AI-generated analysis, not investment advice. The articles are written by AI, edited, and checked against company filings — but the judgements are opinions and the figures go stale. How this is made · Terms

The Advertisers It Never MeetsThin moat

Bending Spoons (BSP) — moat facet

An eighth of Bending Spoons' revenue is sold by programmatic networks to advertisers the company says it never interacts with.

Advertising is now the second revenue line, $88.637 million in the second quarter of 20261, 12.6% of revenue2, and most of it is sold at one remove. Bending Spoons generates most of its advertising revenue through intermediaries such as programmatic networks and media agencies, and in those cases does not interact directly with advertisers3. It sells a portion of inventory directly, primarily on WeTransfer4.

AOL revenue by category, 2025 carve-out ($M)371.5Subscriptions240.1Display advertising11.3Search advertising10.4OtherForm 424B4, AOL carve-out accounts as adjusted to Bending Spoons policies
Display advertising is the group's largest ad asset.

The business behind the line is AOL. In the first quarter of 2026 advertising was driven primarily by AOL, Remini, and WeTransfer5, and AOL's own carve-out accounts for 2025 show revenue of $633.365 million split between subscriptions of $371.517 million, display advertising of $240.087 million, search advertising of $11.312 million and other revenue of $10.449 million6. Display advertising on a legacy portal is the single largest advertising asset in the group.

Selling through intermediaries has a real advantage: no sales force, no contracts to renew, no concentration. It has an equally real disadvantage, which is that the company has no relationship to defend. Pricing is set in an auction it does not run, and demand can fall without any customer deciding anything.

It is also the part of the revenue most exposed to the privacy rules, because programmatic advertising depends on the targeting and measurement data that restrictions on cookies and other tracking technologies, limitations on access to device identifiers, and requirements for user consent7 are removing.

AOL's concentration is geographic as well as commercial. Its 2025 carve-out accounts show $620.393 million of its $633.365 million of revenue in the United States, 98.0% of it89, so the advertising line is effectively an American business inside an Italian company. That is also why the group's American revenue share jumped from 49.2% in 2025 to 61.8% in the second quarter of 202610.

Advertising as a share of revenue is the measure. It was 5% in 2023 and 12% in the first quarter of 202611, almost all of the increase acquired rather than grown. A rising share means more of the company's revenue is set by an auction rather than by a renewal, which is the opposite of what the tenure statistics are supposed to prove.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

Advertising share up from 5% to 12%; the targeting data behind it is being withdrawn.

The number that tests this moat
Moat Explorer calc
Advertising revenue as a share of revenue, latest quarter
12.6% in Q2 2026, against 5% in 2023

How much revenue is priced in an auction rather than a renewal; a rising share weakens the tenure argument.

How it's calculated: Advertising revenue of $88,637 thousand divided by total revenue of $704,155 thousand in Q2 2026.
Source: Moat Explorer calculation from Bending Spoons filings ↗
References
  1. ReportedAdvertising is now the second revenue line, $88.637 million in the second quarter of 2026, 12.6% of revenue, and most of it is sold at one remove.
    Bending Spoons unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter and half-year ended 30 June 2026, Form 6-K exhibit 99.2 - income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, revenue disaggregation, debt note, segment note and the initial-public-offering note. — Q2 2026 · publ. 13 August 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcAdvertising is now the second revenue line, $88.637 million in the second quarter of 2026, 12.6% of revenue, and most of it is sold at one remove.
