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Tag: Financial performance

  • XTPL records record revenue and secures funding to scale up

    XTPL records record revenue and secures funding to scale up

    Wrocław-based XTPL, a provider of micro-printing technology for the advanced electronics sector, closed 2025 with record revenues of PLN 15.6 million. Although the growth rate in sales of products and services (+12% y-o-y) is clear, the key turning point for the company turned out to be finally moving beyond research. The company delivered 13 Delta Printing System devices and eight UPD modules in the period, which are already working on the production lines of one of the largest display manufacturers in China. In parallel, the entity secured close to PLN 30 million from a new share issue and an NCRD grant, which is expected to fund the equity gap and enable the implementation of the updated strategy until 2028. A new pillar of growth is becoming the ODRA line of systems, dedicated to low-volume production, which has already secured its first Silicon Valley customer in March.

    The signals coming from the market allow us to conclude that XTPL is successfully overcoming the most risky stage for deep-tech companies – the transition from the ‘lab’ to the ‘fab’ phase. The persistently negative EBITDA (-£16.3m) is, in this context, a natural cost of building sales structures and scaling technology that has to cope with the rigours of production halls. However, the postponement of the £100m revenue target to 2028 suggests that decision cycles at global electronics manufacturers are longer than the original estimates. The introduction of ODRA systems is a strategic move to diversify revenues and bridge the gap between prototyping and mass production, which can significantly increase the ‘stickiness’ of the technology within customer organisations.

    It is worth noting at this point the importance of technology validation by Taiwanese and US entities, a critical signal in the conservative semiconductor industry. For business partners, it will be important to monitor the rate at which the five remaining projects in the evaluation stage turn into hard industrial contracts. It appears that further exploration of the HMLV model will be key to maintaining growth momentum, particularly in the defence sector, which shows less sensitivity to business cycles than the consumer electronics market. Strategic patience in waiting for the UPD to fully scale should go hand in hand with aggressive commercialisation of ODRA systems, which, due to their higher unit price, can improve the company’s profitability profile more quickly.

  • Asseco South Eastern Europe publishes results: Leap in profitability

    Asseco South Eastern Europe publishes results: Leap in profitability

    In the first quarter of 2026, Asseco South Eastern Europe (ASEE) proved that in the mature technology sector, the key to success is not just to aggressively grow revenues, but to rigorously improve profitability. The company’s results for the first three months of the year show a clear disparity between scale growth and profit dynamics. While consolidated revenues grew by a solid 9% to PLN 434.5 million, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company shot up by an impressive 33% to PLN 47.5 million.

    This jump in efficiency is primarily due to the Banking Solutions segment. The Group was able to translate the increased scale of operations into real margin improvement, which, with EBITDA up 13% (to PLN 84.8 million), suggests deep cost optimisation within the regional operations. Importantly, this growth is almost entirely organic. Despite last year’s acquisitions, the newly acquired companies contributed just €0.6m to revenues. This means that ASEE’s growth engine is running at full capacity based on existing, already integrated resources, rather than by ‘buying’ results.

    Analysing the structure of these figures, one can conclude that the company has entered a phase of mature monetisation of previous investments in the Balkan region and Turkey. The focus on the banking sector and authentication technologies is proving to be an extremely apt strategy in an era of accelerated digitalisation of financial services in this part of Europe. The dynamics of operating profit, which grew by 18%, confirms that ASEE’s business model is highly scalable – the company is able to generate significantly higher profits without a commensurate increase in operating expenses.

    From a business perspective, it is worth noting the potential inherent in the integration of new entities. Although their current impact on the group’s bottom line is marginal, they represent strategic beachheads for future expansion. It seems reasonable to keep a close eye on the pace of integration of these assets into the group’s ecosystem in the coming quarters, as they could become further fuel for margins. Investors and management may also want to consider a greater focus on diversification in contact centre and cyber security solutions. This will preserve the resilience of the results in a possibly saturated market for traditional banking systems. Maintaining current cost discipline, while subtly scaling new assets, appears to be the optimal path to sustaining market leadership in the region.

  • Ailleron – Nearly PLN 580 million revenue and strong export position

    Ailleron – Nearly PLN 580 million revenue and strong export position

    The Ailleron Group closed the 2025 financial year on a solid financial footing, reporting a consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of PLN 25.66 million. This is a measurable increase on the PLN 22.83 million generated a year earlier. Although sales revenue grew by 4%, reaching nearly PLN 580 million, the dynamics of operating profit (PLN 56.98 million) and EBITDA (PLN 79.24 million) indicate a slight deceleration towards 2024. The key driver of the organisation’s growth remains the Technology Services (Software Mind) segment, which has pushed export sales to 77% of the Group’s total revenue.

