France's defence, avionics and space prime
Thales
Thales is France's defence, avionics and cyber prime, with 2025 sales of EUR 22.14 billion. Defence is over half of revenue (EUR 12.23bn), followed by Aerospace (EUR 5.91bn) and Cyber & Digital (EUR 3.85bn). Owned roughly 26% each by the French State and Dassault Aviation, it also reaches into the space chain through its satellite arm Thales Alenia Space, a 67/33 joint venture with Leonardo.
HO.PA Updated Jul 12, 2026 3 AI consumers· 1 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, Thales is directly linked to 5 companies (0 supply, 4 revenue, 4 investment relationships) and reaches 14 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 9 dated sources, 1 of them primary filings (as of 2026-07-12).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · €22,136M (sales)
- Customer concentration · Heavily weighted to French and European government defence. Record defence order intake of €15,128M, defence order book €41.6B (about 3.4 years of sales), total order book €53.3B
- Segments · Defence · Aerospace · Cyber & Digital
Revenue from
- Iridium Communications High confidence· Count 81기 · 2017~2019 배치 · Iridium NEXT prime contract
Its satellite arm Thales Alenia Space was system prime contractor for Iridium's NEXT constellation of 81 LEO communications satellites (66 operational plus 15 spares), deployed 2017-2019.Confirms EN Thales Alenia Space Published Jul 25, 2018: Iridium NEXT: a constellation of 66 operational satellites that will make history - SES S.A. High confidence· Count 20기 · 2013~2019 발사 · O3b first generation build
Thales Alenia Space built SES's first-generation O3b MEO constellation of 20 satellites as prime contractor (launched 2013-2019). The next-generation O3b mPOWER is built by Boeing. - French government (Ministry of Armed Forces) High confidence
The French government and Ministry of Armed Forces are the largest customer of the Defence segment (€12,234M in 2025). The precise government share of revenue is not disclosed. - European governments High confidence
European governments are buyers of air defence, radar and avionics. In 2025 the SAMP/T NG air defence system won its first export with the Danish MoD, with Thales supplying over 50% of the system. - Boeing Medium confidence
Thales also supplies avionics and in-flight systems (such as IFE) to Boeing aircraft.Mentions EN AeroTime Published Mar 3, 2026: Thales 2025 results: defense and avionics lift sales to €22.1B - Airbus Medium confidence
Thales supplies avionics to Airbus commercial and military aircraft.Mentions EN AeroTime Published Mar 3, 2026: Thales 2025 results: defense and avionics lift sales to €22.1B
Pays to
- 반도체·전자부품 공급 바스켓 (비공개) Medium confidence
Thales sources semiconductors and electronic components for radar, avionics, missile electronics and cyber products. Individual suppliers and amounts are not disclosed. - 방산 하도급·소재 공급 바스켓 (비공개) Medium confidence
Thales spends on defence and space program subcontractors and materials supply. Individual details are not disclosed.
Investors
- Leonardo S.p.A. High confidence· Market share 33% · 현재 · Thales Alenia Space stake
Leonardo forms the Space Alliance with Thales, co-owning Thales Alenia Space (Leonardo 33%) and Telespazio (Leonardo 67%), and combines space assets with Thales under Project Bromo. - French State High confidence· Market share 26.06% · 2025-11 · ordinary shares
The French State is the largest shareholder with about 26% (26.06%), with Dassault Aviation at 26.05% forming a joint governance.Confirms EN Atalayar Published Nov 17, 2025: Thales, France's technological giant in defence, aerospace and cybersecurity - Airbus Medium confidence· Ownership stake 35% · MOU 2025-10-23 · Airbus's intended stake in the merged satellite JV (not yet closed)
On October 23, 2025 Airbus signed an MOU (code-named Project Bromo) to merge its satellite business with Thales and Leonardo. Modelled on MBDA and headquartered in Toulouse, the combined group would hold ~25,000 staff and ~€6.5B annual revenue, owned 35% Airbus / 32.5% Leonardo / 32.5% Thales. On June 24, 2026 the CEOs pressed the European Commission to approve it, but the parties have not yet formally filed and a decision is not expected before H2 2027 (status: not yet closed).Confirms EN SpaceNews Published Oct 23, 2025: Airbus, Leonardo and Thales agree to combine space businesses
Investments
- Leonardo S.p.A. High confidence· Market share 67% · 현재 · Thales stake in Thales Alenia Space
Thales and Leonardo jointly own the 'Space Alliance': satellite maker Thales Alenia Space (Thales 67%, Leonardo 33%) and services firm Telespazio (Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%). The two are also the other legs of the Bromo merger. - Airbus High confidence· Market share 32.5% · 2025-10 MoU · Bromo JV stake (Thales share)
Project Bromo: in October 2025 Thales signed an MoU with Airbus and Leonardo to combine space activities into a leading European space player, split Airbus 35%, Thales 32.5%, Leonardo 32.5%, targeting operations in 2027.
