Teleperformance ejected from the CAC 40 index, five years after joining

Daniel Julien, the founder of Teleperformance, has realised one of his dreams: Teleperformance joined the CAC 40 on 20 June 2020. The company will leave the index on 22 September and be replaced by Euronext. TP must now imagine a new future. Accor left and re-entered the CAC 40, and saw its share price rise. Atos and Worldline continued their downward spiral.

Pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext will join the Paris Stock Exchange's flagship index, while global call centre giant Teleperformance will be removed following the quarterly review of the index's composition by a committee of independent experts. Since 1 January, Euronext's share price has jumped 27.05% and its market capitalisation currently stands at €13.87 billion. Over the same period, Teleperformance has fallen 23.46% and its market valuation is now €3.78 billion.

At its highest, TP shares were trading at €392, but yesterday they were worth €63.60.
Several criteria are taken into account for inclusion in the CAC 40. Among them, the company must have a large market capitalisation, but only the free float, i.e. the proportion of shares actually available on the market for investors, is taken into account. The stock must also be sufficiently liquid, which means that there must be regular and significant trading volume during stock market sessions. Finally, an independent scientific committee, whose members remain anonymous, decides whether or not to change the composition of the index every three months (March, June, September and December).

The share price reflects analysts' overall mistrust of the sector. Its financial ratios and fundamentals are not as bad as that, as its managers have been trying to say and share for almost two years, but without success. The share price of the world's number two in the sector, Concentrix, has experienced the same decline: listed on the Nasdaq, Concentrix (which has absorbed Webhelp) has fallen 74% from its high (203.16 in March 2022), while TP has fallen 84%. 

What usually happens after a stock is removed from the CAC 40 index?
It often automatically depreciates in value, as index funds (which replicate the index) have to sell it in order to replace it. What happens next depends on the company's performance. Some rejoin the index, while others continue their descent into hell.

TP, a new Atos or Accor?
Little known to the general public due to the nature of its business and its communication practices, Teleperformance was founded in 1978. When it entered the index, the newspaper La Croix described the company and its history as follows.

Founded in 1978, Teleperformance has become the world leader in ‘customer relations’. The company replaced Sodexo in the CAC 40 on 22 June.

Since 22 June, the CAC 40 has welcomed a newcomer: Teleperformance, the world leader in ‘customer relations’, in other words call centres. It replaces Sodexo, the leader in contract catering, whose market capitalisation has fallen by a third since the beginning of the year due to the coronavirus.

Serving multinationals

This entry into the Paris Stock Exchange's flagship index is undeniably a crowning achievement for the group created in 1978 by Daniel Julien, who is still its CEO. Teleperformance now employs 330,000 people in 80 countries, working in 265 languages. In ten years, its turnover (€5.3 billion) has tripled and its share price has increased tenfold. This success is largely due to the rise of globalisation and the desire of large multinationals to outsource their customer relations activities, often to reduce costs and always with the utmost discretion, which explains why Teleperformance is little known to the general public. The head office is in France, but half of the turnover is generated in the United States, where its CEO resides.

The business has changed

We are a long way from the telemarketing activities of the SME in its early days, with students canvassing people on the phone in the evenings to sell them newspaper subscriptions or insurance products. Call centre agents are still there, but Teleperformance now also offers automated solutions and artificial intelligence. The company has also diversified, for example by managing visa applications at embassies and collecting debts.

In 2024, TP achieved a turnover of €10.28 billion and a profit of around €530 million.

I learned so much on Rue Firmin Gillot.
Like hundreds of employees, whether they were simple call centre agents or heads of business units or subsidiaries, Corinne Schamber was marked by her career at the company, whose headquarters and several contact centres were long located on Rue Firmin-Gillot in Paris's 15th arrondissement.

She and other colleagues recounted their experiences and the lessons they learned in a book. The title sums it up well: I learned so much on Rue Firmin Gillot. Now CEO of Vipp-Interstis, a well-known service provider based in sub-Saharan Africa, Corinne once showed the CEO of Teleperformance the door. She recounts the circumstances here.

Yesterday, it was not her who showed the founder and his teams the door to the CAC 40, but rather the reality of the figures and ratios. Whatever the future stock market performance of the French customer relations giant, the company has made its mark on its industry and its customers and has helped many of its employees to grow. Recently, as in the consultation conducted by SFR, the company emerged as the winner of the tender*. It is the leading private employer in many countries, such as Tunisia and Colombia (cover photo).

Is it lonely at the top?
In Miami, what is founder Daniel Julien thinking about, having recently recalled a highly talented Argentinean, Agustin Grisanti, to Europe? Perhaps Randy Newman's song:

I've been around the world, Had my pick of any girl, You'd think I'd be happy But I'm not, Ev'rybody knows my name, But it's just a crazy game, Oh, it's lonely at the top.

*The telecoms operator wanted to challenge its preferred service provider, Intelcia, and was looking to bring in another specialist to handle its customer relations and acquisition systems. Konecta and TP reached the final, with TP winning on penalties.

Manuel Jacquinet. 

To find out what former Teleperformance employees have to say, read J'ai tant appris rue Firmin-Gillot. Order here.