(BFM Bourse) – The Dutch online payments company plunged by more than 30%, after publishing growth and results well below expectations, suffering in particular from recruitment difficulties and strong competition in the United States.
Star of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, where it is one of the ten largest capitalizations, the online payments company Adyen benefits from flattering valuation multiples, justified by its very strong growth. The stock is currently trading at 53 times expected earnings, more than Hermès (50.5), which is probably the most expensive share in the CAC 40 on this indicator.
This leaves little room for disappointment, under penalty of violent stock market sanctions. This is exactly what is happening this Thursday, with Adyen shares plunging 34% to 972.60 euros around 4 p.m., wiping out more than 10 billion euros in market capitalization.
This plunge may weigh a little on the French Worldline, another player in the payments sector, whose share fell 2.4% around 4 p.m. on the CAC 40, after having dropped more than 5.5% in the morning.
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The weakest growth in its history
Adyen, which counts eBay, Booking.com, Uber, Spotify and LinkedIn among its customers, unveiled results well below expectations for the first half.
Although sustained in absolute terms, growth has marked a marked slowdown. Net income rose 21% year on year to 739.1 million euros, while analysts expected growth of 28%, according to a consensus quoted by UBS.
In the first half of 2022, growth had been much higher, at 37%. According to KBW, Adyen thus published the weakest growth in its history over the first six months of 2023.
“As feared, increased competition in the industry is impacting growth, with Adyen noting a noticeable slowdown in revenue in North America and the digital sector due to increased price competition,” the bureau said. studies in a note.
Adyen said that with inflation and rising rates, its clients had tightened costs more and focused less on growth. The Dutch group also explains that it was unable to recruit as it wished.
“We would have liked to grow our team at a faster pace, but we were unable to recruit enough quality talent. We are now seeing the impact of a sales team size that was not at the height of our ambitions, particularly in North America”, details the company in a letter to its shareholders.
The other lines of account were also disappointing, gross operating income (Ebitda) fell by 10% in one year, to 320 million euros, weighed down by increases in remuneration, when analysts expected a figure of 375 million. euros. Diluted earnings per share came to 9.07 euros and were 8% below expectations.
Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse