Carrefour reports weaker than expected first-quarter sales as Brazil slows

Carrefour SA

22/04/2026 16:48

By Helen Reid
       April 22 (Reuters) - Supermarket chain Carrefour
reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter sales on Wednesday
as its business in Brazil declined and France, its biggest
market, grew less than expected.
    Sales in France grew 1.4% in like-for-like terms, slightly
less than analysts expected, while Brazil was a bigger
disappointment with a 0.8% decline in comparable sales, which
the retailer said was due to very high interest rates hitting
consumers' spending power.
    "In Brazil, in a macroeconomic context marked by
consistently negative food volumes, the group delivered a
resilient performance," said Chief Financial Officer Matthieu
Malige. 
    First-quarter revenue for the group as a whole was 21.141
billion euros ($24.77 billion), less than the 21.83 billion
expected by analysts according to a consensus compiled by
Visible Alpha.
    Carrefour, where profit margins narrowed to 2.6% last year
from 3.1% in 2021, now faces higher costs across its markets as
the Iran war has driven energy prices up sharply, a shock that
could feed through into higher food prices. 
    Malige downplayed the impact of the conflict, however,
saying he expects food inflation in France to stay low this year
and that the retailer saw no change in consumers' behaviour in
March, the first month of the war. 
     
    ($1 = 0.8535 euros)

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
((helen.reid@thomsonreuters.com))