Catena Media plc today publishes preliminary, unaudited results for the third quarter of 2026, together with a non-cash impairment charge and an update to the group’s 2026 financial targets.
Preliminary Q3 revenue was EUR 8.3m, down 29 percent from the same period last year (11.6m). Revenue for the first nine months was EUR 30.1m (31.0m). Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was EUR 0.7m (2.9m), including a reversal of EUR 0.7m of accruals made earlier in the year for the 2026 employee bonus programme. Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months was EUR 4.6m (5.2m).
Given the above, the group no longer expects to reach its target of double-digit organic growth in group revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2026.
Catena Media expects to recognise a non-cash impairment charge on intangible assets of EUR 30-35m in Q3, in accordance with IAS 36.
Several factors adversely affected operating performance in Q3. Generative search continued to transform how users discover brands online, reducing new traffic across the affiliate industry. Catena Media's traditional search rankings declined, due both to AI-assisted personalised search patterns and also to search engines continuing to elevate lower-relevancy content in search results. Certain operators also reduced their marketing budgets during the usual seasonal summer slowdown.
Since Catena Media acquires more than 90 percent of new customers under cost-per-acquisition (CPA) deals, the group has limited recurring revenue to buffer against such a combination of market pressures.
Manuel Stan, Catena Media CEO, commented: “This was a weak quarter and our results reflect that. The search landscape is undergoing a rapid and fundamental shift, and as a predominantly CPA-based business our results reflect the effects of these changes immediately and in full.
“The results reinforce the strategic direction we set out in the second quarter. We are reducing our dependence on search by diversifying our revenue streams, including through our newly announced TraffiqX project and new verticals like prediction markets, and by continuing to build the strength of our brands through investing in customer loyalty programmes. These efforts will be further supported by TraffiqX, the new platform we plan to launch in the first quarter of 2027.”
All figures in this release are preliminary and unaudited. Catena Media will publish its interim report for Q3 2026 on 10 November at 17:35 CET, followed by a webcast at 18:00 CET: https://events.inderes.com/catena-media/q3-report-2026