EQS-News: United Internet gets off to a good start in fiscal year 2026

• Customer contracts: + 380,000 to 30.1 million contracts
• Sales: + 2.5% to EUR 1.552 billion
• EBITDA: + 2.4% to EUR 331.9 million
• Guidance 2026 confirmed

Montabaur, May 12, 2026. United Internet AG got off to a good start in its fiscal year 2026. In the first quarter of 2026, the Company made further investments in new customer contracts and the development of existing customer relationships, and thus in sustainable growth. All in all, the number of fee-based customer contracts was raised by 380,000 contracts to 30.1 million. The number of fee-based contracts in the new “1&1” segment, which was launched as of January 1, 2026 (combined from the former segments “Consumer Access” and “Business Access”), remained stable for both mobile internet contracts and broadband connections. In the renamed segments “IONOS” (previously: “Business Applications”) and “Mail & Media” (previously: “Consumer Applications”), 300,000 and 80,000 contracts were added, respectively.

Consolidated sales rose by 2.5% to EUR 1,551.9 million in the first quarter of 2026 (comparable prior-year figure: EUR 1,514.1 million). EBITDA improved by 2.4% to EUR 331.9 million (comparable prior-year figure: EUR 324.0 million).

EBIT increased significantly by 15.6% to EUR 166.9 million (comparable prior-year figure: EUR 144.4 million). In addition to higher EBITDA, the strong increase was due to an overall decline in depreciation and amortization. Increased amortization of intangible assets and depreciation of property, plant and equipment were offset by lower PPA amortization.

Earnings per share (EPS) from continued operations rose even more strongly, increasing by 44.0% to EUR 0.36, also due to lower tax expenses (comparable prior-year figure: EUR 0.25).

Cash capex in the first quarter of 2026 amounted to EUR -117.5 million (prior year: EUR -122.0 million).

Outlook 2026

On completion of the first quarter of 2026, United Internet AG confirms its guidance for the full year 2026 and continues to expect an increase in consolidated sales to approx. EUR 6.25 billion (2025: EUR 6.104 billion) as well as an increase in EBITDA to approx. EUR 1.45 billion (2025: EUR 1.282 billion). Cash capex is expected to amount to EUR 600 – 650 million (2025: EUR 730.8 million).

About United Internet

With over 30 million fee-based customer contracts and more than 38 million ad-financed free accounts, United Internet AG is a leading European internet specialist. At the heart of United Internet is a high performance “Internet Factory” with around 10,500 employees. In addition to the high sales strength of its established brands such as 1&1, GMX, WEB.DE, IONOS, STRATO, and 1&1 Versatel, United Internet stands for outstanding operational excellence.

Contact partner

United Internet AG
Lisa Pleiß
Phone +49 2602 96-1616
presse@united-internet.de

Note

In the interests of clear and transparent reporting, the annual financial statements and interim statements of United Internet AG, as well as its ad-hoc announcements pursuant to Art. 17 MAR, contain additional financial performance indicators to those required under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), such as EBITDA, EBITDA margin, EBIT, EBIT margin and free cash flow. Information on the use, definition and calculation of these performance measures is provided in the Annual Financial Statements 2025 of United Internet AG on page 58.