    Analysis of the earnings structure suggests that Ailleron is effectively shifting its centre of gravity towards foreign markets, allowing it to become partially independent of local economic fluctuations. The increase in consolidated net profit accompanied by a slight decline in EBITDA suggests changes in the cost structure or greater pressure on margins in selected projects. It is worth noting a significant improvement in terms of the standalone – the parent company generated a net profit (PLN 1.09 million), recovering from last year’s loss of more than PLN 5 million, which signals a successful optimisation of the holding company’s internal processes.

    It is worth noting the further operational integration of the Software Mind segment. With exports already accounting for nearly four-fifths of revenues, the key challenge becomes managing currency risk and maintaining technological leadership in the FinTech and telecoms niches. Investors and management should keep a close eye on operational efficiency, as this will determine whether the increase in scale will translate into sustained margin improvement in the coming quarters.

  • Asseco’s billion-dollar financial cushion. IT company sets its sights on paying dividends

    Asseco’s billion-dollar financial cushion. IT company sets its sights on paying dividends

    Poland’s largest IT company has made an interesting corporate manoeuvre that sheds light on its incentive strategy and investor return policy. The Extraordinary General Meeting of Asseco Poland abandoned the planned redemption of its own shares, opting instead for a solution that provides much greater financial flexibility. Instead of a share capital reduction, the company has created a massive capital cushion.

    The decision follows a pragmatic approach to managing the company in a highly competitive market. As recently as February, key shareholders, including Adam Góral’s Family Foundation and TSS Europe, had called for a relaxation of the redemption scale from the original 3 per cent to just 1.3 per cent.

    Their argumentation is typical of mature Silicon Valley entities or global technology leaders. Leaving a pool of treasury shares in the company serves as a necessary tool for the long-term alignment of management interests with shareholder objectives.

    From a market perspective, however, the engineering within the company’s equity is most interesting. Shareholders voted a massive transfer of funds, shifting more than PLN 986 million from the reserve capital to the capital reserve.

    As a result, the latter rose to an impressive PLN 1.15 billion. At the same time, its formal purpose was changed, making it a dedicated treasury for future financial transfers.

    The funds thus accumulated will have the flexibility to be used to pay traditional dividends, advance anticipated profits at the end of the financial year, and possibly fund future share buybacks. The company has also reserved the possibility of further injections of this capital in the future.

    Asseco is showing that although it is moving away from immediately increasing the value of individual shares by pulling shares from the market, it is still prioritising the sharing of cash generated. This is a classic business compromise.

    The market does not receive a one-off, mechanical increase in valuation due to fewer shares outstanding, but in return gains the solid promise of a stable dividend policy secured by more than a billion dollars of capital. At the same time, it gains confidence that the management will be adequately motivated to continue building the company’s value in the long term.

  • cyber_Folks is growing in e-commerce. The group’s revenues exceeded PLN 855 million

    cyber_Folks is growing in e-commerce. The group’s revenues exceeded PLN 855 million

    Polish technology company cyber_Folks ends 2025 with a clear signal to the market: the subscription-based business model and SaaS services for e-commerce are working well, driving a steady stream of recurring revenue.

    The fourth quarter brought the company’s revenue to PLN 236.67 million, a solid jump from PLN 173.16 million in the same period a year earlier. This growth was followed by adjusted EBITDA, which shot up to PLN 82.4 million in the final three months of the year. This is market confirmation of CEO Jakub Dwernicki’s thesis on the effectiveness of building an integrated operating system for online commerce that is deeply embedded in the daily processes of B2B customers.

    Looking at the full 2025 picture, the situation becomes particularly interesting from an analytical perspective. The group’s consolidated revenue increased by 30 per cent, hitting PLN 855.2 million. In turn, adjusted EBITDA jumped by as much as 66 per cent, reaching PLN 291.7 million with a strong margin of 34.1 per cent.

    Despite this impressive improvement in operating efficiency, consolidated net profit for the full year amounted to PLN 63.14 million, representing a marked decline from the PLN 116.33 million reported in 2024. The gap between increasing profitability at the operating level and lower net profit “at the bottom” of the income statement reflects the capital-intensive nature of the current strategy – organic growth and integration costs of recently acquired companies come at a price.

    However, the management seems to be keeping its hand in. CFO Robert Stasik stresses that the business model is generating strong cash with a safe level of debt, which is expected to fuel further acquisitions.

    For cyber_Folks, which has been present on the Stock Exchange since 2017 (previously under the name R22), last year’s results represent the continuation of a long-term trend. Since its debut, the company has recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue and adjusted EBITDA of more than 35 per cent.

    The company is successfully transforming itself from a hosting provider to a comprehensive European technology ecosystem. The main challenge for 2026 is to prove that the operational scale developed will fully offset integration expenses and translate into net profit growth, delivering the promised value directly to shareholders’ wallets.

  • SentinelOne cuts profit forecasts: Share price down after results

    SentinelOne cuts profit forecasts: Share price down after results

    SentinelOne, once seen as one of the most aggressive players in the cyber security market, is entering a phase of mature defensiveness. The Mountain View-based company’s financial report on Thursday came in with a profit forecast for the upcoming quarter of just 1-2 cents per share, falling significantly short of the 5 cents expected by Wall Street. Although revenue for the fourth quarter was up a solid 20%, the market reacted nervously, pushing the share price down more than 2%. This revision of expectations is more than just numbers – it signals deeper structural changes in the sector.

