Capgemini sets new targets building on AI consulting, but shares fall

May 27 (Reuters) - Capgemini unveiled ‌new medium-term targets ​on ​Wednesday, sending its shares lower, as the French IT group positions itself as a consultant to help companies implement AI across ‌industries.

The shares fell around 4% by 0730 GMT, the worst ⁠performers on France's blue-chip index CAC 40.

Jefferies said in a note to clients that recent ‌investor feedback suggested the ‌best catalyst for AI-related stocks would be accelerating trends at the sector level rather than company-specific news.

Capgemini targets average yearly revenue growth of 5.5% ​to 7.5% between 2025 and 2028, and cumulative organic free cash flow of more than €6 billion ($7 billion) from 2026 to 2028. It also ⁠aims to raise its operating profit before acquisition costs to between 12.1% and 12.3% of revenue ​by 2028, it said in a statement.

Jefferies said the targets were broadly in line with the brokerage's preview, but noted ​that investors may focus on the free ‌cash flow figures rather than anything else.

Capgemini said it was targeting the sprawling work of wiring AI into how ⁠large legacy companies actually run, notably through its WNS unit. The group will bet on its "in-depth knowledge of the business challenges of each industry", CEO Aiman Ezzat ⁠said in a statement published ahead of its capital markets day event.

The strategy places ​Capgemini in a crowded field that says enterprise AI adoption is too industry-specific to be solved by off-the-shelf tools, and that the real value of AI lies in applying ‌it to companies' own data and operations.

French AI pure-play Mistral is targeting industrial clients in aerospace and automotive sectors ‌with physics-capable AI, while ad giant Publicis has expanded itself into an AI ⁠maker and IT consultant, explicitly ‌competing with the likes ​of Capgemini and Accenture.

Capgemini's investor presentation is scheduled to start at 1215 GMT.

($1 = €0.8590)

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk, editing by ‌Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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