Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and I would like to welcome you to the first quarter 2026 earnings call of Huuuge Games. The speakers today are Wojciech Wronowski, the CEO, and Maciej Hebda, CFO. The call will start with a presentation from the company, followed by a Q&A. For the Q&A session, we'll be joined by Erik Duindam, the COO. The presentation will be available for download on our website after the call. You're also welcome to type in the questions in the chat box while the presenters are speaking. With that, I'll pass the line over to Wojciech to start the presentation. Please go ahead, sir.
Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining today's call. Wojciech Wronowski speaking, CEO of Huuuge, joined by Maciej Hebda, our Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer. We'll begin by summarizing our operational and financial performance for the first quarter of 2026, followed by outlook for the remainder of the year. As always, we'll conclude with a Q&A session. Let me start with the key highlights for the quarter. Q1 2026 results continue to reflect the broader dynamics across the social casino market. Revenue reached $56.5 million, down 9.4% year over year. At the same time, net revenue remains resilient at $45.5 million, declining only 2.9% year over year, supported by the continued expansion of our direct-to-consumer channel and the improving quality of our revenue mix. D2C reached another record level during the quarter, representing 41% of sales in Q1 and approximately 42% in April.
Beyond the top-line contribution, D2C continues to strengthen our margin profile and overall monetization efficiency. Profitability remained a major strength of the business. Adjusted EBITDA reached $24.3 million, while EBITDA margin expanded to 43%, the highest level in the company's history. Importantly, this was achieved alongside continued cost discipline, with operating expenses declining year-over-year for the third consecutive quarter. Cash generation also remains strong. Operating cash flow reached $19.2 million in the first quarter, and our cash balance increased to $119.5 million compared to the $100.6 million at the year-end 2025. This continues to provide us with significant financial flexibility while supporting both strategic investments and shareholder returns. Overall, the first quarter reflects disciplined execution in a softer market environment, with continued D2C expansion, strong profitability, and a roadmap increasingly weighted toward the second half of the year. Let's move to our 2026 strategic priorities.
Our first priority remains the core business. The focus here continues to be longevity. We are prioritizing player retention over short-term monetization, while doubling down on features and systems that strengthen engagement, extend player lifetime, and improve long-term monetization dynamics. The business remains highly cash generative, and with improving monetization metrics and growing D2C contribution, we continue reinforcing the core engine that forms the rest of our strategy. Our second priority is entering iGaming. This remains a strategic priority for Huuuge, and our approach continues to be primarily focused on M&A and strategic partnerships. We have a dedicated team actively evaluating opportunities with the objective of finding the right long-term fit rather than pursuing speed for sake of speed. We are mainly focused on sustainable B2C operators and partnerships where we can leverage Huuuge strength in product, monetization, live operations, performance marketing, content, and infrastructure.
Importantly, we are not simply looking for licenses or market access. We are looking for opportunities that create a scalable and sustainable business with strong alignment and long-term growth potential. Finally, capital distribution. Our approach remains unchanged. With strong free cash flow generation and a good visibility in our investment requirements, we remain committed to returning 50%- 100% of annual free cash flow to shareholders later this year. This framework allows us to stay disciplined and predictable while maintaining flexibility to invest in strategic opportunities where we see attractive long-term returns. Overall, there are no structural changes to our priorities. The focus remains on disciplined execution, strengthening the core business, and building long-term shareholder value. Let me turn to our core business update. Let me walk you through the performance of our core franchises.
Our Q1 results continue to reflect the broader trends across the social casino market. Revenue declined year-over-year, primarily driven by lower daily active users, while monetization metrics remained healthy and stable. In the first quarter, core franchises' daily active users decreased by 13.3% year-over-year, although we saw a sequential improvement of 2.5% versus the fourth quarter. At the same time, average revenue per daily active user increased by 5.2% year-over-year, and average revenue per paying user grew by 5.5%, continuing to validate the strength and resilience of our payer base. The softer performance in the quarter is largely connected to the timing of our roadmap.
