The 2024 results season has just come to a close, and has highlighted a striking contrast between the performance of France's top 40 companies and a sluggish French and European economy, combined with geopolitical tensions and the threat of an American president determined to put an end to three decades of free trade. Looking to the stock market is the best way to feel optimistic again. The companies who make up the CAC 40, the 40 leading stocks in the Paris index, the list of which changes from time to time according to their performance, once again reported record profits, a real ability to navigate complex economic conditions and to plant the French flag all over the world. International investors have no doubts about the Paris index's potential, as its performance bears witness: +64% in 10 years, +10% since January 1.

In 2024, the cumulative sales of the CAC 40 companies totaled €1.6 trillion euros. That's almost 50% more than the average for the 2010s. According to the auditing firm EY, the CAC 40's profitability is set to continue on this trajectory. Its current operating margin has already risen from 9.3% on average between 2015 and 2019, to 13.1% in 2023. It's a far cry from the level of growth in the French economy, which then plateaued at 0.9%.

This disconnect begs the question: What is the CAC 40's real contribution to the French economy? "Its success is undoubtedly good for morale, but we can ask ourselves about its power to drive or, on the contrary, destabilize the economy," said economist Olivier Passet.

Contraction of workforce

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