06:35 AM EDT, 04/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg lowered its earnings forecasts for JCDecaux (DEC.PA) as near-term macroeconomic headwinds are expected to slow the company's organic growth in the second quarter.

"We expect Q2 organic growth of 3.6% to come in below the Q1 guidance of >5%, due to the Middle East (less than 5% of sales) conflict and a softer environment in China. Reflecting this, we slightly trim our EPS estimates by 2%. That said, our view on the company remains constructive, and we reiterate our Buy rating and EUR28 price target, implying ~40% upside, offering a ~8% [free cash flow] yield,"according to a Tuesday note.

Ahead of the outdoor advertising company's first-quarter sales report due May 5, analysts lowered their full-year organic growth estimate to 4.8% from 5.5% amid current market uncertainties, while continuing to expect a year-on-year 20 basis-point improvement in operating margins to 21.1%.

Meanwhile, the research firm highlighted management comments on artificial intelligence and the out-of-home advertising segment after hosting JCDecaux co-Chief Executive Officer Jean-Charles Decaux at its Family Owned Companies Seminar in Paris.

"Mr Decaux appeared very confident about the business fundamentals and the company's growing adoption of out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Also, in our view, the co-CEO struck a more bullish tone on JCDecaux's ability to be an AI winner... OOH continues to gain market share within traditional media spending, underpinned by ongoing digitalisation. Mr Decaux expressed confidence in JCDecaux's digital division, which continues to grow at a double-digit pace,"Berenberg wrote.