✦ WATS & GlobalConnectThin moat

GPW (GPW) — the future bets

If Poles can't buy global shares in Warsaw they'll buy them abroad, taking the commission and the data — keeping that flow domestic is defensive revenue.

GPW's least visible bet is its trading system. WATS replaces technology licensed from abroad with an in-house platform; its budget is 173,0 million złoty1, about a third of a year's revenue2. The launch was postponed in October 2025 after tests and dress rehearsals3, and spending on it rose 21,4% in the first half of 2026 ahead of the planned launch4.

WATS budget against annual capex (zl m)173,0WATS budget55,2Capex 202474,7Capex 2025GPW Q2 2026 results presentation; GPW Management Board report 2025
The new trading system costs more than two years of normal capital spending.

The system matters because it ends a dependency on a foreign vendor and lets GPW add instruments and services on its own timetable. It will also add depreciation once it is live5.

GlobalConnect is the smaller bet: foreign shares and ETFs traded in Warsaw, so that Polish investors who want global equities do not have to leave. Its turnover was 212,7 million złoty in 20256, against 491,9 billion on the Main Market7.

Watch WATS go live without an outage, and GlobalConnect turnover against the main market. For an exchange, the absence of an incident is itself the result.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Both are sensible and both are small — GlobalConnect turnover is measured in tens of millions against a main market in tens of billions, and a trading-system migration succeeds by being uneventful. Holding steady until GlobalConnect grows materially faster than total turnover and WATS is live without incident.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
GlobalConnect turnover, monthly
~17,0m zł (vs 57,6bn zł main market)

Sensible and small: keeping Polish investors' foreign-share flow domestic is defensive revenue, and WATS ends a dependency on a foreign vendor. Watch GlobalConnect growing materially faster than total turnover, and watch WATS go live without incident — for an exchange, the absence of an outage is itself a result.

Source: GPW market statistics; Management Board report ↗
References
  1. ReportedWATS replaces technology licensed from abroad with an in-house platform; its budget is 173,0 million złoty, about a third of a year's revenue.
    GPW Q2 and H1 2026 financial results presentation - adjusted results, cash flow, liquid assets, WATS budget, listed-company count 2020-2026, OKI and S&P reclassification, AMX — Q2 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcWATS replaces technology licensed from abroad with an in-house platform; its budget is 173,0 million złoty, about a third of a year's revenue.
    Moat Explorer calculations from GPW's filed figures — 2016 - H1 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Growth rates and shares from the filed series; State Treasury dividend = 14 695 470 shares x 3,40 złoty; KDPW share of net profit = 44,4 / 197,6; WATS budget / 2025 revenue; revenue per employee = TTM revenue / FTEs
  3. ReportedThe launch was postponed in October 2025 after tests and dress rehearsals, and spending on it rose 21,4% in the first half of 2026 ahead of the planned launch.
    GPW Management Board report on 2025 - market statistics: EOB turnover against European exchanges, investor shares of turnover, listings and delistings, securities accounts, fund inflows, OKI, GlobalConnect, WATS postponement, POLSTR bonds, IPO Academy — FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe launch was postponed in October 2025 after tests and dress rehearsals, and spending on it rose 21,4% in the first half of 2026 ahead of the planned launch.
    GPW Q2 and H1 2026 financial results presentation - adjusted results, cash flow, liquid assets, WATS budget, listed-company count 2020-2026, OKI and S&P reclassification, AMX — Q2 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedIt will also add depreciation once it is live.
    GPW Group interim report for H1 2026 - revenue by line, turnover, listings, TGE volumes, operating expenses, FTEs, ratios, dividend, associates (KDPW 33,33%) — H1 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedIts turnover was 212,7 million złoty in 2025, against 491,9 billion on the Main Market.
    GPW Management Board report on 2025 - market statistics: EOB turnover against European exchanges, investor shares of turnover, listings and delistings, securities accounts, fund inflows, OKI, GlobalConnect, WATS postponement, POLSTR bonds, IPO Academy — FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedIts turnover was 212,7 million złoty in 2025, against 491,9 billion on the Main Market.
    GPW Management Board report on 2025 - financial review: revenue by line 2023-2025, financial and commodity market revenue, operating expenses, FTEs, capital expenditure, impairments — FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026