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Zalando SE Earnings Release 2025
499_ip_2025-08-05_083a961e-e902-4053-ae92-843e6b1a49b9.pdf
Earnings Release
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Zalando Q2/25 Earnings call
6 August 2025
Speaker: Robert Gentz, Co-CEO David Schröder, Co-CEO and interim CFO
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Executive Summary
- 01 H1 performance reflects continued growth and increased profitability Strong GMV growth of 6.2% and even stronger revenue growth of 7.6% paired with continued adjusted EBIT margin expansion to 4.4%
- 02 In B2C, new discovery feed provides personalised content at scale driving user engagement Strategic growth initiatives progressing as planned with upgraded loyalty programme reaching 10m members and expansion of platform and existing propositions to more markets
- 03 B2B continued its double digit growth trajectory driven by ZEOS Fulfilment Launched Shopify App connecting Shopify merchants directly to ZEOS Fulfilment. This marks a foundational step towards a broader portfolio of partnerships with leading e-commerce platforms
- 04 Successfully closed ABOUT YOU transaction Received European Commission merger control clearance and acquired 91.5% of ABOUT YOU's share capital (excluding treasury shares)
- New combined guidance for FY 2025 including ABOUT YOU as of July 11 Pro-forma GMV and revenue growth of 4 – 7%, adjusted EBIT range of 550 – 600m EUR, 200 – 280m EUR capex and negative net working capital 05
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We are delivering our strategy across all three growth pillars
MULTI-BRAND PLATFORM
Differentiation through quality Lifestyle expansion
- Upgraded loyalty programme reached more than 10 million members
- On schedule to expand platform into Portugal and Greece in H2
- Strong H1 growth in Sports, Family & Kids, Designer and Beauty propositions
- Launched Beauty in Finland, Norway & Spain
- Lounge by Zalando live in Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia, with Latvia and Norway to follow soon
Inspiration & entertainment
- Strong performance of advertising solution ZMS with +45% revenue growth in H1
- Launched AI-driven discovery feed, delivering even more personalised inspiration and boosting organic customer engagement
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Personalised content at scale drives user engagement, time spent and advertising
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Making the customer experience more inspiring and personalised with our new AI-driven discovery feed - boosting customer engagement and supporting our advertising business
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In Q2, we continued on our profitable growth trajectory
1Gross merchandise volume after returns (GMV): dynamically reported
Excluding equity-settled share-based payment expense ("SBC"), restructuring costs, significant non-operating one-time effects and acquisition-related expenses
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Strong growth in B2C supported by strategic growth investments and successful commercial events
1Gross merchandise volume after returns (GMV): dynamically reported
Excluding equity-settled share-based payment expense ("SBC"), restructuring costs, significant non-operating one-time effects and acquisition-related expenses
3 Q2/25 contains 0.4m EUR | Q2/24 EUR (0.8)m EUR reconciliation of inter-segment EBIT; H1/25 contains 0.4m EUR | H1/24 (0.9)m EUR reconciliation of inter-segment EBIT
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Continued strong active customer growth to new high
1L12M = last 12 months
Defined as GMV divided by the number of orders
Defined as GMV divided by the number of active customers
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B2B segment with continued double digit growth and increased profitability driven by ZEOS Fulfilment
1 Q2/25 contains (3.4)m EUR | Q2/24 (3.7)m EUR reconciliation of inter-segment revenue; H1/25 contains (6.4)m EUR | H1/24 (5.4)m EUR reconciliation of inter-segment revenue
Excluding equity-settled share-based payment expense ("SBC"), restructuring costs, significant non-operating one-time effects and acquisition-related expenses
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Stable adjusted EBIT margin as decline in gross profit was counterbalanced by reduction in marketing and administrative expenses