    SentinelOne’s current situation is the result of a confluence of three key factors: pressure from giants, the evolution of AI and changes within the company’s financial structures. The company operates in an extremely challenging environment, where on the one hand it has to fend off attacks from specialised leaders such as CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, and on the other it faces the increasingly strong presence of Microsoft, which is integrating advanced security features directly into its corporate ecosystem.

    Investors are also looking closely at the process of ‘commoditising’ security. The rise of AI tools means that some protective functions, once considered unique, are becoming standard available from many vendors. SentinelOne’s answer remains the Singularity platform and Purple AI, aimed at automating threat hunting. However, in an era of tight IT budgets, enterprise customers are increasingly choosing to consolidate services with a single, larger provider rather than maintaining multiple niche solutions.

    An important backdrop to the conservative outlook is the change in the position of chief financial officer. Sonalee Parekh taking the helm suggests a shift towards more conservative reporting and fiscal discipline. For boards and chief security officers (CISOs), the lesson is clear: the cyber security market is no longer a field of unlimited growth, but is becoming an arena for a brutal battle for efficiency and integration. SentinelOne is choosing the path of caution, which may disappoint investors in the short term, but in the long term aims to build a more stable base to compete with the biggest players in the industry.

  • CD Projekt’s ambitious bet: PLN 5 billion at stake

    CD Projekt’s ambitious bet: PLN 5 billion at stake

    CD Projekt, a leading player in the European video games market, is entering a decisive phase in the transformation of its business strategy. At the last general meeting, shareholders approved a new incentive programme that sets the bar extremely high for management: to generate PLN 5 billion in cumulative net profit between 2026 and 2029.

    From an investor perspective, this is a clear signal that the company is completing the restructuring phase of its production processes and moving into a financial offensive. This objective is not accidental. It is based on the assumption that the upcoming release cycle, dominated by the next instalment of the Witcher saga, will prove to be a commercial success on a global scale. Although The Witcher 4 will not be released until 2027, the financial framework of the programme suggests that it is this title that is expected to be the main driver of performance in the second half of the decade.

    However, management’s strategy goes beyond just producing RPGs. The company is placing increasing emphasis on monetising brands through collaboration with external partners and the development of companion products. This ‘transmedia’ approach, already proven with the success of the anime series in the Cyberpunk world, is expected to stabilise revenues in the periods between big launches.

    The market is eagerly awaiting 19 March, when the company will present its full 2025 results, which will be a key benchmark for the reality of the new assumptions. For the technology industry, CD Projekt’s move is a lesson in managing expectations: the company is building long-term value not just on game code, but on the intellectual strength of its brands, while taking on a huge financial responsibility to shareholders.

  • HP 2026 results: AI PC sales rise, but shares fall through tariffs

    HP 2026 results: AI PC sales rise, but shares fall through tariffs

    HP Inc ‘s latest financial results may stand as a metaphor for the current state of the hardware industry: technological progress is rushing forward, but hard macroeconomic realities are effectively dampening investor sentiment. Although the company beat analysts’ expectations for its fiscal first quarter, forecasts for the rest of 2026 forced the market to revise its optimism, resulting in a 6 per cent share discount in after-hours trading.

    The main challenge for the Palo Alto-based giant remains, paradoxically, that which drives Silicon Valley as a whole – artificial intelligence. The massive build-out of AI data centres is eating up memory resources, creating acute shortages and a volatility in chip prices that HP expects to last at least until next year. As a result, chief financial officer Karen Parkhill announced that annual earnings per share are likely to sit at the lower end of the forecast range of $2.90-$3.20.

    Despite this turbulence, HP is effectively monetising the transformation towards ‘AI PCs’. Devices equipped with dedicated processors for artificial intelligence tasks already accounted for more than 35% of the company’s total shipments in the last quarter. The strategy of shifting the portfolio towards premium and commercial devices is yielding tangible results in the form of higher average selling prices. Additional fuel for growth, particularly in Europe and Asia, is the ongoing PC fleet replacement cycle forced by the migration to Windows 11.

    However, there is a new variable on the business horizon: trade policy in Washington. The Donald Trump administration’s introduction of a 10 per cent import tariff, with the prospect of raising it to 15 per cent, introduces an element of uncertainty in supply chains. The interim CEO, Bruce Broussard, is trying to reassure the market by pledging active discussions with the administration and stressing that the immediate impact of the tariffs on company operations is under control. Nevertheless, the need to raise prices to compensate for customs costs could put customer loyalty in the budget segment to the test.

