A disappointing quarter as search pressures weigh on revenue

July–September 2026

• Revenue from continuing operations was EUR 8.2m (11.6), a decrease of 30 percent.

• Revenue in North America decreased by 29 percent to EUR 7.9m (11.2), equivalent to 97 percent (96) of group revenue from continuing operations.

• New depositing customers (NDCs) from continuing operations totalled 20,603 (23,999), a decrease of 14 percent.

• Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 75 percent to EUR 0.7m (2.9), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 9 percent (25).

• EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 71 percent to EUR 0.8m (2.7), equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 9 percent (23).

• Earnings per share from continuing operations totalled EUR -0.18 (-0.12) before and EUR -0.18 (-0.12) after dilution.

• An impairment charge totalling EUR 30.8m (16.5) was recognised in Q3 due to a writedown in the book value of North American casino and sports assets and Asia-Pacific casino assets.

 

January–September 2026

• Revenue from continuing operations was EUR 30.0m (31.0), a decrease of 3 percent.

• Revenue in North America increased by 1 percent to EUR 28.9m (28.6), equivalent to 96 percent (92) of group revenue from continuing operations.

• New depositing customers (NDCs) from continuing operations totalled 79,957 (66,146), an increase of 21 percent.

• Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 11 percent to EUR 4.6m (5.2), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15 percent (17).

• EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 17 percent to EUR 4.6m (5.5), equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 15 percent (18).

• Earnings per share from continuing operations totalled EUR -0.16 (-0.12) before and EUR -0.16 (-0.12) after dilution.

 
Significant events during Q3 2026

• On 11 August, the group announced its intention to launch a share buyback programme of up to 5.98 percent of outstanding shares under the authorisation granted at the extraordinary general meeting on 30 June. The programme’s purpose is to meet the company’s obligations under its long-term incentive plans.

• On the same date, the group announced its intention to launch a voluntary offer to buy back CATME HO1 hybrid capital securities at a price of 20.00 percent of the nominal amount – that is, SEK 20 for every SEK 100 of nominal value. No capitalised interest or accrued but unpaid interest will be paid in connection with the offer.

• Catena Media announced on 9 September the result of the voluntary tender offer for its existing hybrid capital securities. In connection with the tender offer, holders of capital securities accepted to tender capital securities corresponding to a total nominal amount of SEK 12,504,000. The total tender price was SEK 2,500,800.

• The group announced a share buyback programme on 10 September. From the start date to 30 September the group repurchased a total of 284,800 of its own ordinary shares (ISIN: MT0001000109). Of these, 50,700 shares were repurchased between 28 and 30 September and disclosed in a press release published on 5 October.

• On 16 September, Catena Media announced the interim appointment of Martin Zetterlund as Chief Technology Officer.

 
Significant events after the period

• On 10 October 2026, the group deferred the interest payment on its CATME HO1 hybrid capital securities. Accumulated deferred interest totalled EUR 8.7m on that date.

• Catena Media on 16 October announced preliminary results for the third quarter, stating it no longer expected to reach its target of double-digit organic growth in group revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2026.

• On 21 October, Catena Media unveiled a strategic investment in Collectbase, the US parent company of Repackz.fun. Repackz operates a B2B platform that lets operators, brands and digital publishers offer digital unboxing of physical trading cards and other collectibles. The investment was the first made through Catena Growth Ventures.

• Catena Media stated on 28 October that, following repurchases under the share buyback programme, its holding of own shares had exceeded 5 percent of the total number of shares and votes in the company. On 26 October, the company held 3,965,809 own shares, corresponding to 5.03 percent of the share total.

• The group announced on 4 November the appointment of Stefan Grech as Senior Vice President of Technology and member of the executive management team, taking over from interim CTO Martin Zetterlund. 

CEO Manuel Stan comments 
Q3 was a disappointing quarter that interrupted the progress of recent periods. Revenue decreased 30 percent from the comparable quarter last year to EUR 8.2m. Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 0.7m (2.9). As we announced on 16 October, we have revised our outlook and no longer expect to reach our target of double-digit organic growth in group revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2026. We also recognised an impairment charge of EUR 30.8m on our brands, which has no impact on our cash position. 

 

This performance is below our ambitions. At the same time, we are pleased that the process of moving the business away from its reliance on search is already well advanced. That work helped cushion the impact of Q3. The transition is firmly under way on several fronts and is already contributing value: MRKTPLAYS accounts for more than a third of group revenue, and our loyalty programmes are becoming a meaningful revenue stream. Q3 has reinforced the case for this shift, and we are now accelerating it. 

