in 2025 (as reported), which materially strengthens financial flexibility. Equity has also grown over time (from 1.216B in 2020 to 1.995B in 2025), supporting a larger asset base. The main concern is comparability/quality of the latest leverage and return profile: 2025 shows total debt at 0 and return on equity at 0 (as reported), which is a notable discontinuity versus prior years (mid-teens returns in 2022–2024) and could reflect reporting classification or one-time balance sheet changes.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a clear strength: operating cash flow remains robust and increased to 847M in 2025 from 401M in 2021, with free cash flow positive each year (464M in 2025). However, free cash flow declined in 2025 (about -20.8% year over year) and free cash flow relative to net income fell to ~0.55x in 2025 versus 1.0x in 2024, suggesting weaker cash conversion than last year. Overall, the company still demonstrates solid capacity to fund operations and investment through internally generated cash.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	7.81B	8.55B	7.79B	8.37B	7.37B
Gross Profit	907.00M	1.17B	995.00M	996.00M	781.00M
EBITDA	616.00M	667.00M	528.00M	554.00M	421.00M
Net Income	357.00M	279.00M	221.00M	245.00M	164.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	8.04B	7.67B	6.54B	6.40B	5.59B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.63B	1.25B	1.13B	1.13B	972.00M
Total Debt	0.00	1.93B	1.34B	1.32B	1.05B
Total Liabilities	6.02B	5.84B	4.83B	4.74B	4.12B
Stockholders Equity	2.00B	1.81B	1.70B	1.65B	1.45B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	464.00M	775.00M	323.00M	246.00M	195.00M
Operating Cash Flow	847.00M	775.00M	700.00M	544.00M	401.00M
Investing Cash Flow	-84.00M	-903.00M	-440.00M	-429.00M	-183.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-332.00M	278.00M	-215.00M	113.00M	-417.00M

Nexans Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 116.70
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Positive
• STOCH: Positive

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FR:NEX, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 116.7 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 131.27, below the 50-day MA of 128.76, and below the 200-day MA of 122.64, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -3.07 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 29.46 is Positive, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 16.75 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for FR:NEX.

Nexans Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
ELEC	81 Outperform	€1.56B	8.39	―	6.15%	-12.83%	10.40%
VIE	71 Outperform	€24.31B	18.11	15.69%	4.77%	-0.31%	1.28%
LR	67 Neutral	€37.03B	26.81	17.50%	1.73%	12.62%	17.18%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
SCHP	63 Neutral	€507.03M	12.27	12.51%	1.69%	14.77%	33.13%
NEX	60 Neutral	€5.10B	15.57	25.83%	2.08%	12.65%	81.77%
VLTSA	60 Neutral	€898.41M	-7.05	-3.36%	―	1.76%	-234.79%