** J.P.Morgan says 2026 should be a year when deals in the European telecoms sector finally arrive
** "Whilst 2025 delivered mounting M&A speculation, 2026 should deliver actual deals," the broker says as it sees likely "4-to-3" player deals in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Nordics
** "Should consolidation be permitted, it is feasible the sector could enjoy a major re-rating," JPM predicts as telco's slowly return to growth after two decades of structural decline
** The brokerage notes satellite operators have been the best performers as defence spending ramps up whilst names such as Deutsche Telekom XETR:DTE, Telefonica BME:TEF, and mobile phone tower operators drag down the sector average gain of 14%
** Despite revenue trends looking lacklustre through 2026, JPM analysts project a 14% EPS growth for the sector in the coming year, helped by cost cuts and lower capital spending
** Its top picks for 2026 are Orange EURONEXT:ORA, Bouygues EURONEXT:EN, SES EURONEXT:SESG, BT LSE:BT.A, Tele2 OMXSTO:TEL2_A, Telia OMXSTO:TELIA, Sinch OMXSTO:SINCH, and Deutsche Telekom
COMPANY
RATING
OLD RATING
PT
OLD PT
Proximus EURONEXT:PROX
Overweight
Neutral
EUR 10.9
EUR 7.8
Telia OMXSTO:TELIA
Overweight
Neutral
SEK 46.0
SEK 40.0
Telenor OSL:TEL
Neutral
Overweight
NOK170.0
NOK 185.0
KPN EURONEXT:KPN
Neutral
Overweight
EUR 4.6
EUR 5.0
Eutelsat EURONEXT:ETL
Neutral
Underweight
EUR 1.9
EUR 2.8
Sunrise SIX:SUNN
Underweight
Neutral
CHF 37.0
CHF 46.0
SES EURONEXT:SESG
Overweight
n.a.
EUR 10
n.a.