  • Akamai loses on stock market despite revenue growth

    Akamai loses on stock market despite revenue growth

    The technology sector has been living for months on the promise of almost unlimited profits from generative artificial intelligence, but Akamai Technologies ‘ latest results are a sobering reminder of the physical limitations of this revolution. Although the Cambridge-based company exceeded revenue expectations in the fourth quarter, forecasts for the coming months triggered a nearly nine per cent drop in its share price. The reason? Rising infrastructure costs, which are beginning to bite at the foundations of profitability.

    The problem is not a lack of demand for Akamai’s services, but a global scramble for components. The rapid expansion of data centres by technology giants has sucked most of the available memory chips from the market. Semiconductor manufacturers, chasing high-margin orders for the AI sector, have reduced supply for the remaining players, leading to drastic price spikes. CEO Tom Leighton admitted bluntly: memory costs have almost doubled in recent months.

    For companies operating at the intersection of cloud and security, such as Akamai, this means having to make a difficult choice between maintaining margins and aggressively fighting for customers. Leighton has already signalled that the company is considering shifting some of this burden to contractors. Such a move, while economically justified, could put customer loyalty to the test at a time when companies are meticulously optimising their IT budgets.

    Despite first-quarter projected earnings per share of – USD – well below Wall Street expectations – Akamai’s long-term picture remains stable. The company forecasts that revenues in 2026 could reach up to USD billion. Underpinning this growth is the unrelenting demand for cyber-security and edge computing, which are becoming key in the era of migration to the cloud.

  • Anthropic doubles valuation and challenges OpenAI; company’s revenues reach $14 billion

    Anthropic doubles valuation and challenges OpenAI; company’s revenues reach $14 billion

    Anthropic is beginning to provide hard evidence of its dominance in the corporate sector. The company’s latest funding round, in which it raised $30 billion, has pushed its valuation to a not inconsiderable $380 billion. While this amount is still behind the projected capitalisation of OpenAI, the growth rate of the Claude manufacturer suggests that the battle for supremacy in the AI ecosystem is entering a new, more mature phase.

    Investors, which include giants such as D. E. Shaw Ventures, ICONIQ and Nvidia, are no longer just buying into the vision of secure artificial intelligence. Their optimism is fuelled by a specific product: Claude Code. This tool, dedicated to developers, has become the company’s revenue workhorse, reaching a run-rate of $2.5 billion. The fact that business subscriptions have quadrupled since the beginning of the year, with the enterprise sector already generating more than half of the segment’s revenue, is testament to the successful monetisation of a technology that is still only an operating expense for many competitors.

    However, it is not just coding that is causing excitement in the financial markets. The introduction of the Claude Cowork AI agent has caused a shake-up in the SaaS software sector. The ability to delegate complex computing tasks directly to an AI model has caused investors to question the future of traditional office support tools. If an AI agent can manage processes on its own, the value of many existing software platforms comes into question.

    Anthropic also stands out from the industry with an unusual political strategy. In an era of widespread lobbying for deregulation, the company has committed $20 million to support politicians advocating for AI oversight. This pragmatic approach to ethics may prove to be a key asset in building trust among corporate and institutional clients, who are increasingly concerned about the legal and reputational implications of implementing algorithmic black boxes.

    The company’s current revenue of $14 billion and the growing involvement of players such as Blackstone confirm that Anthropic is no longer just a ‘safer alternative’ to ChatGPT. It has become the foundation of a new business infrastructure that, instead of being massively popular, builds its value on deep integration into the daily work of engineers and executives. In this arms race, the winner is not who has the most users, but whose tools become indispensable to the functioning of the modern economy.

  • Zebra Technologies forecasts 2026 growth above analysts’ expectations

    Zebra Technologies forecasts 2026 growth above analysts’ expectations

    Zebra Technologies enters 2026 with a clear operational advantage, forecasting financial results that significantly exceed previous market analyses. The company’s solid fundamentals are underpinned by unrelenting demand for barcode scanners and mobile communication systems, confirming a broader trend: businesses, regardless of sector, are making infrastructure modernisation an investment priority.

    CEO, Bill Burns, highlights that the company now has a record order book and a strong project pipeline. A key element of this strategy is the finalised acquisition of Elo Touch for $1.3 billion. The integration of the specialist touchscreen manufacturer allows Zebra to penetrate deeper into the interactive solutions market, combining data identification hardware with advanced user interfaces.

    For 2026, the company expects sales growth in the range of 9% to 13%, targeting a midpoint well above market estimates. Adjusted earnings per share are forecast to be in the range of US$17.70 to US$18.30. These figures reflect the effectiveness of a business model based on real-time employee productivity products.

    Q4 2025 results, with net sales of $1.48 billion, are proof that the logistics and retail automation market is still insatiable. Zebra, bolstered by a $1 billion share buyback programme, is positioning itself not only as a hardware provider, but as a key partner in the digital transformation of operational processes. With increasing pressure for efficiency, the company’s tools are becoming the standard for modern supply chain management.

