Barclays cuts Colruyt as woes at home are set to continue

Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize

26/11/2025 08:53

** Barclays cuts Belgian discount grocer Colruyt to "underweight" from "equal weight" citing challenges in its home market

** "The problem is that when a good business meets a tough market, the market normally prevails," the broker says, expecting difficulties to persist into next year

** Barclays cites several structural challenges, such as an automatic wage indexation and rigid labour laws, which inflate costs and limit flexibility in a sector with thin margins

** ** It sees competition intensifying too, with the franchise models of main rivals Carrefour  CARR.PA and Ahold Delhaize AD.AS better suited to mitigate current market pressures

** It sees Colruyt's valuation now as "justified" compared to historical values and peers, following accelerating market losses since 2024 after years of gains, lowering its PT by 25% to EUR 30

** Out of nine analysts that cover Colruyt,four rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy,"​two rate it "hold" and three​ rate the stock "strong sell" or "sell"- LSEG data

(Reporting by Jakob Van Calster)

((jakob.vancalster@thomsonreuters.com))