Bekaert Buys Back 41,519 Shares at €39.47 Average

Bekaert repurchased 41,519 of its own shares through Kepler Cheuvreux in the week to 7 October 2026, spending €1,638,607 at an average price of €39.47, the company announced on 9 October 2026. The purchases ran across Euronext Brussels and the CBOE multilateral trading facility. After the close on 7 October, Bekaert held 1,725,195 own shares, equal to 3.49% of total outstanding shares.

Context — why the buyback pace matters now

Bekaert said on 26 February 2026 that it was starting the next tranche of its buyback programme, with a maximum consideration of up to €75 million. The company said the purpose of the programme is to cancel all repurchased shares, which distinguishes it from a buyback held in treasury for employee plans or resale.

Cancellation mechanically reduces the share count, so the same earnings base is spread across fewer shares. That is the mechanism the company has chosen to return capital, rather than a special dividend or a one-off distribution.

The tranche was announced in late February, which means the programme has been running for roughly seven months by the end of the reporting week. The report does not disclose how much of the €75 million ceiling has been used to date, nor how many shares have been repurchased cumulatively since the tranche opened.

What changed in the reporting week is the price. Bekaert's execution moved from an average of €38.38 on Euronext Brussels on 1 October to €40.43 on 6 October, before easing to €39.71 on 7 October. The company bought steadily through that move rather than pausing.

The liquidity agreement with Kepler Cheuvreux, renewed and announced on 25 June 2024, sits alongside the buyback. It is a separate mandate, sized in hundreds of shares per day, designed to support orderly trading rather than to retire capital.

Data — what the numbers show

The buyback week breaks down into two Euronext Brussels and CBOE legs each day, with no purchases recorded on the Turquoise or Aquis venues during the period.

Date	Euronext Brussels	MTF CBOE	Daily total (€)
1 October	5,176	3,824	345,382
2 October	4,019	3,981	314,560
5 October	4,500	4,000	337,145
6 October	4,689	3,111	315,292
7 October	4,501	3,718	326,228

Across the week, the highest price paid was €40.55 and the lowest was €38.15. The spread between the two is €2.40, or about 6.3% of the low, which shows how wide the week's range was relative to the average execution price of €39.47.

The heaviest single day by share count was 1 October, when 9,000 shares changed hands across the two venues. The lightest was 2 October at 8,000 shares. Daily totals stayed inside a narrow band of 8,000 to 9,000 shares, so the company did not visibly accelerate or slow its execution in response to the price move.

Under the separate liquidity agreement, Kepler Cheuvreux bought 2,800 shares for €110,004 and sold 3,000 shares for €118,926 during the same week. The net effect was a small reduction in the balance held under that mandate, which stood at 25,066 shares at the end of the period.

Analysis — what it means for markets and sectors

Bekaert is an industrial group whose end markets span steel wire products, tire reinforcement and construction applications, so its buyback activity is a read on how a cyclical industrial issuer is choosing to deploy cash. A company retiring shares at €39 to €40 is signalling that its board views that price as an acceptable use of balance-sheet capacity.

The distinction between the two mandates matters for anyone reading the daily flow. The buyback is a capital-return channel: shares bought there are destined for cancellation. The liquidity agreement is a market-making arrangement, and its 3,000 shares sold against 2,800 bought in the week show it operates in both directions.

Investors tracking the float should focus on the 3.49% treasury figure, which is the only cumulative disclosure in the report. That number combines shares held under both the buyback and the liquidity agreement, and it is the one that will move as the tranche progresses.

The limitation is disclosure. The company did not state how much of the €75 million remains available, nor when the tranche is scheduled to end. Without that, a reader cannot calculate the remaining buyback capacity or the implied daily run-rate required to exhaust it.

On positioning, the flow here is one-directional by design: an issuer buying its own stock through a broker, with no disclosed offsetting seller of size. The liquidity agreement's two-way activity is small enough that it does not change that picture.

Outlook — what to watch next

Bekaert publishes these updates weekly, so the next disclosure covering the period from 8 October 2026 onward is the near-term catalyst. That release will show whether the average price paid stays above or below the €39.47 recorded this week.

The treasury percentage is the number to track. It stood at 3.49% on 7 October; each subsequent update will show whether the company is progressing toward the €75 million ceiling at a steady or accelerating pace.

Watch the highest and lowest prices paid in future weeks against this week's €40.55 and €38.15. A tightening range would suggest more consistent execution conditions, while a widening one would mirror the 6.3% spread seen here.

The company has not disclosed a completion date for the tranche, so there is no scheduled endpoint to position around. The only dated reference points are the weekly reporting cadence and the 26 February 2026 tranche announcement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Bekaert's buyback mean for retail investors?

A buyback that cancels shares reduces the total share count, so each remaining share represents a larger slice of the company's earnings. Bekaert said the purpose of this programme is to cancel all repurchased shares. For retail holders, the practical effect shows up over time in per-share metrics rather than in the share price on any single day. The company has not disclosed how much of the €75 million tranche remains.

Why did Bekaert pay more per share on 6 October than on 1 October?

The average price paid on Euronext Brussels rose from €38.38 on 1 October to €40.43 on 6 October, then eased to €39.71 on 7 October. That mirrors the market's own range: the week's lowest execution was €38.15 and the highest was €40.55. Bekaert bought a similar number of shares each day regardless of where the price sat, so the higher average reflects the market's move, not a change in strategy.

What is the difference between the buyback and the liquidity agreement?

They are separate mandates. The buyback, announced on 26 February 2026, repurchases shares for cancellation under a ceiling of up to €75 million. The liquidity agreement, renewed with Kepler Cheuvreux and announced on 25 June 2024, supports orderly trading and ran two-way in the week: 2,800 shares bought and 3,000 sold. The balance under the liquidity agreement was 25,066 shares at period end.

Bottom Line

Bekaert retired 41,519 shares at a €39.47 average, lifting its own holding to 3.49% of shares outstanding.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. CFD trading carries high risk of capital loss.