Orange raised its full-year earnings and cash-flow guidance after strong first-half growth across its Africa & Middle East (AME) division helped offset slower expansion in mature European markets, reinforcing the region’s role as the French telecommunications group’s principal engine of revenue, earnings and customer growth.
The company reported first-half revenue of €20.95 billion, up 3.5% year-on-year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation after leases (EBITDAaL) increased 5.0% to €6.13 billion, marking a record first-half performance. Organic cash flow rose to €2.2 billion, prompting Orange to upgrade its 2026 guidance, with EBITDAaL now expected to grow by more than 4%, up from a previous forecast of more than 3%, while organic cash flow is projected to reach approximately €4.3 billion. The improved outlook reflects sustained operational momentum led by high-growth emerging markets rather than one-off gains.
Orange’s Africa & Middle East division delivered the group’s strongest regional performance, with revenue increasing 13.9% to €4.58 billion and EBITDAaL rising 16.1%, extending a run of 13 consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth. The division, which operates across 18 countries and serves approximately 180 million mobile customers, added 10 million new mobile data users during the first half of 2026, reflecting sustained demand for mobile broadband and digital services. AME also expanded 4G coverage to 80% of the population, while 4G subscribers increased 14.9% to 98 million, further strengthening Orange’s competitive position across its fastest-growing operating region.
The division accounted for around 22% of Orange’s total group revenue during the first half while contributing a disproportionately larger share of earnings growth, underlining its strategic importance within the group’s global portfolio. Its performance continues to reshape Orange’s earnings mix, reducing dependence on slower-growing European markets and strengthening cash generation from higher-growth emerging economies.
Operational momentum extended well beyond subscriber growth. Mobile data revenue climbed 20.8%, fixed broadband revenue rose 13.0%, business-to-business services increased 11.9%, while Orange Money revenue expanded 14.6%. Active Orange Money customers exceeded 52 million, highlighting the accelerating convergence of digital connectivity and financial services while supporting greater financial inclusion in markets where conventional banking penetration remains relatively low.
The results also illustrate the growing importance of digital infrastructure across emerging economies. Rising smartphone adoption, expanding e-commerce, cloud connectivity and enterprise digitalisation are enabling operators such as Orange to generate higher-value revenue streams beyond traditional voice services. As governments and businesses continue investing in digital transformation, Africa and the Middle East are increasingly positioned among the telecommunications industry’s most attractive long-term growth markets.
Orange’s performance reflects a broader shift across the global telecommunications sector. While France remains the group’s largest market by revenue, European operations continue to face intense competition, high market penetration and constrained pricing power. Like Vodafone and Telefónica, Orange operates in mature European markets where subscriber growth has slowed. However, its extensive presence across Africa and the Middle East provides a structural growth advantage unavailable to several of its continental peers, allowing the company to continue generating organic customer growth alongside rising data consumption and wider adoption of value-added digital services.
Alongside commercial expansion, Orange invested €3.18 billion in capital expenditure during the first half to expand digital infrastructure and modernise its networks. The company also continued progressing toward its environmental objectives, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 32% compared with 2020 levels while increasing the proportion of solar-powered telecom sites across its African operations to 31%, supporting its target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.
Strategically, Orange is also reshaping its European portfolio through consolidation, having completed the acquisition of the remaining stake in MasOrange in Spain and signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the proposed joint acquisition of SFR in France. While these transactions have increased leverage, management expects stronger cash generation from high-growth markets to support continued investment in next-generation networks while maintaining shareholder returns.
Orange’s performance illustrates a broader shift within the global telecommunications industry, where operators with meaningful exposure to emerging markets are increasingly outperforming peers reliant on saturated European consumer markets. Looking ahead, the company’s long-term earnings outlook is increasingly tied to its ability to convert rising mobile data consumption, fintech adoption and enterprise digitalisation across Africa and the Middle East into sustainable revenue and earnings growth. With mobile broadband penetration remaining well below developed-market levels and digital financial services continuing to expand, the region is expected to remain Orange’s primary driver of organic growth. Nevertheless, investors will continue to monitor currency volatility, regulatory developments and geopolitical risks across several African markets, factors that could influence the pace of future expansion despite favourable long-term structural fundamentals.
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