** Shares of Atos ATOS.PA fall around 9% after the French IT group on Monday reported a drop in its Q3 core business revenue
** Atos Services posted sales of 1,621 million euros ($1,89 billion), a 19.3% decline year-on-year, which Bernstein says is below its estimate of between 1,690 and 1,741 million euros
** The broker adds the business will become increasingly central to Atos after the sale of its computing arm to the French state in 2026
** Bernstein says the steep sales decline occurred despite a slightly easier basis for comparison, with a more notable improvement only expected in the fourth quarter
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Hugo Lhomedet)
((hugo.lhomedet@thomsonreuters.com))