Kahoot! ASA

Q2 revenue was $41.3 million, up 14% year over year, and billings were $39.9 million, up 7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $11 million, up 60% year over year, with margin at 27% versus 19% last year. Operating cash flow was $10.9 million, up 111% year over year, and free cash flow was $10.7 million, up 120% year over year. Paid subscriptions reached 1.37 million, up 13%, and the company added 22,000 net new subscriptions. For the first half, revenue was $81.8 million and billings grew 9% year over year. Guidance: full-year billings are expected to grow double digits, recognized revenue to exceed $170 million, adjusted EBITDA to grow more than 40% year over year, and free cash flow to be solid; Q3 revenue is guided to approximately $43 million.

Eilert Hanoa framed the quarter as evidence that Kahoot!’s product-led, low-cost growth model is working, citing strong performance in the core Kahoot! platform, improving professional-user engagement, and a promising pipeline into back-to-school and back-to-work season. He emphasized new product momentum, including Kahoot! 360 Engage in Commercial and AI creation features for educators, and said the business remains resilient with substantial monetization potential because 97% of users still use free offerings. He also argued that a private structure could allow the company to pursue bigger investments, acquisitions, and longer-term initiatives with less quarterly scrutiny.

Ken Østreng highlighted continued scalable growth, expanding profitability, and disciplined capital allocation. He said adjusted EBITDA rose to about $39 million over the last 12 months, free cash flow reached $51 million over the last 12 months, and operating costs were roughly $119 million against about $175 million of last-12-month billings, underscoring operating leverage. He also noted net cash outflow from investments of $2.2 million in Q2, including a $2.1 million deferred payment for Clever, and said the remaining deferred consideration is about $15 million payable quarterly over the next few years. He reiterated that the business is capital-light, does not need additional capital to grow organically, and expects a modest cost-base increase going forward.

Most of the Q&A centered on the announced acquisition offer and on growth trends. Andreas Hansson explained that Goldman Sachs initiated the process, the board first rejected an earlier proposal, and the final NOK35 per share all-cash offer was recommended because it was judged fair, with a 33.3% premium to the three-month VWAP and 62.1% to the six-month VWAP; he also said there is no competing offer on the table and that the best-and-final price cannot be changed. Eilert addressed slower active-user trends and subscriber growth by saying improvements in professional usage are showing up gradually and that stronger seasonality should come in the second half, while Ken said operating expenses should remain very modest for the rest of the year. On the 40% cash-conversion target for 2025, Eilert said Clever makes it harder in the short term but believes the goal remains achievable, noting the rest of the group is already close to that level.