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viasat | lead2 | +36.4 | -28.9 | -11.7 | -69.6 | +304.9 | +113.5 |
| Garmin | lead2 | +15.9 | -30.2 | +43.1 | +63.3 | -0.1 | +20.8 |
| Voyager Technologies | lead2 | · | · | · | · | · | +19.2 |
| SES S.A. | lead2 | +2.8 | +10.6 | -13 | -36 | +141.5 | +15.8 |
| Eutelsat Group | lead2 | +17.8 | -30.7 | -51.8 | -48.9 | +32.1 | +3.2 |
| Iridium Communications | lead1 | +5 | +24.5 | -19.1 | -28.1 | -38.5 | +190.7 |
| Airbus | lead1 | +34.8 | +3.9 | +30.5 | +15 | +18.3 | +3.9 |
| Boeing | lead1 | -6 | -5.4 | +36.8 | -32.1 | +22.7 | +2.4 |
| Thales | node | +12.5 | +52.5 | +14 | +17.8 | +66.6 | -11.6 |
| Airbus | benef1 | +34.8 | +3.9 | +30.5 | +15 | +18.3 | +3.9 |
| Voyager Technologies | benef2 | · | · | · | · | · | +19.2 |
| GE Aerospace | benef2 | +9.7 | -10.9 | +95.7 | +64.8 | +85.7 | +17 |
| RTX | benef2 | +23.3 | +20 | -14.4 | +40.8 | +61.4 | +7.6 |
| Toray Industries | benef2 | +8.3 | +12.5 | -4.8 | +49.2 | +7.5 | +1.3 |
| Leonardo S.p.A. | benef2 | +11.3 | +50.3 | +73.6 | +89.1 | +88.1 | -6.8 |
| Korea Aerospace Industries | benef2 | +15.4 | +34.6 | +7 | +5.5 | +217.9 | -14 |
YTD as of 2026-07-10 · source: Yahoo Finance
The thesis is Thales's position as a flagship defense-and-space prime of Europe's rearmament cycle. Record defense order intake of €15.1bn and a €41.6bn backlog (~3.4 years) have pre-booked European governments' rising defense budgets, and air-defense and radar demand grows structurally (e.g. SAMP/T NG's first export to Denmark). The second axis is space — Thales Alenia Space builds Iridium and SES satellites, and the Project Bromo merger with Airbus and Leonardo (targeting 2027) would reshape European space consolidation. The risks are government-budget and program delays, regulatory uncertainty over Bromo, and semiconductor/electronic-component sourcing bottlenecks in radars and avionics.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-07-10Analyst ratings
Consensus: Buy 1 · Hold 1 · Sell 0 · Avg. target €280 · Price €223.3 (07-10) · Upside +25%
| Broker | Rating | Target | Published | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan | Neutral | €275 | Mar 4, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Citi · Charles Armitage | Buy | €284 | Jul 3, 2025 | Report ↗ |
JPMorgan downgraded Thales to Neutral from Overweight, flagging that the Cyber & Digital weakness (2025 sales down 7%) may be structural rather than cyclical, keeping the EUR275 target.
Analyses covering this node
- When budgets move, primes move: the European-Korean defense re-rating Jul 5, 2026
- The satcom re-rating: from Starlink fear to sovereignty and D2D demand Jul 3, 2026