| Original-Research: Smartbroker Holding AG – from GBC AG
17.09.2026 / 13:00 CET/CEST Classification of GBC AG to Smartbroker Holding AG
Operating profitability has improved and forecasts and price target confirmed Smartbroker Holding AG delivered a marked improvement in operating performance in the first half of 2026 and exceeded its internal expectations at both revenue and earnings level. Consolidated revenue increased by 9.6% to €35.42 million, compared with €32.31 million in the previous year and an internal target of €34.70 million. EBITDA after customer acquisition costs improved significantly from €0.06 million to €2.20 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 6.2% compared with 0.2% in the prior-year period. Despite continued high scheduled depreciation and amortisation, EBIT improved to €-2.98 million and the net loss narrowed to €-2.95 million. In our view, the first-half figures provide increasingly visible evidence that the investments made in Smartbroker+ are translating into stronger underlying operating profitability. The Transaction segment remained the key growth driver, with revenue increasing by 11.7% to €21.00 million. Operational development was considerably stronger than the new customer figures alone suggest. The customer base increased to more than 285,000, while assets under management rose by 43.4% to €17.5 billion and therefore grew significantly faster than the number of clients. Trading activity also increased substantially, with the number of trades rising by 58.6% to 4.7 million. Smartbroker+ reached a new monthly record of around 860,000 transactions in June, while the number of savings plans almost doubled year on year. These figures indicate increasingly intensive use of the platform and improving monetisation of the existing customer base. However, gross new customer acquisition of around 31,000 remained below original expectations, while average acquisition costs increased from around €120 to approximately €160. A renewed acceleration in customer growth therefore remains an important factor for the medium-term scaling trajectory. The Media segment continued to provide a stable and highly profitable earnings base. Revenue increased by 6.7% to €14.40 million, while segment EBITDA rose by 18.8% to €3.80 million and the EBITDA margin improved to 26.4%. In addition to its direct earnings contribution, the Media business provides Smartbroker with access to a large audience of financially engaged retail investors, creating strategic synergies in customer acquisition and supporting the planned launch of the pension savings account. The Group also maintains a solid financial position. As at 30 June 2026, the equity ratio stood at 74.8%. Cash and cash equivalents of €18.97 million compared with bank borrowings of €3.47 million, resulting in net cash of €15.50 million. Following the reporting date, Smartbroker additionally secured a variable working capital credit facility of up to €20.00 million. In our view, the current balance sheet structure therefore provides sufficient flexibility to finance further product development, customer acquisition and the planned expansion of the platform. For FY 2026, we confirm our forecasts of €70.00 million in revenue and EBITDA of €0.50 million. The comparatively conservative second-half assumption reflects higher planned marketing expenditure ahead of the pension savings account launch as well as the potential normalisation of exceptionally high trading activity. From 2027 onwards, we expect operating leverage to become significantly more visible as the growing customer base increasingly utilises the existing technical, regulatory and personnel infrastructure. We forecast revenue of €83.00 million and EBITDA of €11.50 million for 2027, rising to €99.00 million and €22.00 million respectively in 2028. Based on our unchanged DCF model, we confirm our fair value of €17.80 per share. Additional potential from the pension savings account, the heavy trader offering, the trading API and further account and custody account types is only partially reflected in our forecasts. We therefore maintain our BUY rating. You can download the research here: 20260917_Note_Smartbroker_EN Contact for questions: |
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Original-Research: OIO Group (by GBC AG): BUY
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