  • Adyen’s share price sinks after results. ‘Unified Commerce’ strategy not enough for stock market appetite

    Adyen’s share price sinks after results. ‘Unified Commerce’ strategy not enough for stock market appetite

    Dutch payments giant Adyen, for years regarded as a model of efficiency in the fintech sector, has reached a turning point that perfectly illustrates the current dilemmas of Silicon Valley and European tech hubs. Although the company closed the second half of 2025 with a solid 21 per cent increase in net revenue, financial markets reacted violently. The 15 per cent drop in shares is a signal that investors have stopped feeding on promises of scale alone and have begun to rigorously hold companies accountable for volume dynamics.

    A key challenge for Adyen remains that the €745 billion worth of transactions processed missed analysts’ ambitious forecasts. In a world of high-margin payments, where every basis point matters, the underestimation of demand by nearly €26 billion raises concerns about market saturation. Nevertheless, the company’s business model is showing great resilience. Higher transaction fees managed to partially cushion the lower traffic, allowing the EBITDA margin to remain at 53%.

    Adyen’s strategy is evolving towards so-called ‘unified commerce’ (Unified Commerce). While traditional e-commerce is facing strong competition, Adyen is aggressively entering stationary shops. The expansion of the partnership with Starbucks into European markets and the operation of terminals for Uber have translated into a 26 per cent jump in physical transactions. This is where the greatest potential for optimisation lies: Adyen does not want to be just a ‘pipe’ for transferring money, but an intelligent analytics layer.

    CFO, Ethan Tankowsky, points to a new foundation for growth: agent-based artificial intelligence. Unlike many companies that treat AI as a marketing add-on, Adyen has the raw material of the highest order – clean, structured, real-time transactional data. The planned hiring of 600 specialists while automating internal processes is expected to push margins to 55% over the next two years.

    Adyen shows that the future of payments lies not in scale per se, but in the ability to turn raw purchase data into predictive tools that help retailers understand the customer better than they do. The question is whether the capital market will be patient enough to wait for the results of this transformation.

  • Lenovo: Profit down, AI servers up. Giant beats forecasts despite chip crisis

    Lenovo: Profit down, AI servers up. Giant beats forecasts despite chip crisis

    In the world of hardware manufacturers, net profit rarely tells the whole story. Lenovo ‘s third quarter financial report on Thursday is proof of this. Although net profit attributable to shareholders fell 21% to $546 million, investors got the signal they were waiting for: the Chinese giant is effectively shifting its centre of gravity towards artificial intelligence before the traditional PC market hits the wall.

    The company’s financial results expose a classic transformation dilemma. Revenues grew by 18% year-on-year, reaching $22.2 billion and significantly beating analyst forecasts. However, this success comes at a price. Lenovo is facing a growing shortage of memory chips, which has forced the company to raise prices on end devices. CEO Yang Yuanqing outright admits that PC sales volumes will come under pressure, and that a flight into the AI infrastructure segment is expected to rescue profitability.

    The most interesting dynamics are taking place within the server division. The digital infrastructure group reported a 31 per cent increase in revenue, driven by deployments of solutions based on the Nvidia GB200 architecture. Although the segment generated an $11 million operating loss, this is a cost that Lenovo is consciously making part of its strategy to build scale. The company assumes that the AI infrastructure market will triple by 2028, and the real money no longer lies in training models, but in deploying them, or so-called inference.

    HR and operational moves confirm this turnaround. Lenovo has earmarked $285 million for restructuring, with a target of $200 million in annual savings. These funds will be redirected to the development of a portfolio of enterprise servers, created in partnership with AMD, among others.

    The lesson from Lenovo’s report is clear. Even dominance of the PC market, which still accounts for 70% of the group’s revenue, does not guarantee security in the face of volatile supply chains. The company’s future now depends on whether it can monopolise server racks in data centres as effectively as it used to monopolise the desks of corporate employees. If margins on AI hardware fail to compensate for rising component costs, analysts’ current enthusiasm may prove premature.

  • The twilight of the 5G era? Ericsson chooses financial engineering over expansion

    The twilight of the 5G era? Ericsson chooses financial engineering over expansion

    For years, telecoms giants such as Ericsson have operated in cycles driven by the promise of the next generation of networks. But Q4 2025 results suggest that the Swedish company is entering a new era – one in which success is no longer determined by 5G mast coverage, but by absolute cost efficiency and financial engineering.

    Under Börje Ekholm’s leadership, the company has undergone a transformation from a growth-focused supplier to an entity focused on generating cash for shareholders. This strategy is bearing fruit. Despite a global slowdown in 5G infrastructure investment, Ericsson beat analysts’ expectations, reporting an adjusted EBIT of SEK 12.26 billion. For a market that had expected results almost 20% lower, this sends a clear signal: restructuring is working.

    A cool calculation of resources

    However, the price of this stability is high. Ekholm leaves no illusions about the future of the employment structure. After cutting 5,000 jobs last year, the company is preparing the ground for further cuts, including 1,600 positions in Sweden alone. It’s a classic move from the lean management playbook – adapting the cost base to the reality that telecoms operators in the US and Europe are cutting back on capital expenditure.