Similar to previous periods, the most impactful product releases are weighted towards the later part of the year. As a result, we expect the news and performance environment to remain broadly similar in the coming quarter before the larger road map catalysts begin rolling out starting in September. Looking ahead, we have a strong pipeline of products and economy upgrades and engagement features scheduled for release throughout late Q3 and Q4. These include both monetization and longevity-focused systems designed to improve retention, engagement, and player conversion over the longer term. Based on historical performance of similar releases, combined with the natural seasonality of the business, we expect momentum to improve meaningfully toward the end of Q3 and into Q4. On marketing, there are no structural changes. We continue to operate with strict payback discipline, keeping spend aligned with the product performance.
As new features scale and demonstrate returns, we will adjust investment accordingly. Overall, our priority remains unchanged, maintaining stable long-term profitability while systematically strengthening the product foundation of our core franchises. Let's turn to our direct-to-consumer channel, which continues to be an important driver of both our monetization model and margin profile. D2C revenue reached 41% of total revenue in first quarter 2026 and continued to grow further in April, reaching approximately 42%. This represents continued sequential growth and reflects the strength of the channel as well as solid execution from our teams. The expansion was supported by the rollout of Huuuge Pay on iOS in September last year and Android in November, which materially improved accessibility and conversion across key markets. At the same time, we continue to optimize the payer experience and improve visibility of the webshop ecosystem across our portfolio.
That said, as the channel matures and the penetration increases, we expect the pace of growth to moderate compared to the very rapid acceleration we experienced over the last several quarters. We still see additional upside ahead as a meaningful part of our payer base has yet to adopt D2C solutions, naturally, the growth curve should become more gradual over time. Importantly, the long-term trajectory of the channel will also depend on the future developments in platform policies and the regulations. We continue to monitor the environment closely and remain prepared to adapt quickly as the landscape evolves. Overall, D2C remains a strategically important initiative for Huuuge, supporting stronger unit economics, margin expansion, and cash generation. I will hand it over to Maciej Hebda, our Chief Financial Officer, who will walk you through the financial update.
Thanks, Wojciech, and hello, everyone. My name is Maciej Hebda. I will cover our financials as well as our outlook for the remainder of 2026. Next slide, please. Our Q1 revenue reached almost $57 million, a 9% decline year-on-year and a 3.5% decline quarter-on-quarter. Our gross profit recorded a 2.9% decline year-on-year and a 1.7% decline quarter-on-quarter. Dynamics reflecting further progress with our direct-to-consumer channel expansion. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 21% year-on-year and remained flattish quarter-on-quarter, reflecting our prior guidance. Our user acquisition expenses reached what we think is now a steady state. R&D costs decreased by almost 30% year-on-year, primarily reflecting lower employee-related costs. The same goes for general and administrative expenses, which recorded a 12% decline year-on-year. Operating result exceeded $21 million, reflecting a 5% year-on-year decline.
With our effective tax rate slightly above 15%, net result for the period reached $19.2 million, which reflects a modest 3% decline year on year. Adjusted EBITDA exceeded $24 million, marking a slight decline year on year. We have achieved a 43% adjusted EBITDA margin, a level similar to the previous quarter. Now let's move on to cash flows. Next slide, please. Net operating cash flow exceeded $19 million in Q1 2026, a 79% ratio of conversion from adjusted EBITDA, consistent with historical trends. Cash at the end of the period increased from almost $101 million to almost $120 million. We remain committed to returning 50%-100% of annual free cash flow to shareholders later this year, in line with our publicly announced policy. Now, this is a slide we're showing for the first time. It illustrates how our capital allocation strategy has driven value for our shareholders.
Specifically, several large-scale share buybacks that we have executed over the years have had a profound impact on our per-share metrics. As a reminder, following the resolutions of our board of directors, we have retired all of our shares purchased in share buybacks that took place in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Our issued share capital went down from 84.2 million shares back in 2023 to 44.7 million shares today. Looking at adjusted EBITDA per share, earnings per share, and free cash flow per share, all of these metrics have increased substantially and are now at or close to record high levels, despite the fact that our top line has been trending down. Adjusted EBITDA per share for the last 12 months ended in Q1 2026 amounted to $2.14, which is almost double the level from 2023.
Earnings per share for the last 12 month ended in Q1 amounted to $1.63, which is 3x higher than the level for the 12 month ended in Q1 2023. Free cash flow per share for the last 12 months ended in Q1 2026 amounted to $1.57, which is 2.4x higher than the level observed in Q1 2023. I will now go through the 2026 outlook and our high-level guidance. Next slide, please. I'd like to reiterate our full-year outlook that we announced during our FY 2025 results conference. We expect a slight decline in revenue, broadly in line with broader social casino market trends. Progress with our direct-to-consumer channel should make the decline in net revenue terms much less pronounced. Marketing spend as percentage of revenue should be around the mid-teens level, subject to performance and paybacks.
