High Operating MarginsWide moat

GPW (GPW) — moat facet

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.

GPW's margin is high by the standards of most industries and low by the standards of its own past. The reported EBITDA margin was 54,9% in 2015, 61,1% in 2017, 52,8% in 2021, 36,0% in 2023, 26,9% in 2024 and 39,2% in 20251.

EBITDA margin (%)54,9%201561,1%201757,7%201952,8%202143,0%202236,0%202326,9%202439,2%202543,1%H1 2026GPW Basic financial data workbook; GPW H1 2026 interim report
From 61% to 27% in seven years, and back to 43% in the boom.

The fall is not a mystery. The group built a technology programme to replace its licensed trading system, expanded its staff and ran a set of ventures outside the exchange, and the cost base more than doubled: operating expenses were 150,2 million złoty in 2016 and 364,8 million in 20252. Headcount rose to 602 full-time equivalents at the end of 2025 and 612 at mid-202634.

The boom has pulled the margin back up. The first half of 2026 reached 43,1%5 because turnover on the Main Market rose 27,4%6 while the cost base grew 11,0%7. That is operating leverage working, on a base that is larger than it was.

The test is whether the margin holds above 40% in a year when turnover does not rise. It did not in 2023, when revenue grew 14,3% and the margin still fell to 36,0%8.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

The EBITDA margin fell from 61,1% in 2017 to 26,9% in 2024 as costs outgrew revenue; the boom lifted it to 43,1% in H1 2026.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
EBITDA margin
43,1% in H1 2026; 39,2% in 2025, from 61,1% in 2017

The margin fell by a third in seven years as costs grew; it must hold above 40% for the toll-booth description to fit.

Source: GPW Basic financial data workbook; H1 2026 interim report ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Operating Leverage Works in Reverse
The magic of the boom year becomes the drag of the bust year, on the same cost base.
References
  1. ReportedThe reported EBITDA margin was 54,9% in 2015, 61,1% in 2017, 52,8% in 2021, 36,0% in 2023, 26,9% in 2024 and 39,2% in 2025.
    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 ↗
  2. ReportedThe group built a technology programme to replace its licensed trading system, expanded its staff and ran a set of ventures outside the exchange, and the cost base more than doubled: operating expenses were 150,2 million złoty in 2016 and 364,8 million in 2025.
    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 ↗
  3. ReportedHeadcount rose to 602 full-time equivalents at the end of 2025 and 612 at mid-2026.
    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 ↗
  4. ReportedHeadcount rose to 602 full-time equivalents at the end of 2025 and 612 at mid-2026.
    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 ↗
  5. ReportedThe first half of 2026 reached 43,1% because turnover on the Main Market rose 27,4% while the cost base grew 11,0%.
    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. ReportedThe first half of 2026 reached 43,1% because turnover on the Main Market rose 27,4% while the cost base grew 11,0%.
    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 ↗
  7. ReportedThe first half of 2026 reached 43,1% because turnover on the Main Market rose 27,4% while the cost base grew 11,0%.
    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 ↗
  8. ReportedIt did not in 2023, when revenue grew 14,3% and the margin still fell to 36,0%.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026