    The improved cash position, bolstered by the sale of the Iconectiv unit, allowed for a bold gesture to investors. A 15 billion kroner share buyback programme and a dividend increase are moves designed to retain capital at a time of market uncertainty.

    A geopolitical opportunity

    While the market in North America remains stagnant, Ericsson’s eyes are on Brussels. The European Commission’s proposals to exclude ‘high-risk’ suppliers could open up space previously occupied by Chinese competitors for the Swedes and Finland’s Nokia. Although CFO Lars Sandström tones down the enthusiasm, calling these changes a long-term process, for investors this is a key factor for growth in the medium term.

  • XTPL: Record deliveries and race to profitability. Company seeks 20 mln to plug the gap

    XTPL: Record deliveries and race to profitability. Company seeks 20 mln to plug the gap

    Polish provider of nano-printing technology for the electronics sector, XTPL, closed 2025 with a result that is bittersweet for investors. The company reported revenues of PLN 13.7 million, up 11 per cent year-on-year. Although sales growth is positive and the number of devices delivered has reached historic highs, market attention is now focused on liquidity. The management openly communicates the need to bridge a capital gap estimated at PLN 15-20 million in the current year.

    The key operational achievement of the past year was the delivery of a total of 21 printing systems to customers. The sales structure is still dominated by the mature Delta Printing System (DPS) line, mainly going to R&D departments, with 13 units sold. However, from a long-term business scaling perspective, the commercialisation of 8 industrial UPD (Ultra-Precise Dispensing) modules seems more important. It is the industrial deployments that are expected to be the leverage that will allow the company to leapfrog future revenue growth. Confirmation of this direction is the January finalisation of UPD module deliveries to a Chinese customer as part of the first industrial deployment, paving the way for the negotiation of further tranches.

    Despite the implementation successes, the cash situation requires immediate action. At the end of December 2025, XTPL’s accounts held PLN 7.3 million, down from the PLN 9.9 million still visible at the end of the third quarter. Jacek Olszanski, board member for finance, indicates that the company is approaching break-even levels, but that external funding is required until then.

    A key decision on the form of capital raising is to be taken in the coming weeks. Three scenarios are on the table: debt financing, a market-directed share issue or the entry of a strategic investor for a minority stake. Given the declared lack of significant growth in the cost base in 2026, the funds raised are to serve only as a bridge until the growing sales of industrial modules start generating positive cash flow. For shareholders, the coming month will be a test of confidence in the management’s financial engineering capabilities, as important as the company’s technological edge.

  • Deflation of IT services. How did AI turn SAP from market star to outsider?

    Deflation of IT services. How did AI turn SAP from market star to outsider?

    German software giant SAP has found itself at the centre of a stock market storm that has wiped out a staggering $130 billion from its market capitalisation in recent months. The company’s shares fell on Wednesday to levels not seen since August 2024, a brutal correction from record valuations in February 2025. While the scale of the declines is dramatic, more important is the reason for this sell-off: a growing concern on Wall Street and in Europe that artificial intelligence – hitherto seen as a catalyst for growth – could become a deflationary force for traditional software providers.

    SAP’s current valuation of €233 billion (down from €344 billion at its peak) reflects investor scepticism about the sustainability of margins in the generative AI era. Angelo Meda, portfolio manager at Banor SIM, clarifies this fear, pointing out that the issue is not the survival of the company, but the value of its services in the new reality. With AI, the creation and replication of software modules becomes cheaper and faster, which raises the risk of a decrease in the average selling price of services and the number of hours invoiced. In this context, accelerating cloud transformation ceases to be just a strategic objective and becomes a defensive necessity.

    However, the market situation is creating an interesting paradox. Sentiment around the software sector has rarely been so low, and SAP’s valuation is approaching a historical bottom, which for many could be a buying signal. While the S&P 500 software index has lost more than 7% since the beginning of 2026 and the technical charts are still generating sell signals, some institutional investors are starting to take long positions.

    Everyone is now looking forward to the financial results that the company will publish next week. After October’s forecasts, which placed cloud revenues at the lower end of expectations (while operating profit was strong), the upcoming report will be a reality test. It will show whether the market has over-discounted the threat of AI, or whether we are witnessing a sustained re-evaluation of the enterprise software sector, where ‘old’ business models must give way to new efficiencies.

  • Atos loses 14% of revenue. IT giant withdraws from more markets

    Atos loses 14% of revenue. IT giant withdraws from more markets

    French IT group Atos, once the undisputed leader of the European technology sector, has officially closed one of the most difficult chapters in its history. Wednesday’s stock market announcement leaves no illusions about the scale of the challenges facing the company. The group’s revenues for 2025 fell to €8 billion, a severe organic decline of 13.8 per cent. While these figures are in line with management’s earlier revised forecasts, they illustrate the price the company is paying for months of financial uncertainty and deep debt restructuring.