 

Higher search volatility and seasonal softness 
In Q3, our results were shaped by a combination of market-wide factors and areas where we see clear room to improve. Generative search has transformed the way users consume content online, resulting in the “zero-click” phenomenon. This is changing traffic patterns for the affiliate segment across all industries, and we expect this to be a lasting shift that our strategy is designed to address. 

 

The traditional search environment became more demanding during the quarter, and our rankings were affected. More personalised results made users harder to reach. Volatility across search algorithms also increased, with search results changing at an unprecedented frequency. Catena Media’s brands need to adapt faster to this new reality, and we are empowering our product teams to respond more quickly and creatively to protect and strengthen our positions in organic search. 

 

Q3 is traditionally the slowest quarter of the year due to the summer season. This year, operators tied their spending more closely to sportsbook budgets than usual, which reduced overall marketing spend on affiliation. The operator sector was also consolidating and reorganising. Periods like this tend to delay marketing decisions, and affiliate budgets are often among the first to be affected. This more cautious spending affected our core owned and operated brands as well as the MRKTPLAYS platform. We expect these operator-related factors to be temporary. 

 

Strategic pivot gathers pace 
In Q2, we outlined why our business is moving beyond a reliance on search rankings alone. Since the reset in mid-2024, we have been building a strategic model that depends less on search and is diversified across multiple verticals. Today MRKTPLAYS is well established, while in Q1 we launched our first loyalty programme – which is gradually delivering significant revenue. This work will now intensify as we pivot from being an SEO-centric business towards new operating models and monetisation forms. 

 

Search will remain very important as a discovery channel. Our brands will continue to attract traffic, even as volumes decline. The objective is to maximise the value of each visit. Revenue per visit has improved gradually over the last two years. Loyalty is central to this model, because it helps turn one-off visitors into returning users. In Q3 we launched our Bonus+ loyalty programme on Bonus.com. Bonus+ builds on the success of PlayPerks on PlayUSA.com. It will become our future cross-brand loyalty programme, rolling out to other brands in Q4. 

 

traffiqX on track for Q1 beta launch 
In September we launched the traffiqX brand and website at https://traffiqx.io. An open exchange that connects licensed publishers and advertisers, traffiqX has four modules: Discover, where partners find each other; Deal, where they agree terms on the platform; Deliver, where data drives automated, real-time matching; and Decode, which provides intelligence that can unlock marketing attribution modelling. Operators today mostly see only the last click before a sign-up. Decode shows them what actually drives results across the customer journey. 

 

Licensed advertisers and publishers worldwide will be able to access traffiqX. We have signed our first launch partners and see strong market interest. The beta launch is planned for Q1 2027. 

 

Investing in adjacent growth areas 
MRKTPLAYS+, which we announced earlier this year, has evolved into Catena Growth Ventures, our investment and partnership arm (https://catenagrowthventures.com). After the quarter, Catena Growth Ventures made its first strategic investment, in a fast-growing US provider of digital pack-ripping of physical collectibles, an evolving segment adjacent to iGaming. 

 

We are also determined to capitalise on the opportunities presented by prediction markets. In Q3 we launched PlayPicks (https://www.playpicks.com), a discovery product for prediction markets that spans sports, politics and other segments. We are pleased with how the product is taking shape. 

 

Looking ahead 
We expect near-term conditions to remain demanding as search traffic continues to trend lower. Over the longer term, I am confident our strategic pivot will reduce Catena Media’s reliance on new organic traffic and unlock new revenue streams that will enhance our financial and operating stability. We will continue to prioritise capital allocation into investments in these areas – traffiqX, loyalty programmes, Catena Growth Ventures and other selected verticals – as we transition to this more diversified business model. 

 

I would like to thank our teams for their hard work through a challenging quarter, and our shareholders for their continued support. 

 

Presentation of Catena Media’s results 
CEO Manuel Stan and CFO Michael Gerrow will present the report in a combined webcast and teleconference on 10 November 2026 at 18:00 CET. 
 
Webcast 
Via the webcast you are able to ask written questions. If you wish to participate via webcast, please use the following link: 
https://events.inderes.com/catena-media/q3-report-2026 
 
Teleconference 
Via the teleconference you are able to ask questions verbally. If you wish to participate in the call, please register on the link below. After registration you will be provided phone numbers and a conference ID to access the conference: 
https://events.inderes.com/catena-media/q3-report-2026/dial-in 
 
The presentation will be available on the website: 
https://www.catenamedia.com/investors/financial-reports-and-presentations