    Moat Explorer calculation from figures reported in Bending Spoons' Form 424B4 prospectus, its Q2 2026 Form 6-K exhibits and the market data cited beside them ($ thousands unless stated). Revenue growth: 671,053 / 387,067 - 1 = 73.4%; 1,306,404 / 671,053 - 1 = 94.7%; 2,800,000 / 1,306,404 - 1 = 114% on the FY2026 guidance midpoint (2,780,000 + 2,820,000) / 2 = 2,800,000; Adjusted Operating Income guidance midpoint (1,460,000 + 1,510,000) / 2 = 1,485,000. Trailing twelve months to 30 June 2026: revenue 1,306,404 + 1,305,476 - 570,046 = 2,041,834; net income (204) + 204,433 - (46,953) = 251,182; operating cash flow 290,600 + 254,240 - 87,733 = 457,107; net margin 251,182 / 2,041,834 = 12.3%. Revenue by type, trailing twelve months: subscription 1,213,194 + 1,047,991 - 521,571 = 1,739,614; advertising 67,253 + 158,811 - 35,791 = 190,273; other 25,958 + 98,674 - 12,684 = 111,948; sum 2,041,835. Subscription share 1,739,614 / 2,041,834 = 85.2%. Q2 2026 revenue mix: subscription 540,790 / 704,155 = 76.8%; advertising 88,637 / 704,155 = 12.6%; other 74,728 / 704,155 = 10.6%. Q2 growth by line: 540,790 / 282,138 - 1 = 91.7%; 88,637 / 19,285 - 1 = 359.6%; 74,728 / 9,676 - 1 = 672.1%. FY2025 by line: 1,213,194 / 616,418 - 1 = 96.8%; 67,253 / 52,690 - 1 = 27.6%; 25,958 / 1,945 = 13.3 times. Gross margin: 236,518 / 387,067 = 61.1%; 428,851 / 671,053 = 63.9%; 857,270 / 1,306,404 = 65.6%; 463,621 / 704,155 = 65.8%; 871,825 / 1,305,476 = 66.8%. Operating margin: 84,267 / 387,067 = 21.8%; 127,352 / 671,053 = 19.0%; 277,851 / 1,306,404 = 21.3%; 240,251 / 704,155 = 34.1%. General and administrative expense 326,953 / 1,306,404 = 25.0% of 2025 revenue. Costs excluded from Adjusted Operating Income in 2025: 150,532 + 85,466 + 78,607 + 20,790 = 335,395, which is also 613,247 - 277,851 = 335,396. The same four lines across 2023, 2024 and 2025: (13,514 + 848 + 33,809) + (51,792 + 31,952 + 85,947) + (78,607 + 85,466 + 150,532) = 48,171 + 169,691 + 314,605 = 532,467. Interest: 142,601 / 32,605 = 4.4 times; 108,970 / 35,733 - 1 = 205%; 142,601 / 277,851 = 51.3% of 2025 operating income; interest paid 161,153 / 254,240 = 63.4% of H1 2026 operating cash flow. Research and development 58,204 / 19,398 = 3.0 times; sales and marketing 72,679 / 30,696 = 2.4 times. Balance sheet at 30 June 2026: total debt 794,141 + 4,086,939 = 4,881,080 (415,260 + 2,255,622 = 2,670,882 at 31 December 2025); net debt 4,881,080 - 792,950 = 4,088,130; net debt / equity 4,088,130 / 1,258,412 = 3.25 times; goodwill and intangibles 4,146,212 + 2,156,607 = 6,302,819, which is 6,302,819 / 8,055,399 = 78.2% of assets; tangible book 1,258,412 - 6,302,819 = (5,044,407); goodwill 4,146,212 / 163,863 = 25.3 times the 31 December 2023 balance. Free cash flow H1 2026 254,240 - 3,969 = 250,271. Deferred revenue 583,265 / 450,499 - 1 = 29.5%. Net cash inside the two enterprise deals: Airtable equity value about 2,250 less enterprise value 1,285 = about 965 of net cash; Miro 1,790 less 1,355 = about 435; the two together 965 + 435 = about 1,400, against combined equity value 2,250 + 1,790 = about 4,040. Valuation and rail arithmetic: market value 28,289 / pro-forma FY2025 net income 22.374 = about 1,264 times earnings; store commission of 22 to 45 against Q1 2026 gross profit of 408,204 = 5.4% to 11.0%; store fee 15% to 30% against processor fees of 5% or less = three to six times. Per-unit arithmetic: trailing revenue 2,041,834 / 9,000 thousand paying customers = about $227 a year each; other revenue 74,728 / 25,958 = 2.9 times all of 2025; advertising expense at 6% of 2025 revenue 1,306,404 x 0.06 = about 78,384. Customer and per-unit arithmetic: a customer below 1% of Q2 2026 revenue of 704,155 is below 7,042, so under $7.0 million a quarter. Market value at $44.17 on 20 October 2026: 330,222,651 + 310,240,685 = 640,463,336 shares; 640,463,336 x 44.17 = $28,289 million. Trailing price-to-earnings 28,289 / 251.2 = 112.6; price-to-sales 28,289 / 2,041.8 = 13.9; enterprise value 28,289 + 4,088 = 32,377; 32,377 / 1,485 = 21.8 times guided Adjusted Operating