The Catena Media Q3 results reflect a “rapid and fundamental shift” in search, CEO Manuel Stan has said, as the affiliate reported preliminary Q3 2026 revenue down 29% to €8.3m and adjusted EBITDA of €0.7m, from €2.9m, in an update published on 16 October 2026.
Catena also expects to book a non-cash impairment charge on intangible assets of €30m to €35m in Q3 under IAS 36. The group no longer expects to reach its 2026 target of double-digit organic growth in group revenue and adjusted EBITDA.
Catena Media Q3 results
Catena’s preliminary Q3 results and target update put Q3 revenue at €8.3m, down from €11.6m a year earlier. Nine-month revenue was €30.1m, against €31.0m in the same period of 2025.
| Metric | 2026 (€m) | 2025 (€m) |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 revenue | 8.3 | 11.6 |
| Nine-month revenue | 30.1 | 31.0 |
| Q3 adjusted EBITDA | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| Nine-month adjusted EBITDA | 4.6 | 5.2 |
Figures are preliminary and unaudited, from Catena Media’s 16 October update.
The Q3 adjusted EBITDA of €0.7m includes a €0.7m reversal of accruals made earlier in 2026 for the employee bonus programme, the company said.
Search pressure
Catena said generative search is cutting new traffic across the affiliate industry, and that its own traditional search rankings declined. It put the ranking drop down to AI-assisted personalised search patterns and to search engines continuing to push lower-relevancy content up their results pages.
The company added that some operators reduced marketing spend during the seasonal summer slowdown. Over 90% of its new customers come through cost-per-acquisition (CPA) deals, which leaves little recurring revenue to offset a fall in traffic.
This was a weak quarter and our results reflect that.
Manuel Stan, CEO, Catena Media, in the company’s Q3 update
Diversification plans
Stan said the results reinforce the strategic direction Catena set out in the second quarter. The company is reducing its dependence on search by diversifying revenue, including through new verticals such as prediction markets and investment in customer loyalty programmes, according to the release.
Catena plans to launch a new platform, TraffiqX, in the first quarter of 2027, Stan said. Other listed companies’ trading updates are collected in TGE’s Financial Report section.
Next steps
Catena will publish its full Q3 2026 interim report on 10 November 2026 at 17:35 CET. A webcast on the report follows at 18:00 CET.
Source: Catena Media
