January - March 2026 (compared to the same period last year, Upsales group)
- Net sales increased by 13.0% to MSEK 40.8 (36.1)
- EBITDA increased to MSEK 7.2 (6.3)
- EBITDA margin increased to 17.6% (17.5%)
- Annual recurring revenue (ARR) at the end of the quarter was MSEK 152.9, an increase of 5.6% during the last 12 months. ARR decreased by MSEK 0.1 during the quarter
- Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to MSEK 3.9 (3.9)
- Net income decreased to MSEK 3.0 (3.1)
- Cash flow from operating activities increased to MSEK 9.8 (5.3)
CEO COMMENT
The first quarter of 2026 was a quarter of both strong operational performance and strategic action. Revenue grew 13 percent year over year. New customer acquisition was strong. And on April 14, we took the most significant structural step in the company's history by proposing the separation and independent listing of Aira.
Revenue and growth
Net sales in Q1 amounted to SEK 40.8 million, an increase of 13 percent compared with the same quarter last year. This is the highest quarterly growth rate the company has delivered in several years, and it reflects continued momentum across our customer base. New sales were strong in the quarter, with a broad inflow of new customers joining the platform. We expect revenue growth of 10 to 15 percent for the full year 2026.
ARR at the end of Q1 was SEK 152.9 million, corresponding to year-over-year growth of 5.6 percent. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, ARR was essentially flat, declining by approximately SEK 0.1 million. The sequential development reflects the concentration of annual renewals in the first quarter, which mechanically produces higher absolute churn in Q1 than in other quarters regardless of underlying retention rates. We see no change in customer behaviour or competitive dynamics. Our net retention remains healthy and keeps improving, and we are highly confident in the continued growth of both ARR and revenue during 2026.
The divergence between revenue growth and ARR growth deserves a direct explanation. Revenue includes the full recognition of contracts signed in prior periods and benefits from the strong new bookings in the second half of 2025. ARR captures the portfolio at a single point in time and is more sensitive to renewal timing. As the renewal calendar normalises through Q2 and Q3, we expect ARR growth to converge with the revenue growth trajectory.
Profitability
EBITDA for Q1 was SEK 7.2 million, corresponding to a margin of 17.6 percent, compared with SEK 6.3 million and 17.5 percent in the same quarter last year. Q1 2026 carries the full cost base of both the core business and Aira development. The quarter also includes transitional costs related to the development organisation restructuring completed in December 2025.
On a pro forma basis, excluding all Aira-related personnel, consultant and operating costs, Q1 EBITDA was SEK 11.4 million, corresponding to a margin of 27.9 percent. This is the underlying earnings profile of Upsales with Aira carved out as a separate business, with its own brand, product, customer segment and commercial model.
A full pro forma income statement for Upsales excluding Aira-related costs is included in a dedicated section at the end of this report. Shareholders are encouraged to review it to understand the underlying profitability of Upsales on a standalone basis.
Subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting, the proposed separation of Aira would remove all Aira-related personnel, consultant and operating costs from Upsales from Q2 onward. Shareholders representing a significant share of the votes have indicated their support for the proposal, and the Board considers it likely that the resolution will be approved. Combined with the full run-rate savings from the December restructuring and continued revenue growth, we expect the EBITDA margin to exceed 35 percent from Q2 2026. Cash flow is expected to improve following a similar trajectory as EBITDA.
Separation and listing of Aira
On April 14, we announced the Board's recommendation to distribute all shares in AI Revenue Assistant Software Stockholm AB (Aira) to existing Upsales shareholders via a Lex ASEA dividend. Each shareholder will receive one Aira share for each Upsales share held. The Board is currently evaluating listing venues for Aira. Subject to AGM approval, the Lex ASEA dividend will replace the previously proposed cash dividend.
The rationale is straightforward. Upsales is a profitable, cash-generating SaaS company focused on the Nordic mid-market. Aira is a global, pre-revenue AI product targeting individual sales professionals. These are fundamentally different businesses with different risk profiles, growth trajectories and capital requirements. Combining them in one structure makes both harder to value and harder to manage. Separating them creates better conditions for each.
For Upsales shareholders, the separation means continued ownership in a company with rising margins and strong cash flows, combined with direct ownership in a global AI company with significant growth potential.
Aira: global launch and early results
Aira launched globally via the App Store on 15 April 2026, with Android availability expected in May. In the first week following the public launch, we had several paying customers sign up for the product across multiple countries, each paying by credit card directly in the app. We remain in an early commercial phase, but these first signups confirm two things: there is genuine demand for the product, and the direct-to-consumer distribution model via the App Store works. No enterprise sales cycle, no implementation, no local sales team. A user downloads the app, connects their email and calendar, pays by credit card, and has a working AI sales agent within minutes.
Aira is built on access to licensed financial data and credit information covering more than 30 million European companies, combined with continuous monitoring of more than three million news articles per day. This data layer is not available through any competing product and cannot be replicated through general-purpose AI tools or web scraping. It is the foundation of what makes Aira structurally different from other AI sales tools.
Upsales product and AI momentum
Outside of Aira, the Upsales platform itself is undergoing a significant product evolution. We regularly keep deploying effective AI capabilities across the customer base that enable our users to solve more problems and grow their revenue more efficiently than ever before. This is not a roadmap item. These features are live and in use today.
I want to be explicit on one point, because I know it matters to shareholders: Upsales is not carving out its AI capabilities into Aira. Upsales had agents in production long before Aira launched and has an ambitious agent roadmap of its own. Aira is a separate product, built for a different customer on a different commercial model. It is not Upsales' AI being spun out. Upsales retains its own AI strategy, its own agents, and continues to invest in them with the same conviction as before, if not more.
For existing customers, this means they can keep extracting more value from the platform and add value-creating AI capabilities without adding headcount or complexity. For Upsales, it means higher customer satisfaction, stronger retention and a natural path to expansion revenue over time. Combined with our strong partnerships and unique integrations within the industrial sector, we see a long runway of continued growth going forward.
Outlook
We enter Q2 with clear momentum. Revenue growth is accelerating. The cost base is being structurally reduced. The Aira separation, subject to shareholder approval, will give both businesses the clarity and focus they need. We expect revenue growth of 10 to 15 percent and an EBITDA margin exceeding 35 percent from Q2 onward.
Upsales has been profitable for more than 20 years and has never been dependent on external capital. That does not change. What changes is that investors will now see the full earnings power of the underlying business, without the cost overlay of building a global AI product. I am confident that the coming quarters will demonstrate exactly how strong that underlying business is.
Daniel Wikberg
Founder & CEO
Further information
All financial reports are available at www.upsales.com
Contacts
CEO Daniel Wikberg: +46 70-261 84 05
CFO Kristina Fridheimer
ir@upsales.com
This information is information that Upsales Technology is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2026-04-22 08:30 CEST.
About Upsales
Upsales is a Stockholm-based software company on a mission to build the leading AI platform for B2B revenue growth. With best-in-class data and proprietary AI agents, Upsales helps companies accelerate profitable growth. In the last two decades, the company has built a track record of organic, profitable growth. Upsales is a net cash company with zero debt, strong cash flows, and has been paying annual dividends since 2022. Its scalable business model is powered by over 90% recurring subscription revenue. Upsales serves customers in 10 countries, with the majority of its customer base in Sweden. The company is 44% founder- and management-owned, with institutional shareholders including Danske Invest, Nordea Funds, TIN Fonder, SEB Funds, Herald Investment Management, and Schroders.
Upsales Technology AB (publ) is a public company listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market. The Company's Certified Adviser is DNB Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ).