Income; forward price-to-sales 28,289 / 2,800 = 10.1. Price against the 52-week high 44.17 / 59.50 - 1 = -25.8%; against the offering price 44.17 / 29.00 - 1 = +52.3%. Shares after the Berkshire placement 640,463,336 + 10,000,000 = 650,463,336. Berkshire's July tranche 600 / 29.00 = about 20.7 million shares, plus 10.0 million at $33.00 = about 30.7 million. New investors paid 29.00 / 1.00 = 29 times the $1.00 average price of the pre-offering equity. Votes: 310,240,685 x 5 = 1,551,203,425 against 1,551,203,425 + 324,978,625 = 1,876,182,050 total votes = 82.68%; equity 310,240,685 / 635,219,310 = 48.84%. Luca Querella's holding 310,240,685 - 234,315,380 = 75,925,305 class A shares, 75,925,305 x 5 / 1,876,182,050 = 20.2% of the votes. Geography: 201,424 / 387,067 = 52.0%; 347,942 / 671,053 = 51.9%; 642,140 / 1,306,404 = 49.2%; 434,864 / 704,155 = 61.8%; Italy 23,637 / 1,306,404 = 1.8%; revenue outside the United States in Q2 2026 704,155 - 434,864 = 269,291, 38.2%. Payment rails in Q1 2026: 0.75 x 0.33 = 24.8% of revenue through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, 601,321 x 0.248 = about $149 million, on which a 15% to 30% fee is $22 million to $45 million; 0.75 x 0.67 = 50.3% through payment processors. Acquisitions: aggregate enterprise value 194 + 876 + 1,920 + 2,010 = $5,000 million for 2023, 2024, 2025 and Q1 2026. AOL contributed 65,500 / 141,800 = 46.2% pre-tax margin in Q1 2026 and 156 / 294 = 53.1% over six months; its FY2025 carve-out operating margin 333,610 / 633,365 = 52.7%, United States share 620,393 / 633,365 = 98.0%, purchase price 1,454,432 / 633,365 = 2.3 times carve-out revenue. Miro 1,355 / 600 = 2.3 times annual recurring revenue; Airtable 1,285 / 480 = 2.7 times; the two together 480 + 600 = about $1,080 million of annual recurring revenue. Tractive 896 - 115 = $781 million payable at closing. Pro-forma FY2025 interest 368,113 / 508,758 = 72.3% of operating income and net margin 22,374 / 2,608,496 = 0.9%. Cumulative net income attributable 2023 to 2025: 160,773 + 89,513 - 137 = 250,149. More acquisition arithmetic: average enterprise value per completed acquisition 194 / 1 = 194 (2023), 876 / 5 = 175 (2024), 1,920 / 6 = 320 (2025), 2,010 / 2 = 1,005 (Q1 2026); acquisitions closed in 2026 to 20 October = 4 (AOL, Eventbrite, Tractive, Airtable), with Miro agreed and expected to close in Q4; Airtable plus Miro enterprise value 1,285 + 1,355 = 2,640, against 480 + 600 = 1,080 of annual recurring revenue, which is more than the 671 of revenue Bending Spoons earned in all of 2024. Adjusted against reported operating income: 137,441 / 84,267 = 1.63 times (2023) and 613,247 / 277,851 = 2.21 times (2025). Cumulative revenue 2023 to 2025: 387,067 + 671,053 + 1,306,404 = 2,364,524. Interest 142,601 / 32,605 = 4.4 times. Customer tenure split, Q1 2026: 48% at five years or more less 28% at ten years or more = 20% between five and ten years, and 100% - 48% = 52% under five years. Conversion: WeTransfer 1,000,000 / 58,000,000 = 1.7%, Brightcove 1,700 / 15,000 = 11.3%, and 58,000,000 / 15,000 = about 3,900 times the user base. Mobile application stores as a share of gross accounts receivable 95% - 47% = 48 points lower over two years. Deferred revenue 583,265 / 2,041,834 = 28.6% of trailing revenue. Addressable revenue outside North America and Europe about 400 - 315 - 77 = $8 billion. People: 2,284 / 405 = 5.6 times the end-2023 headcount; Spooners 621 / 2,284 = 27.2%; hires 286 / 800,000 = 0.036% of applications; Evernote 60 / 341 - 1 = -82.4%; StreamYard 44 / 154 - 1 = -71.4%; Evernote's annual personal price 130 / 70 - 1 = +86%. Addressable market already owned 1,306 / 400,000 = 0.3%. A 10% euro move 18,821 / 1,306,404 = 1.4% of 2025 revenue - growth rates, margins, acquisition and headcount arithmetic. — 2023-2026 · publ. October 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Bending Spoons' Form 424B4 prospectus, its Q2 2026 Form 6-K exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 and the cited market data; the operands are shown in the source line.
