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Original-Research: q.beyond AG - from NuWays AG

30.01.2026 / 09:00 CET/CEST
Dissemination of a Research, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS
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Classification of NuWays AG to q.beyond AG

Company Name: q.beyond AG
ISIN: DE0005137004

Reason for the research: Update
Recommendation: BUY
Target price: EUR 1.3
Target price on sight of: 12 months
Last rating change:
Analyst: Philipp Sennewald

Strong Q4 as FY25p is largely in line with est.

Topic: Ahead of today's EGM, QBY yesterday released preliminary, unaudited
FY25 figures, showing stable top-line development and improved
profitability. The final FY25 report will be released on March 30th. In
detail:

FY25p sales came in at EUR 183m (eNuW: EUR 184m; eCons: EUR 184m), up 1.4% on a
comparable basis when eliminating accounting changes affecting EUR 13m of FY24
sales. This implies Q4p sales of EUR 48.2m (-5.9% reported), showing
sequential improvements vs. Q2 and Q3. While the company did not provide
segment details, we expect Consulting to have shown another strong quarter
driven by improved utilization.

Preliminary EBITDA came in at EUR 12.3m (eNuW: EUR 12.1m; eCons: EUR 12.7m),
implying an 6.7% margin (+1.2pp yoy). While the FY figure was to a certain
extent supported by one-off effects to the tune of EUR 2.6m (adjusted margin
of 5.3% or -0.2pp yoy), the Q4 operating EBITDA was in line with Q4'24 at EUR
4.2m, but at an improved margin of 8.7% (+0.5pp yoy). In addition to the
improvements in Consulting, we see the increased near- and off-shoring
ratio, now at 20%, as one of the main drivers for this. Until YE'27, we
expect QBY to increase this ratio to 30%, which alone should translate into
a gross margin improvement of 2pp (eNuW).

FCF came in at EUR 5.5m (company definition: change in liquidity), resulting
in a comfortable net cash position (excluding lease liabilities) of EUR 42m,
or EUR 0.34 per share leaving ample room for potential M&A (eNuW: at least one
acquisition in FY26). Moreover, management reiterated in yesterday's press
release the aim to distribute dividends and buy back shares following the
proposed capital reduction at today's EGM.

Overall, the company achieved its revised FY25 targets, including positive
net income (EUR 2.5m) in a continued tough environment. We expect management
to issue a new guidance for FY26 with the release of the final FY25 report
end of March. In our view, FY26 will remain a challenging year for the
IT-service industry, yet outgrowing the broader economy with 5.8% market
growth (Bitkom). In our view, QBY should be able to slightly outperform
given the high potential in Managed Services and a structurally improving
delivery mix, that shifts more and more toward higher-value consulting,
AIenabled services and vertical-specific solutions, which tend to be more
resilient and margin accretive even in cautious IT spending environments. In
sum, QBY should grow sales by 7% to EUR 197m and continue to expand
profitability as we see EBITDA to come in at EUR 16.6m (8.4% margin, all
eNuW).

Overall, the solid Q4 has shown that the case, which is focused on steady
margin expansion and cash generation, remains fully intact. On the other
hand, the stock is currently trading at a mere 3.9x FY26e EV/EBITDA, which
compares to an 8.0x peer group median. Reiterate BUY with an unchanged EUR
1.30 PT based on DCF.

You can download the research here:
https://eqs-cockpit.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=6c4e35caddb444a411732543e5067660
For additional information visit our website:
https://www.nuways-ag.com/research-feed

Contact for questions:
NuWays AG - Equity Research
Web: www.nuways-ag.com
Email: research@nuways-ag.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nuwaysag
Adresse: Mittelweg 16-17, 20148 Hamburg, Germany
++++++++++
Diese Meldung ist keine Anlageberatung oder Aufforderung zum Abschluss
bestimmter Börsengeschäfte.
Offenlegung möglicher Interessenskonflikte nach § 85 WpHG beim oben
analysierten Unternehmen befinden sich in der vollständigen Analyse.
++++++++++

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2268544 30.01.2026 CET/CEST

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