Eutelsat's Lockup Expiry Overwhelms €350M Pipeline as Shares Plunge 22% in a Month
19.06.2026 - 17:38:12 | boerse-global.de
The 190-day trading lockup that had tied the hands of Eutelsat's largest shareholders expired on 17 June, unleashing a torrent of selling that has erased more than a fifth of the stock's value. Shares of the Franco-British satellite operator sank to €2.34 by the end of last week, having already closed at €2.41 earlier in the week. The sell-off accelerated so sharply that the stock has now given back all of its gains since the May high.
Major holders — including the French state, the UK government and Bharti Space — are now free to offload their positions at will. The market has reacted with extreme nervousness: annualised volatility stands at nearly 108%, and the relative strength index has dropped to 34.4, skirting oversold territory. With the 50-day moving average at €3.00, the technical picture offers no near-term relief.
None of this is for lack of commercial success. Eutelsat has been locking up government business at a rapid clip. In recent weeks it signed the CENTAURE deal with the French defence procurement agency, securing a firm €138 million over four years and a potential total value of €350 million. The company also landed a connectivity contract in Angola and received the first call under the multi-billion-euro Nexus framework agreement in France. These wins are a direct payoff from the company's pivot to low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, a strategic overhaul that is both expensive and necessary.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Eutelsat?
LEO revenue surged 65% in the most recent quarter, even as the legacy video business continues to contract. Management expects overall revenue for the current fiscal year to remain stable, but it has warned that the operating margin will slip slightly as the transformation consumes cash. To fund the build-out, Eutelsat raised billions of euros via a bond issuance in the spring.
Over the longer haul, the company projects operating revenue of at least €1.5 billion by the end of the decade, with margins recovering to above 65%. For now, however, the market is focused on the immediate overhang. The sell-off has already wiped out nearly all the gains since the May high, and if selling pressure persists, the stock could quickly test its year low of €1.59.
The broader satellite sector is also in flux. Competitor AST SpaceMobile recently launched three BlueBird satellites aboard a SpaceX rocket to enable direct-to-smartphone broadband, while private-equity firm EQT snapped up Berlin-based space startup Exolaunch. Against this dynamic backdrop, Eutelsat's challenge is to convince investors that its growing government pipeline can shore up margins even as legacy revenues fade. A decisive break above the €3.00 resistance level would be the first sign that the selling storm has passed.
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