06:02 AM EDT, 08/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg expects AXA (CS.PA) to upgrade its underlying EPS growth target when it presents its new three-year strategy at its Sept. 15 investor day, largely supported by "resilient" earnings at the French insurance group's AXA XL Insurance unit. Under the current 2024 to 2026 plan, AXA is aiming for an underlying EPS growth of 6% to 8% annually. Analysts forecast this target will be revised to between 7% and 9% per year for the 2027 to 2029 period, including the anti-dilutive benefit of the group's recurring annual share buyback program, according to a note published Wednesday. "The main reason why we believe that AXA will raise its target EPS growth by 1% pa is that AXA XL Insurance, which is one of the largest of AXA's operating units, was able to report a volume decline of just 1% in H1 2026 and, when adjusting for the cEUR0.1bn claim related to the Middle East conflict, it delivered a stable technical margin. Building on AXA XL Insurance's resilient performance, we believe that AXA's main other units need only target a repeat of their current annual profit growth to lift the company's total underlying earnings growth outlook to a range of 6-8%," the research firm said. The stock's buy rating and 77 euro price target were left unchanged.

Disclaimer:This article represents the opinion of the author only. It does not represent the opinion of Webull, nor should it be viewed as an indication that Webull either agrees with or confirms the truthfulness or accuracy of the information. It should not be considered as investment advice from Webull or anyone else, nor should it be used as the basis of any investment decision.