UA spend in Q2 is likely to be slightly lower than in Q1 2026. We are committed to cost discipline and our operating expenses, excluding UA, should decline slightly year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decline slightly year-on-year, and adjusted EBITDA margin should remain at the levels seen in 2025. With that, I am turning to Wojciech for his closing remarks.
Thank you, Maciej, and thank you everyone for joining us today and for your continued support. Let me leave you with four key takeaways from today's presentation. First, despite continued pressure across the social casino market, net revenue remains resilient at $45.5 million in the first quarter of 2026, supported by the continued expansion of our direct-to-consumer channel, improving revenue mix. Second, D2C reached another record level, representing 41% of sales in the first quarter and approximately 42% in April, continuing to strengthen both our monetization profile and profitability. Third, we achieved the highest adjusted EBITDA margin in the company history at 33%, while maintaining strict cost discipline, with operating expenses declining year-over-year for the first consecutive quarter. Fourth, cash generation remains strong, with $19.2 million in operating cash flow during the quarter and cash balance increasing to $119.5 million at the end of the first quarter.
This concludes today's earnings presentation. Thank you again for joining us. Let's now move on to the Q&A.
Thank you. Thank you very much for the presentation. We are now moving to the question and answer section of the call. If you are connected via the phone and you would like to ask a voice question, please press star two on your phone keypad and wait for your name to be prompted. If you are connected via the web, you can also request to ask a voice question or send your question as a text. We already have received a few questions. The first one comes from Jimmy Johnson from [Haute] Equity. You made some form of investment of $250,000 during the quarter. Could you clarify what this is related to?
Sure. Maybe I'll take this one. Maciej here. It is an investment in a fund that is focused on providing user acquisition financing to iGaming operators. Given that it's not really a significant amount in dollar terms, we treat this more as an opportunity to learn more about the sector and the underlying KPIs, and also find new business development opportunities.
Okay. Thank you very much. Another question from Jimmy. Is there any update on when you expect to distribute last year's cash flow?
Yes, I will take this. Hi, it's Wojciech. We remain committed to our capital allocation framework and continue to evaluate the most efficient ways to return capital to shareholders. In the presentation, we communicated our intention to execute a buyback later this year, and that remains.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Next question from Jimmy. Over the past three quarters, loans have been granted. Could you explain what these loans relate to?
Okay, I'll take this one again. Maciej here. Similarly to the first question about the investment, those loans are basically user acquisition financing, which means that we are funding the developer's marketing expenses. It can be for a single game, it can be for a portfolio of games. This is repaid from future revenue on a cohort level. Gradually, as the game scales, the revenue generated from those marketing expenses are repaying the loan. Other strategic goal is learning from the developer and then potentially unlocking an M&A opportunity in the future. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Another question from Jimmy. The core portfolio has been in decline for some time. Do you see any point in the KPIs where the core portfolio could stabilize?
Yeah, I will cover that. Wojciech again. The DAU decline is primarily driven by natural churn in older player cohorts and in general, broader category trends. Still, the most important is that monetization metrics remain strong, with average revenue per daily active user and ARPPU, average revenue per paying user, both increasing year over year. We continue to focus on disciplined UA, live ops improvements, and the future execution to help stabilize engagement over time. Historically, we have stabilization in DAU and our daily active users rebound after the player reactivation campaigns that follow stronger feature releases and canon updates, and we expect those to happen later this year, around late Q3 and Q4.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Another question from Jimmy. In previous years, larger game updates have tended to arrive later in the year. Are you expecting a similar roadmap this year?
Yes, definitely. The most impactful feature releases are clustered into late Q3 and Q4. There will be several releases, including major economy improvements and meta layer systems. Those historically supported engagement and monetization uplift for a few next months after such releases. We are quite excited about this.
Perfect. Thank you very much. Next question from Jimmy. Regarding the DTC offering, do you foresee any market shifts, either positive or negative, in the near future?
Wojciech again. DTC environment remains dynamic, particularly around platform policies and regulatory development, so we continue to monitor it closely. From our perspective, the long-term structural trends remain positive. DTC improves both player relationships and unit economics. That said, the pace of growth may fluctuate depending on the potential market and platform changes.