  3. ReportedBending Spoons generates most of its advertising revenue through intermediaries such as programmatic networks and media agencies, and in those cases does not interact directly with advertisers.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business and MD&A sections on revenue by type and by geography. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIt sells a portion of inventory directly, primarily on WeTransfer.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the audited consolidated financial statements, the Q1 2026 interim and the MD&A on results of operations and tax. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedIn the first quarter of 2026 advertising was driven primarily by AOL, Remini, and WeTransfer, and AOL's own carve-out accounts for 2025 show revenue of $633.365 million split between subscriptions of $371.517 million, display advertising of $240.087 million, search advertising of $11.312 million and other revenue of $10.449 million.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedIn the first quarter of 2026 advertising was driven primarily by AOL, Remini, and WeTransfer, and AOL's own carve-out accounts for 2025 show revenue of $633.365 million split between subscriptions of $371.517 million, display advertising of $240.087 million, search advertising of $11.312 million and other revenue of $10.449 million.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedIt is also the part of the revenue most exposed to the privacy rules, because programmatic advertising depends on the targeting and measurement data that restrictions on cookies and other tracking technologies, limitations on access to device identifiers, and requirements for user consent are removing.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Item 3.D risk factors and the notes on legal proceedings. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIts 2025 carve-out accounts show $620.393 million of its $633.365 million of revenue in the United States, 98.0% of it, so the advertising line is effectively an American business inside an Italian company.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. Moat Explorer calcIts 2025 carve-out accounts show $620.393 million of its $633.365 million of revenue in the United States, 98.0% of it, so the advertising line is effectively an American business inside an Italian company.
    Moat Explorer calculation from figures reported in Bending Spoons' Form 424B4 prospectus, its Q2 2026 Form 6-K exhibits and the market data cited beside them ($ thousands unless stated). Revenue growth: 671,053 / 387,067 - 1 = 73.4%; 1,306,404 / 671,053 - 1 = 94.7%; 2,800,000 / 1,306,404 - 1 = 114% on the FY2026 guidance midpoint (2,780,000 + 2,820,000) / 2 = 2,800,000; Adjusted Operating Income guidance midpoint (1,460,000 + 1,510,000) / 2 = 1,485,000. Trailing twelve months to 30 June 2026: revenue 1,306,404 + 1,305,476 - 570,046 = 2,041,834; net income (204) + 204,433 - (46,953) = 251,182; operating cash flow 290,600 + 254,240 - 87,733 = 457,107; net margin 251,182 / 2,041,834 = 12.3%. Revenue by type, trailing twelve months: subscription 1,213,194 + 1,047,991 - 521,571 = 1,739,614; advertising 67,253 + 158,811 - 35,791 = 190,273; other 25,958 + 98,674 - 12,684 = 111,948; sum 2,041,835. Subscription share 1,739,614 / 2,041,834 = 85.2%. Q2 2026 revenue mix: subscription 540,790 / 704,155 = 76.8%; advertising 88,637 / 704,155 = 12.6%; other 74,728 / 704,155 = 10.6%. Q2 growth by line: 540,790 / 282,138 - 1 = 91.7%; 88,637 / 19,285 - 1 = 359.6%; 74,728 / 9,676 - 1 = 672.1%. FY2025 by line: 1,213,194 / 616,418 - 1 = 96.8%; 67,253 / 52,690 - 1 = 27.6%; 25,958 / 1,945 = 13.3 times. Gross margin: 236,518 / 387,067 = 61.1%; 428,851 / 671,053 = 63.9%; 857,270 / 1,306,404 = 65.6%; 463,621 / 704,155 = 65.8%; 871,825 / 