Codere Lifts Adjusted EBITDA 39% in Third Quarter as Mexico Leads the Gains

Grupo Codere turned gaming revenue up 6% into adjusted EBITDA up 39%, with Mexico doing most of the work. Online adjusted EBITDA, though, comes in at €11.3 million in the group's release and €4.2 million in its own.

• Grupo Codere reported third-quarter gaming revenue of €344 million, up 6%, and adjusted EBITDA of €65.4 million, up 39%, crediting mainly Mexico, Argentina and its online business
• Retail adjusted EBITDA rose 32% to €54 million, and the retail business's trailing 12-month figure reached €210.7 million, its eighth straight quarterly improvement
• Codere Online grew gaming win 30% to €67.1 million, but put its own adjusted EBITDA at €4.2 million, against the €11.3 million the group attributes to the online business
• Group cash fell to €136.9 million at the end of September from €142.3 million at the end of June, with the retail share down to €71.3 million
• Neither release mentions the sale process that shareholders reportedly began in March

Mexico Drove a Quarter in Which Earnings Outran Revenue

Grupo Codere published its third-quarter 2026 results in Madrid on 12 November. Gaming revenue, defined as gross win, the amount played less prizes paid, rose 6% to €344 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose 39% to €65.4 million. At constant exchange rates the increases were 5% and 35%. The company attributes the improvement mainly to operational changes in Mexico and to positive trends in Argentina, Spain and online.

Retail quarterly adjusted EBITDA rose 32% to €54 million. Trailing 12-month retail adjusted EBITDA reached €210.7 million at the end of September, 23% higher than a year earlier, and the company says this is the eighth consecutive quarter of improvement. It was €197.6 million at the end of June.

Online gross win rose 30% to €67.1 million, and the group puts online adjusted EBITDA at €11.3 million, against €6.2 million a year earlier. Cash at the end of September was €136.9 million: €71.3 million in the retail business and €65.6 million at Codere Online. At the end of June the totals were €142.3 million, €79.6 million and €62.7 million.

In the second quarter, as iGT reported in September, gaming revenue was €352.5 million and adjusted EBITDA €57.6 million, so revenue fell between the two quarters while adjusted EBITDA rose.

The Listed Online Arm Tells Its Own Version

Codere Online Luxembourg, the Nasdaq-listed subsidiary, released its own results the same morning. It reported revenue of €62.6 million, up 31%, and gaming win of €67.1 million, up 30%. Mexico gaming win rose 39% to €37.2 million and Spain 13% to €24.8 million. Average monthly active players rose 5% to 166,800, although Mexico's fell 3% to 85,600.

Codere Online's adjusted EBITDA was €4.2 million, up 45% from €2.9 million. Quarterly net income was €5.5 million, and nine-month net income €11.1 million against a €1.7 million loss a year earlier. It has no financial debt, and from this quarter reports gaming win in place of net gaming revenue.

Chief financial officer Marcus Arildsson reiterated full-year guidance of €255 million to €265 million of gaming win and €20 million to €25 million of adjusted EBITDA. Arildsson said the quarter benefited from the final stages of the World Cup in July and from favourable exchange rates, and that growth in the coming months should be more in line with underlying trends. Chief executive Aviv Sher pointed to the multi-year deal to become official betting partner of the NFL in Mexico, which covers the NFL Mexico City Game on 22 November.

The Gain Came From Costs More Than Customers

The gap between 5% and 35% growth at constant currency is the result that matters. It points to costs and operations rather than demand, and the company credits operational changes in Mexico. On iGT's arithmetic, the adjusted EBITDA margin was about 19% in the third quarter, against about 16% in the second. A buyer will want to know how much is repeatable, and the release gives no country figures to judge it by.

Two EBITDA Figures for One Online Business

The group and its listed subsidiary report the same €67.1 million of online gross win, yet their adjusted EBITDA figures for that business differ by €7.1 million. The pattern held in the second quarter too, when the group put online adjusted EBITDA at €11.8 million and Codere Online reported €5.8 million. Neither document reconciles the two or says on what basis each is measured. For a group whose sale would reportedly include the online arm, which number a bidder uses is not a footnote.

The Cash Line Is the Question the Release Leaves Open

Retail cash fell by €8.3 million in a quarter when retail adjusted EBITDA rose 32%. The release gives no reason, and falling cash where profits are rising is a line due diligence asks about first. Neither release mentions the sale, which iGT reported in March, citing Expansión, was being run by Jefferies and Macquarie Capital at a value above €2 billion.

Codere has produced an eighth straight retail improvement and a stronger margin than in the second quarter. What it has not yet produced is a single, reconciled account of what its online business earns.