| Costs and margin (in % of revenue) |
H1/24 | H1/25 | YoY Δ | Q2/24 | Q2/25 | YoY Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross profit | 40.0% | 40.0% | 0.0pp | 41.6% | 40.8% | (0.8)pp |
| Fulfilment costs | (23.2)% | (23.2)% | 0.0pp | (22.1)% | (22.1)% | 0.0pp |
| Marketing costs | (8.6)% | (8.7)% | (0.1)pp | (9.0)% | (8.7)% | 0.3pp |
| Admin expenses & Other | (5.0)% | (5.0)% | 0.1pp | (4.7)% | (4.9)% | (0.2)pp |
| Adminstrative costs | (5.1)% | (4.8)% | 0.3pp | (4.8)% | (4.5)% | 0.3pp |
| Other income & expenses | 0.1% | (0.1)% | (0.2)pp | 0.1% | (0.4)% | (0.5)pp |
| EBIT | 3.2% | 3.2% | 0.0pp | 5.9% | 5.1% | (0.7)pp |
| Adjusted1 EBIT |
4.1% | 4.4% | 0.3pp | 6.5% | 6.5% | 0.1pp |
Exceptional strong prior year sell-through in our retail business and business mix effects
EUR ~15m one-time effect resulting from organisational changes to our customer care and content production unit to ensure high quality service and production at lower cost
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Net working capital position driven by higher inventory position to support our growing retail business
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Cash and cash equivalents at 2.2 billion EUR
12 Includes investments in fixed assets of (43.3)m EUR, intangible assets of (50.1)m EUR, payments for acquisitions (30.3)m EUR and cash received from investments in term deposits of 49.0m EUR
2 Includes financing cash flow of (65.8)m EUR and effect of exchange rate on cash and cash equivalents of (2.1)m EUR
<sup>3 Includes operating cash flow of 140.8m EUR, payments for investments in fixed assets of (43.3)m EUR, payments for investments in intangible assets of (50.1)m EUR and payment for acquisitions (30.3)m EUR
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ABOUT YOU transaction successfully completed and ready to team up to lead the way in European fashion and lifestyle e-commerce
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Planned ramp-up of (gross) synergies (illustrative)
Sources of synergies (in 2029)
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Recap on Zalando and ABOUT YOU stand-alone guidance for 2025/26
Zalando stand-alone guidance 2025
(as confirmed on May 6 2025)
| Zalando stand-alone guidance 2025¹ |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | GMV | 4 - 9% | ||
| Revenue | 4 - 9% | |||
| Profitability | Adjusted 2 EBIT | 530 - 590 | ||
| Cash | Capex (in m EUR) |
180 – 280 | ||
| Net working capital | negative | |||
| 11 Guidance does not account for any impacts from the anticipated consolidation of ABOUT YOU, with the deal expected to close in summer 2 Excludes equity-settled share-based payment expense ("SBC"), restructuring costs, significant non-operating one-time effects and socialistion-related expense. |
ABOUT YOU stand-alone guidance 2025/26 (as confirmed on July 15 2025)
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Our new combined guidance for 2025
Combined guidance 2025
(including ABOUT YOU as of July 11)
| Growth | GMV (in bn EUR) |
17.2 - 17.6 12 - 15% |
On a pro forma l ABOUT YOU as combined guida |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (in bn EUR) |
12.1 – 12.4 14 – 17% |
a 4 – 7% increase GMV and revenue |
||
| Profitability | Adjusted 2 EBIT (in m EUR) |
550 - 600 | Combined group report in B2C and | |
| Cash | Capex (in m EUR) |
200 – 280 | On a pro forma be | |
| Net working capital | negative | B2C revenue gro | ||
pasis, including of July 11, the nce represents se year-on-year for
will continue to d B2B segment
pasis, B2B revenue ficantly outpace owth
<sup>1 The corresponding prior year amounts were not subject to the 2024 financial statement audit
<sup>2 Excludes equity-settled share-based payment expense ("SBC"), restructuring costs, significant non-operating one-time effects and acquisition-related expenses
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Key takeaways
- 01 H1 performance reflects continued growth and increased profitability Strong GMV growth of 6.2% and even stronger revenue growth of 7.6% paired with continued adjusted EBIT margin expansion to 4.4%
- 02 In B2C, new discovery feed provides personalised content at scale driving user engagement Strategic growth initiatives progressing as planned with upgraded loyalty programme reaching 10m members and expansion of platform and existing propositions to more markets