1,305,476 = 66.8%. Operating margin: 84,267 / 387,067 = 21.8%; 127,352 / 671,053 = 19.0%; 277,851 / 1,306,404 = 21.3%; 240,251 / 704,155 = 34.1%. General and administrative expense 326,953 / 1,306,404 = 25.0% of 2025 revenue. Costs excluded from Adjusted Operating Income in 2025: 150,532 + 85,466 + 78,607 + 20,790 = 335,395, which is also 613,247 - 277,851 = 335,396. The same four lines across 2023, 2024 and 2025: (13,514 + 848 + 33,809) + (51,792 + 31,952 + 85,947) + (78,607 + 85,466 + 150,532) = 48,171 + 169,691 + 314,605 = 532,467. Interest: 142,601 / 32,605 = 4.4 times; 108,970 / 35,733 - 1 = 205%; 142,601 / 277,851 = 51.3% of 2025 operating income; interest paid 161,153 / 254,240 = 63.4% of H1 2026 operating cash flow. Research and development 58,204 / 19,398 = 3.0 times; sales and marketing 72,679 / 30,696 = 2.4 times. Balance sheet at 30 June 2026: total debt 794,141 + 4,086,939 = 4,881,080 (415,260 + 2,255,622 = 2,670,882 at 31 December 2025); net debt 4,881,080 - 792,950 = 4,088,130; net debt / equity 4,088,130 / 1,258,412 = 3.25 times; goodwill and intangibles 4,146,212 + 2,156,607 = 6,302,819, which is 6,302,819 / 8,055,399 = 78.2% of assets; tangible book 1,258,412 - 6,302,819 = (5,044,407); goodwill 4,146,212 / 163,863 = 25.3 times the 31 December 2023 balance. Free cash flow H1 2026 254,240 - 3,969 = 250,271. Deferred revenue 583,265 / 450,499 - 1 = 29.5%. Net cash inside the two enterprise deals: Airtable equity value about 2,250 less enterprise value 1,285 = about 965 of net cash; Miro 1,790 less 1,355 = about 435; the two together 965 + 435 = about 1,400, against combined equity value 2,250 + 1,790 = about 4,040. Valuation and rail arithmetic: market value 28,289 / pro-forma FY2025 net income 22.374 = about 1,264 times earnings; store commission of 22 to 45 against Q1 2026 gross profit of 408,204 = 5.4% to 11.0%; store fee 15% to 30% against processor fees of 5% or less = three to six times. Per-unit arithmetic: trailing revenue 2,041,834 / 9,000 thousand paying customers = about $227 a year each; other revenue 74,728 / 25,958 = 2.9 times all of 2025; advertising expense at 6% of 2025 revenue 1,306,404 x 0.06 = about 78,384. Customer and per-unit arithmetic: a customer below 1% of Q2 2026 revenue of 704,155 is below 7,042, so under $7.0 million a quarter. Market value at $44.17 on 20 October 2026: 330,222,651 + 310,240,685 = 640,463,336 shares; 640,463,336 x 44.17 = $28,289 million. Trailing price-to-earnings 28,289 / 251.2 = 112.6; price-to-sales 28,289 / 2,041.8 = 13.9; enterprise value 28,289 + 4,088 = 32,377; 32,377 / 1,485 = 21.8 times guided Adjusted Operating Income; forward price-to-sales 28,289 / 2,800 = 10.1. Price against the 52-week high 44.17 / 59.50 - 1 = -25.8%; against the offering price 44.17 / 29.00 - 1 = +52.3%. Shares after the Berkshire placement 640,463,336 + 10,000,000 = 650,463,336. Berkshire's July tranche 600 / 29.00 = about 20.7 million shares, plus 10.0 million at $33.00 = about 30.7 million. New investors paid 29.00 / 1.00 = 29 times the $1.00 average price of the pre-offering equity. Votes: 310,240,685 x 5 = 1,551,203,425 against 1,551,203,425 + 324,978,625 = 1,876,182,050 total votes = 82.68%; equity 310,240,685 / 635,219,310 = 48.84%. Luca Querella's holding 310,240,685 - 234,315,380 = 75,925,305 class A shares, 75,925,305 x 5 / 1,876,182,050 = 20.2% of the votes. Geography: 201,424 / 387,067 = 52.0%; 347,942 / 671,053 = 51.9%; 642,140 / 1,306,404 = 49.2%; 434,864 / 704,155 = 61.8%; Italy 23,637 / 1,306,404 = 1.8%; revenue outside the United States in Q2 2026 704,155 - 434,864 = 269,291, 38.2%. Payment rails in Q1 2026: 0.75 x 0.33 = 24.8% of revenue through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, 601,321 x 0.248 = about $149 million, on which a 15% to 30% fee is $22 million to $45 million; 0.75 x 0.67 = 