The Toll-Booth EconomicsWide moat

GPW (GPW) — moat facet

A toll road whose running costs rose 143% in nine years against revenue up 78%; the monopoly held, the margin did not.

GPW's economics are those of a toll road, with one qualification the filings make plain: the road has become more expensive to run.

Revenue and operating expenses (zl m)Operating expensesRevenue2016150,2310,92019181,0337,42022254,9389,32025364,8551,9
Costs rose 143% from 2016 to 2025, revenue 78%: the gap between the two narrowed.

The toll side is real. The group earns fees on share trading, listing, data, benchmarks, energy trading, clearing and registers. In 2025 trading made up 60,4% of revenue, 42,7% from the financial market and 17,7% from the commodity market1, and the rest came from fees that do not move with turnover as much. Capital needs are modest: capital expenditure was 74,7 million złoty in 20252, and the policy pays out 60–80% of profit3.

The cost side is where the picture changed. Revenue rose from 310,9 million złoty in 2016 to 551,9 million in 2025, 78%, while operating expenses rose from 150,2 million to 364,8 million, 143%4. Salaries went from 49,9 million to 143,0 million and outside services from 38,6 million to 107,8 million5. The reported EBITDA margin fell from 61,1% in 2017 to 26,9% in 20246; 2024 also carried 42,0 million złoty of other expenses7.

The boom then showed the leverage. In 2025 revenue rose 18,7% and adjusted EBITDA 37,7%8, and in the first half of 2026 the EBITDA margin reached 43,1% with costs at 60,8% of revenue9. But in the second quarter alone adjusted net profit rose 1,1% on revenue up 7,9%10, as costs grew 11,0% for the half11.

The number to watch is cost growth against revenue growth. Operating expenses grew 11,0% in the first half of 202612; if they keep growing at that pace when turnover stops, the margin returns to where it was in 2024.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Stable — the most durable, defining part of the story. Capital-light, high-margin, cash-generative economics endure across cycles; they don't widen so much as reliably persist, which is the whole point of a toll booth.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Dividend per share
3,40 złoty paid August 2026, +7,9%; 72,2% of profit

The payout follows profit; a cut would follow the next bad year for turnover.

Source: GPW H1 2026 interim report ↗
Aspects of the moat
DIG DEEPER 01
High Operating Margins
The EBITDA margin was 61% in 2017, 27% in 2024 and 43% in the 2026 boom: high for industry, low for GPW's own past.
DIG DEEPER 02
Recurring & Diversified Fees
Many small tolls rather than one big one — listing, trading, clearing, data.
DIG DEEPER 03
Capital-Light & Cash-Generative
Little to reinvest, so most of the profit is genuinely surplus.
DIG DEEPER 04
The Dividend Machine
A 60-80% payout policy — the yield was the story until the re-rating shrank it.
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
High Margins on a Small Base
Excellent economics on a modest absolute scale — a small fortune's fortress.
⚠ THREAT 02
A Cost Base That Doesn't Flex Down
Fixed costs are the boom's virtue and the bust's trap.
References
  1. ReportedIn 2025 trading made up 60,4% of revenue, 42,7% from the financial market and 17,7% from the commodity market, and the rest came from fees that do not move with turnover as much.
    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 ↗
  2. ReportedCapital needs are modest: capital expenditure was 74,7 million złoty in 2025, and the policy pays out 60–80% of profit.
    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 ↗
  3. ReportedCapital needs are modest: capital expenditure was 74,7 million złoty in 2025, and the policy pays out 60–80% of profit.
    GPW Management Board report on 2025 - GPW shares and shareholders: EPS, dividend per share 2021-2025, dividend yield, P/E, share price, payout rates, State Treasury 35,01% of shares and 51,80% of votes — FY2021-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedRevenue rose from 310,9 million złoty in 2016 to 551,9 million in 2025, 78%, while operating expenses rose from 150,2 million to 364,8 million, 143%.
    GPW Group Basic financial data workbook (to Q2 2026) - consolidated income statement 2007-2025, EBITDA and margins, employee and external-service costs — 2015-2025 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedSalaries went from 49,9 million to 143,0 million and outside services from 38,6 million to 107,8 million.
    GPW Group Basic financial data workbook (to Q2 2026) - consolidated income statement 2007-2025, EBITDA and margins, employee and external-service costs — 2015-2025 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe reported EBITDA margin fell from 61,1% in 2017 to 26,9% in 2024; 2024 also carried 42,0 million złoty of other expenses.
    GPW Group Basic financial data workbook (to Q2 2026) - consolidated income statement 2007-2025, EBITDA and margins, employee and external-service costs — 2015-2025 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedThe reported EBITDA margin fell from 61,1% in 2017 to 26,9% in 2024; 2024 also carried 42,0 million złoty of other expenses.
    GPW Group Basic financial data workbook (to Q2 2026) - consolidated income statement 2007-2025, EBITDA and margins, employee and external-service costs — 2015-2025 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIn 2025 revenue rose 18,7% and adjusted EBITDA 37,7%, and in the first half of 2026 the EBITDA margin reached 43,1% with costs at 60,8% of revenue.
    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 ↗
  9. ReportedIn 2025 revenue rose 18,7% and adjusted EBITDA 37,7%, and in the first half of 2026 the EBITDA margin reached 43,1% with costs at 60,8% of revenue.
    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 ↗
  10. ReportedBut in the second quarter alone adjusted net profit rose 1,1% on revenue up 7,9%, as costs grew 11,0% for the half.
    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 ↗
  11. ReportedBut in the second quarter alone adjusted net profit rose 1,1% on revenue up 7,9%, as costs grew 11,0% for the half.
    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 ↗
  12. ReportedOperating expenses grew 11,0% in the first half of 2026; if they keep growing at that pace when turnover stops, the margin returns to where it was in 2024.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026