Orange shares are outperforming in Tuesday's session, bolstered by a recommendation upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which moved from 'neutral' to 'buy'. The price target has been significantly revised upward to 21.6 euros, from 17.5 euros previously.

An organic growth opportunity is emerging, characterized by sharply rising yields and upside potential relative to consensus, the U.S. bank highlighted in a research note.

'The prospect of consolidation in France has dominated investor attention on Orange in recent years. However, we believe an organic upside opportunity has also taken shape. Our increased confidence in MasOrange's structural growth and the group's declining capital intensity support our operational free cash flow estimates, which are +4%/+8% above consensus for 2026/2028', detailed Goldman Sachs analysts. They now anticipate a 3-percentage-point increase in the French operator's ROIC over the next five years (compared to +1 point in January), representing a 50% improvement.

'Driven by this organic ROIC improvement, Orange's valuation does not appear excessive to us, even after the stock's recent outperformance linked to consolidation announcements in France, and excluding potential growth and profitability benefits from a finalized deal. We believe that earnings beats and upward revisions during the H1 2026 results will serve as a catalyst', the note concluded.

Since the beginning of the year, Orange shares have surged by just over 28%.