Milan—May 9, 2026, 00:08 CEST.
Saipem fell again in Milan on Friday, pulling back further after a standout run among Italian energy-service names this year. Shares finished 0.69% lower at 4.304 euros, following Thursday’s 4.18% drop highlighted by Teleborsa.
The timing sticks out, since this isn’t a turnaround story limping along. Saipem is still showing hefty gains—up 95.55% in six months and 108.53% for the year, according to Borsa Italiana data. So, it’s a fair question: how much of this rebound is already priced in?
Analysts haven’t budged. According to Investing.com, Saipem holds a “Buy” consensus: 12 buys, four holds, just one sell. The average 12-month price target sits at 4.6653 euros—that’s roughly 8.4% above the most recent quote. Investing
Teleborsa flagged the immediate downside: Saipem underperformed the FTSE MIB and slipped under resistance at 4.521 euros. Next support sits at 4.317 euros. If that cracks, 4.233 euros is on the radar. Support zones tend to attract buyers, while resistance usually draws out sellers.
Saipem’s Q1 figures form the backbone of the current story. Revenue landed at 3.528 billion euros, while adjusted EBITDA — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation — climbed to 434 million euros, marking a 23.6% increase. Net result: 78 million euros. The company stuck to its 2026 guidance as well.
The equity pitch hinges on the backlog. Saipem put its order book at roughly 29.6 billion euros as of March’s close; of that, some 10.2 billion euros is lined up for execution through the remainder of 2026. Free cash flow, after lease repayments, landed at 199 million euros.
Chief Executive Alessandro Puliti told analysts after the results that demand remains “sustained” and described the “commercial pipeline” as “alive and kicking.” He flagged an expected ramp-up in order intake throughout the year, with a peak eyed for the fourth quarter.
There’s the improved balance sheet, too. Saipem reported a pre-IFRS 16 net cash position of 1.217 billion euros as of March, marking a 218 million euro increase from the end of 2025. IFRS 16, the accounting rule pulling lease liabilities onto the balance sheet, applies here.
This week brought a governance signal of its own. According to Investing.com, which referenced disclosures from Borsa Italiana, Simone Chini—a manager at Saipem—offloaded 120,000 ordinary shares for roughly 538,000 euros on April 30, with the average price landing at 4.4882 euros. These “internal dealing” notices, required for trades by senior managers or their associates, surface the activity but don’t spell out why the sale happened. Investing.com Italia
On May 6, Saipem picked up a smaller but strategic deal, locking in a preliminary three-year partnership with Italian utility Hera. The two aim to tackle energy efficiency, decarbonisation, and circular-economy projects across energy-heavy sectors—ceramics, glass, chemicals, cement, and steel among them. Saipem described the agreement as a move to back hard-to-abate industries on their path through the energy transition.
The bigger unknown for the sector is still Saipem’s proposed merger with Norway’s Subsea 7. Reuters has reported the all-share tie-up could result in a new entity, Saipem7, boasting a combined order backlog near 43 billion euros and close to 20 billion euros in revenue, raising the stakes against heavyweight offshore engineering competitors like TechnipFMC.
The risk is hardly theoretical. Saipem’s management flagged that if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed for long, crucial component deliveries could be held up, logistics snarled, and inflationary pressures might mount. Even so, they noted the Middle East conflict hadn’t materially dented first-quarter results. The Subsea 7 deal isn’t in the clear yet, either—regulators are circling. Reuters reported last year that Exxon Mobil, Petrobras, and TechnipFMC urged Brazil’s antitrust authority to take a close look at the transaction.
Right now, Saipem’s not wearing the “broken trade” label. Instead, investors see a crowded play: strong cash flow, a hefty backlog, broker price targets that still sit above where it’s trading. But after a year of sizable gains, even small stumbles get noticed.