    CEO Philippe Salle, who took the helm at a sensitive time, took a realistic stance when speaking to the media, avoiding corporate powdering of reality. He openly admitted that the return of customer confidence is progressing more slowly than initially expected. For business partners and contractors, this is a key signal: Atos is still in a phase of stabilisation. The loss of contracts in the last quarter of the year suggests that the market is still cautious about long-term commitments to a supplier that was valued at more than €10 billion at its peak and today is capitalised at around €1 billion.

    Salle’s strategy for the coming quarters is the classic ‘run to the front’ through downsizing. Not only is the company continuing to make redundancies and sell off assets in Scandinavia and Latin America, but it announces the exit of a further ten markets in 2026. The aim is to create a smaller but more profitable organisation, capable of generating cash. Importantly for investors, despite falling revenues, Atos expects to exceed its operating profitability targets for 2025. This means that draconian cost-cutting is starting to bear fruit on the balance sheet, even if the top-line is still bleeding.

    For the IT industry, the case of Atos remains a cautionary tale, but also a test of whether ‘too big to fail’ as a technology issue holds true. The full picture and forecasts for 2026 will be known on 6 March. At that point, it remains to be seen whether the radical weight loss treatment will be enough to convince the market that the French giant really has the worst behind it.

  • Action S.A. summarises Q3 2025: E-commerce shot up. Shipping growth of 34%

    Action S.A. summarises Q3 2025: E-commerce shot up. Shipping growth of 34%

    Action S.A. closed the third quarter of 2025 with revenues of nearly PLN 745 million, confirming that its sustainable growth strategy is yielding tangible results in a still challenging macroeconomic environment. The distributor generated nearly PLN 9 million in net profit during the period, maintaining a margin at a safe level of 8.41 per cent. These results shed light on the company’s broader transformation, which is increasingly balancing between classic distribution and its role as a provider of advanced services.

    A key driver in recent months has been the B2C e-commerce segment. The scale of operations in this area has increased significantly, as evidenced by the volume of shipments handled – more than 1.07 million items, which is 34 per cent better than in the same period last year. However, Action is not limiting itself to the role of a passive retail intermediary. The company is consistently developing overseas sales channels and strengthening its B2B offering, which allows it to diversify its revenue streams and become independent of fluctuations in the local consumer market.

    An important element of the report is the evolution of the business model towards value-added services. As part of the #ACTIONTechSolutions initiative, the distributor is increasingly bold in its role as an implementation partner for corporate and institutional customers. Offering end-to-end enterprise solutions is a strategic retreat from low-margin volume distribution. Slawomir Harazin, Vice President of the Management Board, points out that building sustainable advantages is based on innovations, which the company first tests on its own body.

    “We know that modern business is about creating sustainable advantages based on innovative solutions that we ourselves implement in our organisation. Thanks to the experience we have gained and the systems we develop, we become a reliable partner for other entities. We are convinced that this approach allows us not only to support the development of our customers, but also to consistently strengthen the Company’s position on the market,” – adds Sławomir Harazin, Vice President of the Management Board of ACTION S.A.

    On the operational side, Action is focusing on cost optimisation by finalising the implementation of a new ERP system and tools based on artificial intelligence. Piotr Bielinski, CEO, emphasises that the company is choosing the ‘small steps’ method instead of sudden leaps. This approach aims not only to improve efficiency on an ongoing basis, but above all to prepare the ground for future scaling of the business. Investment in technology serves a dual purpose here: it streamlines internal processes and builds credibility in the eyes of business partners looking for proven solutions in the age of digital transformation.

    “Our approach is based on systematic, deliberate growth – we choose small steps rather than sudden leaps. Current work and activities are strengthening the base for future growth. At the same time, we are optimising costs and preparing for the implementation of new systems to work even more strongly in our favour in the future. In the B2C e-commerce segment we are consistently pursuing growth,” says Piotr Bielinski, CEO of ACTION S.A.

    Selected financial data of GK ACTION S.A. for Q3 2025.

    thousand PLN20252024 change
    Sales revenue744 698 627 489 18,68%
    Gross profit/loss on sales62 61450 32824,41%
    Margin %8,41%8,02%0,39%
    Net profit8 9946 16545,89%
  • Nokia is putting everything on the line: The money is in the cloud, not in 5G

    Nokia is putting everything on the line: The money is in the cloud, not in 5G

    The Finnish tech giant is officially admitting what the market has been suggesting for quarters: the era of endless spending by telecoms operators is over. New CEO Justin Hotard is cutting the company in half to chase hyper-scalers’ money and save margins.

    At Wednesday’s Capital Markets Day in New York, Nokia unveiled its most radical overhaul since selling its phone division to Microsoft a decade ago. The plan, which will come into effect in 2026, involves splitting the conglomerate into two independent organisations: “Network Infrastructure” (Network Infrastructure) and “Mobile Infrastructure” (Mobile Networks).

