(News Bulletin 247) – According to a count carried out by News Bulletin 247, the 35 CAC 40 companies which have already published annual results have totaled more than 146 billion euros in profits compared to just under 140 billion the previous year.

The 2023 harvest was a priori good for the CAC 40 groups in terms of profits. In any case much better than that of 2022.

According to a count from News Bulletin 247, the 35 companies which have so far published their annual accounts have generated a total of 146.26 billion euros in net profits (see our methodology at the end of the article for more details).

This amount excludes Thales, Teleperformance and Vivendi which will publish next week. As well as Pernod Ricard and Alstom which are evolving on a staggered basis.

Barring an improbable surprise next week with the three remaining groups, the residents of the CAC 40 will beat the level of profits earned in 2022, which amounted to just under 140 billion euros, again according to our count (and based on 38 companies).

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A 2021 record impossible to surpass

The 2021 record, of more than 156.5 billion euros, seems out of reach. The reason is due to Vivendi which had generated a 2021 profit of… 24.7 billion euros. This figure was explained by a (very) exceptional element. The group had distributed most of its stake in Universal Music Group (UMG) to its shareholders, which enabled it to record a deconsolidation accounting capital gain of 24.84 billion euros after tax.

Returning to the 2023 financial year, Totalenergies was the largest provider of net profit, with a net result of 19.85 billion euros. A record for the group, despite the drop in hydrocarbon prices. This is actually due to a distorted basis of comparison. In 2022, Totalenergies’ net profit was weighed down by the heavy depreciation taken by the company on its Russian assets ($15 billion). By removing this exceptional element, the results of the oil major have actually fallen significantly.

Stellantis is not very far. The group resulting from the merger between PSA and Fiat Chrysler generated a net profit of 18.62 billion euros in 2023. From there to think that the company managed with a masterful (and iron) hand by Carlos Tavares will end up by passing Totalenergies, there is only one step to take.

LVMH takes the podium (15.17 billion euros) followed by BNP Paribas (10.98 billion euros).

Remember that net profit remains a very imperfect indicator of a company’s performance, because it is often affected by exceptional elements which do not necessarily have an impact on its financial health. “The net result is not the best indicator, but it is not a bad indicator nonetheless. It must be stripped of exceptional elements,” explained Pascal Quiry, professor of Finance at HEC Paris and co- author of the corporate finance review Vernimmen, with News Bulletin 247.

Methodology: we have compiled the profits always taking the consolidated net profit share of the group of companies. The profits of TotalEnergies, STMicroelectronics and ArcelorMittal are originally expressed in dollars and have been converted into euros by us. For Dassault Systèmes, we used non-IFRS net income.