50.3% through payment processors. Acquisitions: aggregate enterprise value 194 + 876 + 1,920 + 2,010 = $5,000 million for 2023, 2024, 2025 and Q1 2026. AOL contributed 65,500 / 141,800 = 46.2% pre-tax margin in Q1 2026 and 156 / 294 = 53.1% over six months; its FY2025 carve-out operating margin 333,610 / 633,365 = 52.7%, United States share 620,393 / 633,365 = 98.0%, purchase price 1,454,432 / 633,365 = 2.3 times carve-out revenue. Miro 1,355 / 600 = 2.3 times annual recurring revenue; Airtable 1,285 / 480 = 2.7 times; the two together 480 + 600 = about $1,080 million of annual recurring revenue. Tractive 896 - 115 = $781 million payable at closing. Pro-forma FY2025 interest 368,113 / 508,758 = 72.3% of operating income and net margin 22,374 / 2,608,496 = 0.9%. Cumulative net income attributable 2023 to 2025: 160,773 + 89,513 - 137 = 250,149. More acquisition arithmetic: average enterprise value per completed acquisition 194 / 1 = 194 (2023), 876 / 5 = 175 (2024), 1,920 / 6 = 320 (2025), 2,010 / 2 = 1,005 (Q1 2026); acquisitions closed in 2026 to 20 October = 4 (AOL, Eventbrite, Tractive, Airtable), with Miro agreed and expected to close in Q4; Airtable plus Miro enterprise value 1,285 + 1,355 = 2,640, against 480 + 600 = 1,080 of annual recurring revenue, which is more than the 671 of revenue Bending Spoons earned in all of 2024. Adjusted against reported operating income: 137,441 / 84,267 = 1.63 times (2023) and 613,247 / 277,851 = 2.21 times (2025). Cumulative revenue 2023 to 2025: 387,067 + 671,053 + 1,306,404 = 2,364,524. Interest 142,601 / 32,605 = 4.4 times. Customer tenure split, Q1 2026: 48% at five years or more less 28% at ten years or more = 20% between five and ten years, and 100% - 48% = 52% under five years. Conversion: WeTransfer 1,000,000 / 58,000,000 = 1.7%, Brightcove 1,700 / 15,000 = 11.3%, and 58,000,000 / 15,000 = about 3,900 times the user base. Mobile application stores as a share of gross accounts receivable 95% - 47% = 48 points lower over two years. Deferred revenue 583,265 / 2,041,834 = 28.6% of trailing revenue. Addressable revenue outside North America and Europe about 400 - 315 - 77 = $8 billion. People: 2,284 / 405 = 5.6 times the end-2023 headcount; Spooners 621 / 2,284 = 27.2%; hires 286 / 800,000 = 0.036% of applications; Evernote 60 / 341 - 1 = -82.4%; StreamYard 44 / 154 - 1 = -71.4%; Evernote's annual personal price 130 / 70 - 1 = +86%. Addressable market already owned 1,306 / 400,000 = 0.3%. A 10% euro move 18,821 / 1,306,404 = 1.4% of 2025 revenue - revenue mix, geography, payment rails and penetration arithmetic. — 2023-2026 · publ. October 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Bending Spoons' Form 424B4 prospectus, its Q2 2026 Form 6-K exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 and the cited market data; the operands are shown in the source line.
  10. Moat Explorer calcThat is also why the group's American revenue share jumped from 49.2% in 2025 to 61.8% in the second quarter of 2026.
    Moat Explorer calculation from figures reported in Bending Spoons' Form 424B4 prospectus, its Q2 2026 Form 6-K exhibits and the market data cited beside them ($ thousands unless stated). Revenue growth: 671,053 / 387,067 - 1 = 73.4%; 1,306,404 / 671,053 - 1 = 94.7%; 2,800,000 / 1,306,404 - 1 = 114% on the FY2026 guidance midpoint (2,780,000 + 2,820,000) / 2 = 2,800,000; Adjusted Operating Income guidance midpoint (1,460,000 + 1,510,000) / 2 = 1,485,000. Trailing twelve months to 30 June 2026: revenue 1,306,404 + 1,305,476 - 570,046 = 2,041,834; net income (204) + 204,433 - (46,953) = 251,182; operating cash flow 290,600 + 254,240 - 87,733 = 457,107; net margin 251,182 / 2,041,834 = 12.3%. Revenue by type, trailing twelve months: subscription 1,213,194 + 1,047,991 - 521,571 = 1,739,614; advertising 67,253 + 