- 03 B2B continued its double digit growth trajectory driven by ZEOS Fulfilment Launched Shopify App connecting Shopify merchants directly to ZEOS Fulfilment. This marks a foundational step towards a broader portfolio of partnerships with leading e-commerce platforms
- 04 Successfully closed ABOUT YOU transaction Received European Commission merger control clearance and acquired 91.5% of ABOUT YOU's share capital (excluding treasury shares)
- New combined guidance for FY 2025 including ABOUT YOU as of July 11 Pro-forma GMV and revenue growth of 4 – 7%, adjusted EBIT range of 550 – 600m EUR, 200 – 280m EUR capex and negative net working capital 05
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Appendix
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Overview of ABOUT YOU transaction timeline and key aspects
Transaction timeline Key aspects
11 December 6 March 11 July 6 August 2025/26 End of extended acceptance period Completion of transaction and start of integration First combined guidance for FY/25 Squeeze-out process and delisting Announcement of transaction
Voluntary tender offer successfully completed for 6.50 EUR per share
Consideration of 1.03bn EUR paid for 91.5% of ABOUT YOU's share capital, remaining portion subject to planned squeeze-out by the way of merger
Transaction financed 100 % from existing liquidity
Fully consolidated under IFRS from 11 July 2025 (Q3 2025 onwards)
EBIT synergies of 100m EUR p.a. to be realised from 2029 onwards
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Combined company will continue to report in B2C and B2B segment
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Partner business GMV grew in line with B2C overall; Zalando Marketing Services with strong growth in H1/25
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| Share information (as of 30 June 2025) |
Type of shares | Ordinary bearer shares with no-par value (Stückaktien) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock exchange | Frankfurt Stock Exchange | ||
| Market segment | Regulated Market (Prime Standard) | ||
| Index listings | DAX | ||
| Total number of shares outstanding | 264,165,533 | ||
| Issued capital | 264,165,533 EUR |
Stock options programmes management board (as of 30 June 2025)
| Program | # Options outstanding |
Weighted average exercise price (EUR) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| LTI 2018 1 | 4,296,949 | 47.44 | |
| LTI 2019 | 28,070 | 1.00 | |
| LTI 2021 | 625,656 | 23.51 | |
| LTI 2024 | 125,389 | 23.22 | |
| LTI 2025 | 498,246 | 28.55 | |
| ZOP 2021 | 329,382 | 16.93 | |
| Total | 5,903,692 | 40.87 |
Stock options programmes senior management (as of 30 June 2025)
| Program | # Options outstanding |
Weighted average exercise price (EUR) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| EIP2 | 1,556,773 | 42.19 | |
| ZOP 2019 | 7,281,413 | 25.66 | |
| Total | 8,838,186 | 28.57 |
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¹ Only to 35% to be settled with new shares, remaining backed by treasury shares
2Settled with new shares
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Zalando Investor Relations team
Patrick Kofler Director of IR
Dorothee Schultz Senior Manager ESG IR
Andrea Frese Senior Manager IR
T: +49 3020 9681 584 Zalando SE Valeska-Gert-Straße 5 10243 Berlin
[email protected] https://corporate.zalando.com/en
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Disclaimer
Certain statements in this communication may constitute forward looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions that are believed to be reasonable at the time they are made, and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements.
Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from any forward-looking statements discussed on this call due to a number of factors, including without limitation, risks from macroeconomic developments, external fraud, inefficient processes at fulfilment centres, inaccurate personnel and capacity forecasts for fulfilment centres, hazardous material / conditions in production with regard to private labels, lack of innovation capabilities, inadequate data security, lack of market knowledge, risk of strike and changes in competition levels.