    The move is a clear signal of where management sees the future. While the mobile division is set to remain a ‘milking cow’ serving traditional telcos, the new infrastructure unit is set to become a growth engine driven by AI and data centres.

    The decision to restructure follows brutal maths. Justin Hotard, who took the helm at Nokia on a mission to reverse the downward trend, left no illusions about the health of the 5G market. “The major hyperscalers are now investing more each quarter than the leading telecoms operators do in an entire year,” – Hotard scored, pointing to the changing of the guard in the customer portfolio. Already, nine out of the top 10 cloud providers are using the Finns’ technology.

    The strategy has gained a powerful ally. Nvidia, the undisputed king of the current AI boom, has invested $1 billion, taking a 2.9% stake in Nokia. This vote of confidence – and the earlier acquisition of Infinera (an optical networking specialist) – is expected to position Nokia as a key supplier of the ‘backbone’ for AI training server farms.

    Hotard’s plan is to increase comparable operating profit to between €2.7 billion and €3.2 billion by 2028 (a jump of nearly 60% on last year). The company also intends to cut costs drastically, reducing group operating expenses from €350 million to €150 million. An additional pillar is to be a new defence incubation unit, targeting government contracts from NATO countries.

    Nevertheless, Wall Street and European stock markets reacted coolly. Nokia shares fell 6%, which analysts explain as ‘promise fatigue’. Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight notes that while the direction is right, the market is worried about the cost of transformation and the uncertain return on AI investments. Investors were hoping for instant fireworks, meanwhile Nokia is offering them a long march through the construction site.

    For Nokia, it is a runaway success. But if demand for AI infrastructure slows down, the company will be left with expensive optical assets and a shrinking telecoms market that no one wants to fund anymore.

  • AMD throws down the gauntlet to Nvidia. Target: $100 billion from AI

    AMD throws down the gauntlet to Nvidia. Target: $100 billion from AI

    AMD shares gained 7% on Wednesday, increasing the company’s capitalisation by more than $26 billion. The reason for investors’ enthusiasm was the bold new strategic goal announced during the analyst day: to reach $100 billion in annual revenue from the data centre segment. This is a direct challenge thrown down to Nvidia, which currently dominates the red-hot AI accelerator market.

    AMD CEO Lisa Su estimates that the data centre chip market alone could reach $1 trillion by 2030. This is a forecast that includes general purpose processors, networking chips and AI accelerators. AMD is not defenseless in this battle. The company is highlighting key partnerships, including with OpenAI and Oracle, which are already expected to generate significant revenue and open the door to talks with other hyperscale giants.

    The technological weapons in this battle are to be the next-generation MI400 chips and the Helios integrated system, which are expected to hit the market in 2026. AMD’s plan is to gain significant market share, as reflected in its internal forecasts. The company expects 60% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in its data centre business and 35% growth across the company over the next three to five years.

    This ambition can also be seen in the target earnings per share (EPS) of $20. This is a bold statement, given that the LSEG consensus for 2025 is for earnings of just $2.68 per share.

    Some analysts are taking a cautious approach to these announcements. Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein described the targets as “somewhat aggressive and aspirational”. He noted that ultimate success will depend on AMD’s ability to actually take market share with Helios and move from being a marginal AI player to a viable competitor. AMD executives are clearly going on the offensive in an attempt to change the market narrative.

    Meanwhile, market leader Nvidia appears unfazed by the challenge. On the day AMD’s plans were announced, Nvidia’s shares also recorded a quiet 1.5% rise.

  • Cisco is betting on AI. Forecasts up, shares soar

    Cisco is betting on AI. Forecasts up, shares soar

    Cisco Systems is sending a strong signal to the market: the AI revolution is not just the domain of chip manufacturers, but also a fundamental driver for network infrastructure. The company raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts, which the market immediately rewarded with a significant increase in its stock price.

    Underpinning this optimism is the unprecedented demand generated by hyperscalers. Technology giants such as Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta are investing billions of dollars in data centre expansions to meet artificial intelligence workloads, and Cisco is a key beneficiary of this spending.

    The company revealed that it has already secured AI orders worth more than $2 billion for fiscal 2025, mostly from major cloud players. The dynamics are impressive – in the last quarter alone, orders for AI infrastructure from hyperscalers totalled $1.3 billion.

    CEO Chuck Robbins predicts AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers alone will reach $3bn by 2026. Analysts see this as a key catalyst for the networking business, which many considered mature.

    However, Cisco is not just limiting itself to data centres. The company recently launched the ‘Cisco Unified Edge’ platform, moving AI computing closer to where it is created – into factories, retail shops or medical facilities.

    In light of these contracts, the updated forecast for fiscal 2026 is for revenues in the range of $60.2-61bn (up from $59-60bn) and adjusted earnings per share of $4.08-4.14. Although first-quarter results ($14.88bn) only slightly beat expectations, it is future orders driven by AI that dominate the narrative and make investors optimistic.