Better Collective A/S

Q1 2026 revenue was EUR 86 million, up 5% year over year and 9% in constant currencies, versus EUR 83 million in Q1 last year. EBITDA before special items was EUR 25 million, up 14% from EUR 22 million, with an EBITDA margin of 29%. Revenue share in North America grew 46% to EUR 6 million, and the North America margin improved to 31% from 18%. Value of deposits increased 15% to EUR 799 million, while new depositing customers were 308,000, broadly in line with last year and the previous quarter. Management said Q1 was in line with expectations and reiterated full-year 2026 guidance for organic revenue growth of 7% to 12%, EBITDA growth of 8% to 18%, annual share buyback of EUR 40 million, and net debt to EBITDA below 3x. Longer-term 2027-2028 targets were also unchanged: positive organic growth, EBITDA margin of 35% to 40%, strong cash conversion, and net debt to EBITDA below 3x.

Jesper Sogaard said Q1 showed Better Collective was “back to growth” and that Brazil had “found a new level and baseline” after last year’s regulatory disruption. He emphasized strategic diversification through Playbook, the global X partnership, and prediction markets, framing them as ways to deepen engagement and broaden monetization beyond traditional affiliation. His tone was constructive and opportunistic, with repeated references to the World Cup, social-native betting, and a broader sports media platform.

Flemming Pedersen walked through the bridge from Q1 last year’s EUR 83 million revenue to EUR 86 million this year, noting roughly EUR 4 million of FX headwind and about EUR 1 million each from Brazil regulation and sports win margin, offset by EUR 9 million of underlying growth. He highlighted recurring revenue of EUR 50 million, including EUR 40 million from revenue share, and said North American revenue share’s shift toward pure agreements improves quality and visibility. On capital allocation, he said cash conversion was 101% before special items, the company bought back nearly EUR 7 million of shares in Q1, and ended with EUR 75 million of capital reserves, including EUR 20 million cash and EUR 55 million of unused bank facilities.

Analysts pressed on Brazil’s political risk, including a possible betting ban, and Jesper said such a move is not expected but Brazil remains unpredictable and could push activity back into the unlicensed market. A question on cash flow asked why working-capital improvement did not show up in Q1; Flemming replied Q1 was normal with 101% cash conversion and said Q2 should show even stronger cash generation. Questions on the X deal clarified that Better Collective is not restricted from partnering elsewhere, and the new feature they were most excited about was private messaging, which now lets users contact Playbook privately rather than publicly.