Community Trust ScoreVerified
Nexi moved more money than ever. The Italian payments processor logged 10.23 billion merchant-payment transactions in the first half of 2026, up 5.6% from a year earlier — yet somehow, revenue from that very segment fell.
Merchant Solutions, which accounts for 56% of group revenue, brought in €976 million, down 0.8%. The gap between rising transaction counts and falling revenue is the kind of thing that makes CFOs uncomfortable at earnings calls. Group revenue did climb, reaching €1.74 billion for a 1.0% gain, but second-quarter EBITDA dropped 1.9%. The combined value of merchant transactions rose 3.0% to €423 billion, which makes the revenue dip look even more puzzling on the surface.
The culprit, basically, is client churn and contract pressure.
Banking Client Losses Hit Merchant Revenue Hard
Nexi lost Italian banking clients because of mergers in the domestic banking sector. Contract renegotiations added more pressure. And Germany — a key market — threw in its own economic headwinds. Strip those three factors out, and underlying Merchant Solutions revenue actually grew by 3%. That’s a pretty meaningful distinction, and it’s the number Nexi probably wants analysts to focus on.
Second-quarter costs rose 4.2% to €442 million. That pushed the EBITDA margin down to 51.7% from 53.3% a year earlier. Not a catastrophic drop, but it’s moving in the wrong direction. Net profit came in at €115 million, which looks thin against a normalized net profit figure of €354 million. The €218 million gap between those two numbers comes largely from depreciation and amortization adjustments — accounting mechanics, not cash burn, but still a number that raises questions.
So the headline profit figure is probably not the one to dwell on here.
Issuing Solutions Picks Up the Slack
Nexi’s Issuing Solutions segment had a better half. Transaction numbers jumped 8.6% to 11.31 billion, and the value of those transactions rose 7.2% to €480 billion. Segment revenue grew 3.0% to €571 million. It’s not a blowout quarter, but it’s steady, and in a market where payment processors are fighting over basis points of margin, steady matters.
Digital Banking Solutions moved fastest of all Nexi’s divisions. Revenue there rose 4.5% to €189 million for the first half, with the second quarter alone hitting €100 million — a 6.0% jump. Nexi credits SEPA clearing, open banking services, and Italy’s PagoPA system for that momentum. Those aren’t glamorous products, but they’re deeply embedded in European financial infrastructure, which makes them sticky.
And Nexi’s not done pushing into digital infrastructure. The company is participating in the European Central Bank’s digital euro pilot as an acquiring provider. It didn’t disclose revenue specifics for that project — unclear whether it’s too early to measure or just not material yet. Nexi is also rolling out Verification of Payee services, which are becoming a compliance requirement under the Instant Payments Regulation for instant euro transfers. That’s less a growth bet than a table-stakes move, but it keeps Nexi in the room for the next generation of European payment rails.
Debt Down, Dividend Paid, Targets Held
On the balance sheet side, Nexi paid down roughly €1 billion in debt maturities. It also distributed approximately €350 million in dividends, including a €0.30-per-share dividend, and completed a transaction with Banca Popolare di Sondrio. Net debt now sits at €5.10 billion, or 2.7 times EBITDA. That’s not a light load, but it’s manageable for a company generating the kind of cash Nexi targets.
The company is aiming for roughly €750 million in excess cash generation for 2026. Revenue growth is expected to be similar to 2025 levels, and Nexi wants EBITDA to stay roughly stable. It’s also reaffirming its investment-grade credit rating commitment — which, given the debt level, isn’t just a PR line. It’s a real constraint on how aggressively Nexi can spend or acquire.
Can’t ignore the broader context here. European payment processors have spent years consolidating, and the wave of banking mergers that hurt Nexi’s client base isn’t slowing down. Contract renegotiations will keep coming. Germany’s economic sluggishness isn’t fixed. But the underlying 3% Merchant Solutions growth, the Issuing Solutions momentum, and the Digital Banking numbers suggest the business itself is holding up better than the headline revenue figure implies.
Net debt stands at €5.10 billion after the Banca Popolare di Sondrio transaction closed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many transactions did Nexi process in the first half of 2026?
Nexi processed 10.23 billion merchant-payment transactions in the first half of 2026, a 5.6% increase year-over-year, while Issuing Solutions handled 11.31 billion transactions, up 8.6%.
Why did Nexi’s Merchant Solutions revenue fall despite higher transaction volumes?
The decline was driven by the loss of Italian banking clients due to sector mergers, contract renegotiations, and economic weakness in Germany — excluding those effects, underlying Merchant Solutions revenue grew 3%.