158,811 - 35,791 = 190,273; other 25,958 + 98,674 - 12,684 = 111,948; sum 2,041,835. Subscription share 1,739,614 / 2,041,834 = 85.2%. Q2 2026 revenue mix: subscription 540,790 / 704,155 = 76.8%; advertising 88,637 / 704,155 = 12.6%; other 74,728 / 704,155 = 10.6%. Q2 growth by line: 540,790 / 282,138 - 1 = 91.7%; 88,637 / 19,285 - 1 = 359.6%; 74,728 / 9,676 - 1 = 672.1%. FY2025 by line: 1,213,194 / 616,418 - 1 = 96.8%; 67,253 / 52,690 - 1 = 27.6%; 25,958 / 1,945 = 13.3 times. Gross margin: 236,518 / 387,067 = 61.1%; 428,851 / 671,053 = 63.9%; 857,270 / 1,306,404 = 65.6%; 463,621 / 704,155 = 65.8%; 871,825 / 1,305,476 = 66.8%. Operating margin: 84,267 / 387,067 = 21.8%; 127,352 / 671,053 = 19.0%; 277,851 / 1,306,404 = 21.3%; 240,251 / 704,155 = 34.1%. General and administrative expense 326,953 / 1,306,404 = 25.0% of 2025 revenue. Costs excluded from Adjusted Operating Income in 2025: 150,532 + 85,466 + 78,607 + 20,790 = 335,395, which is also 613,247 - 277,851 = 335,396. The same four lines across 2023, 2024 and 2025: (13,514 + 848 + 33,809) + (51,792 + 31,952 + 85,947) + (78,607 + 85,466 + 150,532) = 48,171 + 169,691 + 314,605 = 532,467. Interest: 142,601 / 32,605 = 4.4 times; 108,970 / 35,733 - 1 = 205%; 142,601 / 277,851 = 51.3% of 2025 operating income; interest paid 161,153 / 254,240 = 63.4% of H1 2026 operating cash flow. Research and development 58,204 / 19,398 = 3.0 times; sales and marketing 72,679 / 30,696 = 2.4 times. Balance sheet at 30 June 2026: total debt 794,141 + 4,086,939 = 4,881,080 (415,260 + 2,255,622 = 2,670,882 at 31 December 2025); net debt 4,881,080 - 792,950 = 4,088,130; net debt / equity 4,088,130 / 1,258,412 = 3.25 times; goodwill and intangibles 4,146,212 + 2,156,607 = 6,302,819, which is 6,302,819 / 8,055,399 = 78.2% of assets; tangible book 1,258,412 - 6,302,819 = (5,044,407); goodwill 4,146,212 / 163,863 = 25.3 times the 31 December 2023 balance. Free cash flow H1 2026 254,240 - 3,969 = 250,271. Deferred revenue 583,265 / 450,499 - 1 = 29.5%. Net cash inside the two enterprise deals: Airtable equity value about 2,250 less enterprise value 1,285 = about 965 of net cash; Miro 1,790 less 1,355 = about 435; the two together 965 + 435 = about 1,400, against combined equity value 2,250 + 1,790 = about 4,040. Valuation and rail arithmetic: market value 28,289 / pro-forma FY2025 net income 22.374 = about 1,264 times earnings; store commission of 22 to 45 against Q1 2026 gross profit of 408,204 = 5.4% to 11.0%; store fee 15% to 30% against processor fees of 5% or less = three to six times. Per-unit arithmetic: trailing revenue 2,041,834 / 9,000 thousand paying customers = about $227 a year each; other revenue 74,728 / 25,958 = 2.9 times all of 2025; advertising expense at 6% of 2025 revenue 1,306,404 x 0.06 = about 78,384. Customer and per-unit arithmetic: a customer below 1% of Q2 2026 revenue of 704,155 is below 7,042, so under $7.0 million a quarter. Market value at $44.17 on 20 October 2026: 330,222,651 + 310,240,685 = 640,463,336 shares; 640,463,336 x 44.17 = $28,289 million. Trailing price-to-earnings 28,289 / 251.2 = 112.6; price-to-sales 28,289 / 2,041.8 = 13.9; enterprise value 28,289 + 4,088 = 32,377; 32,377 / 1,485 = 21.8 times guided Adjusted Operating Income; forward price-to-sales 28,289 / 2,800 = 10.1. Price against the 52-week high 44.17 / 59.50 - 1 = -25.8%; against the offering price 44.17 / 29.00 - 1 = +52.3%. Shares after the Berkshire placement 640,463,336 + 10,000,000 = 650,463,336. Berkshire's July tranche 600 / 29.00 = about 20.7 million shares, plus 10.0 million at $33.00 = about 30.7 million. New investors paid 29.00 / 1.00 = 29 times the $1.00 average price of the pre-offering equity. Votes: 310,240,685 x 5 = 1,551,203,425 against 1,551,203,425 + 324,978,625 = 1,876,182,050 total votes = 82.68%; equity 310,240,685 / 