Barclays ups Thales to 'equal weight' on Exail acquisition, higher defence margins

Exail Technologies SA

03/08/2026 07:36

** Barclays upgrades French engineering company Thales TCFP.PA to "equal weight" from "underweight", citing acquisitions, higher margins, improved space execution and fading cyber concerns
** The broker says the announced acquisition of sea drone maker Exail  EXA.PA removes a key capital allocation overhang and reduces the risk of larger purchases
** Barclays adds it increasingly views Thales' space operations as a "free option within the equity story"
** It raises its defence margin assumptions to 13.7% for 2026-2027, supported by a richer export and a more favourable product mix
** Investor focus on the cyber business as a source of downside risk is fading as organic growth returns to positive territory, it adds
** Out of 20 analysts that cover Thales, 13 rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", ​five "hold", and two "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG data

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk)
((leo.marchandon@thomsonreuters.com))