UK's Compass Group slightly beats H1 revenue estimates, raises FY profit guidance on strong new business wins, margin progression

Compass

11/05/2026 07:10

Overview

UK food services provider's H1 adjusted revenue rose 9%, slightly beating analyst expectations

Adjusted operating profit up 12% yr/yr; underlying margin improved to 7.4%

Company raised full-year profit guidance, citing strong new business wins and margin progression

Outlook

Compass Group raises 2026 underlying operating profit growth guidance to above 11%

Company expects organic revenue growth around 7% and ongoing margin progression in 2026

Leverage expected to remain above target range in 2026 due to M&A activity

Result Drivers

NEW BUSINESS WINS - Co said organic revenue growth was driven by mobilised net new business growth of 3.8%, with new business wins up 14% to $4.1bln, including a large share from first-time outsourcing

MARGIN IMPROVEMENT - Underlying operating margin rose 20bps to 7.4%, benefiting from operating leverage and synergies from recent acquisitions

ACQUISITIONS - Recent acquisitions, notably Vermaat in the Netherlands and Pro Care Management in Germany, contributed to growth and strengthened the European platform

Company press release: ID:nRSK7603Da

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Revenue
$25 bln
H1 Adjusted Revenue
Slight Beat*
$25 bln
$24.89 bln (3 Analysts)
H1 Adjusted Operating Profit
Beat
$1.84 bln
$1.81 bln (2 Analysts)
H1 Adjusted Operating Margin
7.40%
H1 Operating Profit
$1.61 bln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 15 "strong buy" or "buy", 6 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the restaurants & bars peer group is "buy"

The stock recently traded at 19 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 19 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)