635,219,310 = 48.84%. Luca Querella's holding 310,240,685 - 234,315,380 = 75,925,305 class A shares, 75,925,305 x 5 / 1,876,182,050 = 20.2% of the votes. Geography: 201,424 / 387,067 = 52.0%; 347,942 / 671,053 = 51.9%; 642,140 / 1,306,404 = 49.2%; 434,864 / 704,155 = 61.8%; Italy 23,637 / 1,306,404 = 1.8%; revenue outside the United States in Q2 2026 704,155 - 434,864 = 269,291, 38.2%. Payment rails in Q1 2026: 0.75 x 0.33 = 24.8% of revenue through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, 601,321 x 0.248 = about $149 million, on which a 15% to 30% fee is $22 million to $45 million; 0.75 x 0.67 = 50.3% through payment processors. Acquisitions: aggregate enterprise value 194 + 876 + 1,920 + 2,010 = $5,000 million for 2023, 2024, 2025 and Q1 2026. AOL contributed 65,500 / 141,800 = 46.2% pre-tax margin in Q1 2026 and 156 / 294 = 53.1% over six months; its FY2025 carve-out operating margin 333,610 / 633,365 = 52.7%, United States share 620,393 / 633,365 = 98.0%, purchase price 1,454,432 / 633,365 = 2.3 times carve-out revenue. Miro 1,355 / 600 = 2.3 times annual recurring revenue; Airtable 1,285 / 480 = 2.7 times; the two together 480 + 600 = about $1,080 million of annual recurring revenue. Tractive 896 - 115 = $781 million payable at closing. Pro-forma FY2025 interest 368,113 / 508,758 = 72.3% of operating income and net margin 22,374 / 2,608,496 = 0.9%. Cumulative net income attributable 2023 to 2025: 160,773 + 89,513 - 137 = 250,149. More acquisition arithmetic: average enterprise value per completed acquisition 194 / 1 = 194 (2023), 876 / 5 = 175 (2024), 1,920 / 6 = 320 (2025), 2,010 / 2 = 1,005 (Q1 2026); acquisitions closed in 2026 to 20 October = 4 (AOL, Eventbrite, Tractive, Airtable), with Miro agreed and expected to close in Q4; Airtable plus Miro enterprise value 1,285 + 1,355 = 2,640, against 480 + 600 = 1,080 of annual recurring revenue, which is more than the 671 of revenue Bending Spoons earned in all of 2024. Adjusted against reported operating income: 137,441 / 84,267 = 1.63 times (2023) and 613,247 / 277,851 = 2.21 times (2025). Cumulative revenue 2023 to 2025: 387,067 + 671,053 + 1,306,404 = 2,364,524. Interest 142,601 / 32,605 = 4.4 times. Customer tenure split, Q1 2026: 48% at five years or more less 28% at ten years or more = 20% between five and ten years, and 100% - 48% = 52% under five years. Conversion: WeTransfer 1,000,000 / 58,000,000 = 1.7%, Brightcove 1,700 / 15,000 = 11.3%, and 58,000,000 / 15,000 = about 3,900 times the user base. Mobile application stores as a share of gross accounts receivable 95% - 47% = 48 points lower over two years. Deferred revenue 583,265 / 2,041,834 = 28.6% of trailing revenue. Addressable revenue outside North America and Europe about 400 - 315 - 77 = $8 billion. People: 2,284 / 405 = 5.6 times the end-2023 headcount; Spooners 621 / 2,284 = 27.2%; hires 286 / 800,000 = 0.036% of applications; Evernote 60 / 341 - 1 = -82.4%; StreamYard 44 / 154 - 1 = -71.4%; Evernote's annual personal price 130 / 70 - 1 = +86%. Addressable market already owned 1,306 / 400,000 = 0.3%. A 10% euro move 18,821 / 1,306,404 = 1.4% of 2025 revenue - revenue mix, geography, payment rails and penetration arithmetic. — 2023-2026 · publ. October 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Bending Spoons' Form 424B4 prospectus, its Q2 2026 Form 6-K exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 and the cited market data; the operands are shown in the source line.
  11. ReportedIt was 5% in 2023 and 12% in the first quarter of 2026, almost all of the increase acquired rather than grown.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the audited consolidated financial statements, the Q1 2026 interim and the MD&A on results of operations and tax. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 20, 2026