Codere upbeat on first-quarter earnings
Brevity was the order of the day at Codere Online’s May 7 earnings call. First-quarter results were reviewed and disposed of in 31 minutes. “We are very pleased with how we started 2026,” reported Chief Executive Aviv Sher.
Codere reported 183,000 monthly active users, a 14% increase, However, average spend per customer was down 1% at €177 (US$208)1 EUR = 1.1752 USD
2026-05-07Powered by CMG CurrenShift apiece. “This is consistent with a more-diverse and broader customer base,” Sher said
During the quarter, Codere saw 244,000 new registrations, of whom 90,000 became first-time depositors. The average cost of acquiring a player was €212 (US$249)1 EUR = 1.1752 USD
2026-05-07Powered by CMG CurrenShift, a slight increase. Sher said customer value was a higher priority than sheer number of players.
According to Chief Finance Officer Marcus Arildsson’s charts, monthly average users were on the rise and costs of acquisition were generally diminishing. The €212 (US$249)1 EUR = 1.1752 USD
2026-05-07Powered by CMG CurrenShift acquisition cost, he said, “reflects a more competitive start to the year.”
There were no stock repurchases in the quarter but Codere was described as evaluating further buybacks.
Arildsson added that the company was “seeing encouraging trends” in Panama and Colombia. At present, Mexico represented 53% of Codere’s business, with Spain responsible for 41%. Mexican promotions were being curbed, Arildsson said, to weed out unprofitable “bonus hunters.” He also teased a new content partnership with an unnamed Mexican TV network.
In Spain, “We are already reporting that we see good results,” said Sher, adding that it was important for the Iberian market to grow as well. Customer acquisition was, he said, being pushed “to a higher level” of player. “Overall, we are very happy.”
Sher was less happy with Colombia, where a disallowed, 19% value-added tax has been supplanted with a 16% “emergency” levy. “Basically, the 16% tax allows us to operate the current database that we have,” Sher explained. “Unfortunately, this current structure does allow us to invest into marketing.”
The Chief Executive said he was waiting for the forthcoming elections and hoping for a consequent change in Colombia’s political environment. If that were to happen, Sher said, investment would follow. He added that Codere had no plans for new markets at this time.
In spite of the impending World Cup tournament, Arildsson said it would provide a lift to business but not a major impact. There would be “a few weeks of impact” but no more than that.
Pressed to deploy Codere’s cash on hand, executives explained that the company seems like it’s quite liquid but the capital is not sufficient to do anything beyond buying back stock. Said Arildsson, “The cash we have is invested in the business an it’s working capital, and it’s not readily available.” He added that Codere was looking at “certain expansion opportunities” in its existing markets.
Regarding the use of artificial intelligence in Codere’s operations, Sher said, “We didn’t see any AI trading benefits,” although Codere uses it in customer service and other routine operations. At present, AI is not integrated into Codere’s core business, he said. “Two more quarters and we’ll see something substantial,” he promised.
David McKee is an award-winning journalist who has three decades of experience covering the gaming industry.
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The Backstory
Setting the scene
Codere Online’s upbeat first-quarter call capped a steady, yearlong reset that has balanced growth in core markets with tighter spending and tax headwinds. The company’s leadership framed the quarter as a continuation of trends that emerged late last year: Mexico remains the growth engine but faces higher levies, Spain is firming after a slow patch and the rest of Latin America is volatile. The trajectory was telegraphed in late 2025, when the operator swung from a prior-year profit to a small loss but still posted record fourth-quarter revenue and raised its cash generation, as detailed in full-year 2025 results. By early 2026, Codere reaffirmed guidance and reported double-digit gains in both Mexico and Spain, reinforcing that the commercial strategy was holding even as it curbed costly promotions and pruned less profitable cohorts.
The backdrop helps explain why management sounded confident while flagging limits on marketing in some countries and a pragmatic stance on capital allocation. The company remains focused on deepening share where it already operates rather than chasing new licenses.
Mexico’s pull, and its price
Mexico has become Codere’s center of gravity, outpacing Spain on revenue and active users. That shift accelerated through 2025 despite currency volatility and a soft sports margin, as recapped in third-quarter results showing flat reported Mexico revenue on a weaker peso. The company still grew Mexican actives sharply, a base it aimed to monetize more deliberately by trimming unprofitable bonuses and pushing higher-value acquisition this year. That discipline showed up again this quarter with efforts to weed out “bonus hunters.”
