Catena Media pointed to personalized search driven by AI and to search engines continuing to rank lower-relevance content higher. Some operators have also cut their marketing budgets. More than 90% of Catena’s new customers come through cost-per-acquisition (CPA) deals, so the company said it has limited recurring revenue to absorb the pressure.
According to preliminary figures, Q3 adjusted EBITDA dropped to €0.7M from €2.9M. Nine-month revenue came in at €30.1M, down from €31m, and nine-month adjusted EBITDA fell to €4.6M from €5.2M. Catena no longer expects to hit its target of double-digit organic growth in group revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2026.
Manuel Stan, Catena Media CEO, shared his thoughts:
“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.”
To rely less on search, Catena is adding new revenue streams, including prediction markets and TraffiqX, a platform it plans to launch in Q1 2027. It is also investing in customer loyalty programs to build up its brands.
Catena will confirm its Q3 results on November 10. In Q2, it reported a 1% revenue decline, which Stan said reflected the structural reality facing the industry.
