For nearly a decade, The NAGA Group AG represented one of the European fintech sector’s most compelling, turbulent, and instructive stories. Founded with the ambitious vision of becoming an "everything financial" social network, a German contender to Israel’s eToro, NAGA went through a dramatic corporate evolution: a celebrated initial public offering in 2017, a $50 million initial coin offering (ICO) at the height of the crypto boom, a severe stock price collapse, accounting restatements, and tens of millions of euros in balance-sheet impairments.
However, preliminary results for the first half of 2026 indicate that NAGA may finally be turning a corner.
A Historic Turnaround
In August 2026, NAGA published its preliminary financial results for the first half of 2026, reporting its first-ever profitable first half in company history.
Key H1 2026 Financial Highlights
Metric | Details |
Net Profit | Swung to positive €0.9 million, compared with a net loss of €2.6 million in H1 2025. |
EBITDA | Rose 47% year-on-year to €4.4 million (reported) and €4.9 million (+64%) on an FX-adjusted basis, expanding reported EBITDA margins from 9.3% to 15.9%. |
Revenue | Group revenue fell 12% YoY to €27.7M (€28.6M FX-adjusted) as management deliberately prioritized client quality and lifetime value over volume. |
Cost Structure | Marketing spend fell 25% YoY to €11.2M (40.5% of revenue, down from 46.5%). Operating, personnel, and tech expenses dropped 20% to €8.8M via an AI-supported model. |
Unit Economics | Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) surged 32% to €2,757, while CAC held at €1,117, driving the CLV/CAC ratio to 2.5x (up from 2.2x in H1 2025). |
The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting Group revenue between €68–75 million and EBITDA of €10–15 million.
"The first half of 2026 demonstrates that our strategic repositioning is gaining traction," stated Octavian Patrascu, CEO of The NAGA Group AG. "We achieved a profit in the first half for the first time in our history, while materially improving the profitability of our business model."
- NAGA’s Audited Figures Pushed 2025 EBITDA 12% Higher
- NAGA Cites “Structural Headwinds” as 2025 Revenue Holds Steady, but EBITDA Falls
- NAGA Founder Ben Bilski Launches “AI-Native” Decentralized Exchange on Solana
Origins & Ambition: Building "Another eToro"
To understand why NAGA took more than nine years to achieve a profitable first half, we need to look back at the company's origins.
Founded in August 2015 by Yasin Qureshi, Benjamin Bilski, and Christoph Brück, NAGA was built around a central idea: retail trading was fragmented, intimidating, and disconnected from modern social habits.
Founded in August 2015 by Yasin Qureshi, Benjamin Bilski, and Christoph Brück, NAGA was built around a central idea: retail trading was fragmented, intimidating, and disconnected from modern social habits.
NAGA’s flagship product, originally launched as SwipeStox and later renamed NAGA Trader, introduced a Tinder-like "swiping" interface and copy-trading functionality. Retail clients could scroll through trading ideas, automatically copy successful traders, and share financial posts in an integrated social feed.
The vision quickly attracted high-profile backing:
- Fosun Group: China’s massive private investment conglomerate became an anchor shareholder in 2017.
- Deutsche Börse Group: Jointly backed Switex GmbH, a planned marketplace for trading virtual gaming items.
- Hauck & Aufhäuser: Germany’s historic private bank joined as an early supporter.
Do you want to know rest of the story? Dive deeper into the complete data and actionable insights on FM Intelligence.
