Intershop AG: Listed software provider from Jena heading toward operational break-even despite revenue decline

Cost program and job cuts

In XETRA trading, the Intershop share lost 3.61 percent at one point, falling to 1.74 euros. Investors were reacting to the lower revenue, even though the company achieved a positive operational trend. CEO Markus Dränert stressed that cost discipline is taking effect and the company is on the right track ("Die Kostendisziplin habe sich ausgezahlt").

The backdrop to the shrinking revenues is investment hesitancy on the part of customers: companies are investing less in their e-commerce infrastructure, which has a direct impact on Intershop's business. The company provides software that enables businesses to trade with one another on the internet and has been one of the East German pioneers of online commerce since the 1990s.

Cloud business and markets in the USA and Australia

For several years, Intershop has increasingly focused on rental software for customers, so-called cloud solutions. These recurring revenues are intended to deliver more stable income but are vulnerable when customers cut their digital budgets. Dränert confirmed the already communicated outlook for the full year 2026: with revenue slightly declining, the company is targeting a balanced result before interest and taxes (EBIT).

According to the group's management, a slight recovery in business is emerging, which is expected to be felt primarily in the USA and Australia – two important markets for Intershop. If this recovery continues, the failure to meet the revenue threshold from the first half could be offset in the further course of the year.

Outlook: Break-even remains the goal

For the coming quarters, management plans to continue adjusting the cost side to the lower revenue base without fully halting investments in the cloud platform. According to Dränert, the experiences from the austerity measures of recent years are to serve as the basis for further steering.

Overall, the company is operating in a difficult market environment in which many firms are trimming their digitalization budgets. The fact that Intershop nevertheless managed to at least narrowly leave the zone of operating losses is interpreted by management as evidence of the effectiveness of the measures initiated. The real litmus test will come with the second half of the year and the question of whether the targeted EBIT break-even can actually be achieved.