The bigger headwind is taxation. Mexico raised the gaming excise to 50% from 30% on Jan. 1, a step management had warned about while asserting revenue resiliency and a plan to offset part of the hit with efficiency, as outlined in remarks on Mexico’s tax turn and operating response. The message has stayed consistent: the market remains attractive on customer economics, competitors have faced disruptions and the company sees no need to chase volume with giveaways. Currency remains a swing factor, as seen when reported fourth-quarter Mexico revenue was flat but up double digits in constant currency. The first quarter continued that pattern, with Mexico supplying more than half of group activity and management teasing a local media content deal to deepen reach without bloating acquisition costs.
Spain’s return to form
Spain, the company’s legacy market, has steadied after a period of plateauing results. Late last year Codere pointed to two consecutive quarters of Iberian growth while avoiding a race to the bottom on promotions, a stance reiterated in fourth-quarter commentary about prioritizing healthy unit economics. The revenue mix also tilted toward igaming, a more stable line than sports.
That momentum carried into early 2026. The company highlighted an acceleration in Spain in the fourth quarter, then followed with a double-digit lift in the first quarter, as documented in the fourth-quarter summary and a first-quarter performance update that showed Spain outpacing group growth. The strategic thread is consistent: push acquisition “to a higher level” of player, sustain engagement with broader content and avoid overspending on low-value segments. With Mexico absorbing more regulatory friction, Spain’s resilience has become a crucial offset that underpins the company’s reiterated 2026 guidance.
Colombia, Panama and the gaps in between
Outside the two pillars, conditions are mixed. Codere’s “other” markets have underperformed since mid-2025, a trend that reflected both macro strain and regulatory noise. In the third quarter, revenue in these jurisdictions fell by nearly a third and active customers dropped by more than one third, according to the third-quarter breakdown. The fourth quarter stabilized off a smaller base but remained uneven, with actives still declining year over year even as revenue ticked up, per the fourth-quarter report.
Colombia is the most fluid. A value-added tax expired at the start of the year, then gave way to a 16% “emergency” levy that allows the company to operate the existing database but not invest in growth until policy clears up. That stance echoes the wait-and-see posture executives described earlier, when they said they would stay on the sidelines until the rules were clear and consistent, as noted in management’s fourth-quarter view on Colombia’s uncertainty. Panama has shown encouraging signs, but management has not broken out meaningful contribution. The upshot: capital and focus remain anchored to Mexico and Spain while the rest of the region is managed for cash and optionality.
Cash, buybacks and a tight grip on costs
Codere has leaned on cost discipline and selective marketing to protect margins. Marketing spend fell late last year even as active users rose, a dynamic leadership credited to better targeting and retention, per the fourth-quarter call. That carried into the new year, with acquisition spend rising slightly in a more competitive first quarter but with a stated emphasis on customer value over pure sign-ups.
The balance sheet is clean and liquid, but management has played down big-ticket moves. The company ended 2025 with about €50 million in cash and no debt, then lifted cash further in early 2026, as shown in year-end figures and the first-quarter update. Yet executives said the cash is largely working capital and not readily deployable for deals. Buybacks remain the primary lever. Codere repurchased shares in 2025 and maintained a broader authorization that was extended through the end of 2026, according to third-quarter disclosures on the buyback plan. There were no repurchases in the latest quarter, but management kept the option open while scanning for small expansions inside current markets.
Guidance holds as events and tech stay in perspective
Codere has kept its 2026 revenue outlook at €235 million to €245 million and cash flow at €15 million to €20 million, consistent with the tone from late February and confirmed again alongside its May results in the first-quarter performance piece. A bigger sports calendar should help, but executives cautioned that the World Cup effect will be brief, lasting only a few weeks. The company also tempered expectations on artificial intelligence, saying it is useful in service and routines but not yet a trading edge.
The stakes are straightforward. Mexico’s taxes and currency can whipsaw reported growth, but the customer base is expanding at healthy economics. Spain’s steadier climb provides ballast. Elsewhere, Codere is preserving cash until regulations settle. The first quarter shows the plan working: more actives, better mix, restrained promo spend and a willingness to forgo low-return growth. That is the context for the upbeat tone now, and the risk guardrails if conditions turn.
