Dividends, salaries, bonuses… How will the profits of large companies be shared

The cumulative net profits of some of the largest French companies in the CAC 40 have already exceeded 120 billion euros for 2023.

Another thriving year for CAC 40 companies. The profits of the largest groups have once again exceeded 120 billion euros in 2023. 25 of the 40 companies have published their annual results: between them they generated exactly 123.9 billion euros.

Figures which are driven by two sectors: luxury and automobiles. Hermès, LVMH, Kering and L’Oréal alone make profits of 29 billion euros, an increase of 7%. Transport – especially automobiles – also increased its profits. More than two billion euros for Renault, 18.6 billion for Stellantis which sets a new record and takes second place behind TotalEnergies.

Unprecedented amounts for dividends

Luxury, energy, transport but also the banking sector are up 14% compared to 2022. We expect the results from EDF in the coming days, then generally from the Engie group, or even those from Carrefour. This money will subsequently be redistributed. First of all to shareholders: in 2023, CAC 40 dividends reached 67 billion euros, an unprecedented amount. In addition to some 30 billion euros in share buybacks. In total, almost 100 billion euros in profits.

And then there are the employees who benefit from sharing the value. Example at Stellantis, the group’s boss, Carlos Tavares announced on franceinfo on Thursday February 15 that 1.9 billion euros would be redistributed to employees around the world. In France, they will also receive an incentive bonus of 4,100 euros. However, this is a little less than in 2023, this bonus was then 4,300 euros with less good results. A regret for the first union of the CFE-CGC group. The Stellantis automotive group announced a new record profit of 18.6 billion euros for 2023, up 11% year-on-year.

“This economic performance must be converted into social performance and it must also be accompanied by the sharing of value.”

Laurent Oechsel, central delegate of the CFE-CGC

on franceinfo

If the delegate of the first union in the group greets “exceptional results”it alerts on “a balanced sharing of value”. The CFE-CGC regrets that management does not provide additional effort, via a supplement, to increase it to 4,500 euros. “The group could have done better”he underlined, adding that the employees would have likedé “that this exceptional supplement is a little higher to get this bar of 4 500 euros”. In other groups, things sometimes go even less well. When there is no agreement between management and the unions during mandatory annual negotiations, this is what happened at the end of 2023 at BNP Paribas, which unilaterally established a bonus package well below 2022.

Salaries of CAC 40 bosses on the rise

We are waiting to know the general figures for 2023, but we already know that Luca De Meo, who will celebrate one year at the head of Renault in the spring, should receive around 4.5 million euros for the 2022 results. And that remains far behind the remuneration of Carlos Tavares because the boss of Stellantis could receive up to 23.5 million euros. The group’s shareholders gave the green light last year to this amount.

Regarding the general remuneration of CAC 40 bosses, according to the latest report from the Proxinvest firm, although they were less significant in 2022, they increased twice as quickly as those of their employees.