Thank you very much. Another question from Jimmy. Is any R&D currently being carried out around the iGaming initiative? If so, how long has this been going on?
Hi, this is Erik here. We are preparing to be able to apply the synergies to an acquired iGaming business later on, so there is some R&D going on. This is part of the regular course of business and not financially or operationally substantial. We are still focused mainly on the M&A and potentially strategic partnerships.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our next question comes from Ole Jacobson from WGV Invest. What is the main reason why the capital distribution is being executed later this year and not during first half? Your business looks strong and the valuation is lower than usual right now. What factors affect the timing?
Maybe I'll comment this one. Maciej here. Our focus has been on evaluation of iGaming acquisition opportunities and assessing our investment needs. That's one of the reasons. Another one, I would say less important but somewhat important, is that typically the timing of the dividends from our subsidiaries to the parent entity, to Huuuge, Inc., that usually happens after we close our standalone annual financials, which is usually around the mid-year or the second half.
Okay. Thank you. Another question from Ole. If around $9 million-$9.5 million is the steady state UA right now, is the increase driven by improving payback times, increased DTC, or other factors?
It's a combination of those factors. We follow strict net payback targets, and paybacks have improved from our increased DTC revenue, so this is one of the key reasons we're able to spend more.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Next question comes from Grzegorz Balcerski, Trigon Dom Maklerski. Could you please provide more color about M&A processes related to iGaming entrance? Any progress in this matter?
Yes. We are progressing multiple conversations and evaluations of targets. It's very important to us to not compromise on the quality and the economics of any target, so we are really looking for the right one. The focus remains on finding the right asset and structure rather than executing quickly. Those conversations continue, and that's all we can say for now.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. We have a question from Piotr Poniatowski, mBank. Are you considering an organic growth in the iGaming sector or only via M&A?
Our primary focus is M&A and strategic partnerships. We don't rule out organic activities, and we have prepared several scenarios we can consider also in combination with potential partnerships. Right now, this is not our primary focus, and we are focused on M&A and partnerships.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. We have a question from Michal Wojciechowski, IPOPEMA Securities. Good afternoon. Considering the guidance for a slight decline in revenues this year, should we expect lower year-on-year declines in coming quarters versus decline in first quarter 2026?
I'll comment that. In terms of the dynamics, we are expecting a bit softer second quarter. We are also expecting a rebound starting the later third quarter and strong fourth quarter this year, where are we going to release major updates, like I mentioned a moment ago.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next question comes from Akash Panchina from PNR Investment Management. Thank you for adding the slide on per share metrics, which clearly shows the value creation over time. Have management and board given further thought to the reduced premium to market price on the buybacks, given the historic oversubscription?
Okay, I'll take this one. Maciej here. Thanks, Akash, for the feedback on the slide. In terms of the second part of the question, we are aware of the dynamic, and the Board is aware of this dynamic as well. We continuously evaluate the structure and terms of potential future buybacks. We are not in a position to provide any specific details at this stage. What I will say or reiterate is that we remain committed to returning capital in the most efficient way possible. We will just update the market in due course. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Just a quick reminder, if you're connected via the phone and you would like to ask a voice question, please press star two on your phone keypad and wait for your name to be prompted. Our web participants can also request to ask a voice question or send their question as a text. Our next question comes from Michal Majewski, Pure Alpha Investments. Could you update us with iGaming M&A process? Are you in any due diligence process now?
I think I probably covered this question, a similar question previously. I cannot get into the details of the status of ongoing processes. We are very active. We have a good pipeline. We're talking to several targets. We will inform the market immediately when we can, when there's any transaction signed.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Just a final reminder, if you are connected via the phone and you would like to ask a voice question, please press star two on your phone keypad and wait for your name to be prompted. If you are connected via the web, you can also request to ask a voice question or send your question as text. We will just give a moment or so for any additional questions to come in. Okay. Looks like we have no further questions at this point in time, so I am going to pass the line back over to the team for their closing remarks.
Hey, this is Wojciech. Thank you all for your time and engagement and all the questions. We are looking forward to updating you on the progress next quarter. Thank you very much and have a great day.
Thank you. This concludes our call for today. We are now closing all the lines. Goodbye.