Meridian Q4 2025 Earnings Report

Meridian EPS Results

• Actual EPS: -$7.09
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Meridian Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $49.58 million
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Meridian Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q4 2025
• Date: 3/31/2026
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 8:00AM ET

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRDN) Corporation was a bank holding company and the former parent of Meridian Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Pennsylvania. Through its banking operations, the company provided commercial and retail banking services to businesses, professionals and individual customers.

Meridian Bank’s offerings included commercial real estate and business loans, residential mortgages, consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, and other financial products. The bank primarily served customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.

Christopher J. Annas served as Meridian Corporation’s chairman and chief executive officer. Meridian Corporation was acquired by Univest Financial Corporation, and its shares are no longer publicly traded under the MRDN symbol.

Meridian Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Meridian reported record revenue of $49.6M in Q4 (up 8% YoY) and $182.9M for FY2025 (up 21% YoY), driven largely by Meridianbet.
• Negative Sentiment: The company booked a $91.8M non-cash goodwill and intangible impairment, producing a Q4 net loss of $88.4M; management says the charge is non-cash and did not affect liquidity or covenant compliance.
• Positive Sentiment: Balance sheet strength improved materially — total debt fell to $34.7M (down 51% YoY), net debt declined 59% to $16.7M, cash was $18.1M, and net leverage dropped to ~0.9x, providing greater financial flexibility.
• Positive Sentiment: Management provided Q1 2026 guidance of roughly $50M revenue (+17% YoY) and $6.1M adjusted EBITDA (+9% YoY) and said early 2026 trends are in line with that guidance.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational momentum and growth initiatives support future upside — Meridianbet registrations rose 72% to 1.2M, product launches (Meridian Missions, Flash Bet), strategic market moves (Brazil launch, Malta retail acquisition, Belgian license), and strong Expanse Studios expansion.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Meridian Holdings fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call. With us on today's call are William Scott, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Holdings, Rich Christensen, Chief Financial Officer of Meridian Holdings, and Zoran Milosevic, Chief Executive Officer of Meridianbet Group, a subsidiary of Meridian Holdings. At the conclusion of the call, a recording and other supporting materials will be available on the Meridian Holdings investor relations website at www.meridian-holdings.com. As a reminder, today's call will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements are based on various assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For a complete discussion of these factors, please refer to our most recent 10-K filing and other public disclosures available at www.sec.gov. Non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed on today's call.

[Operator]

Reconciliations to non-GAAP measures can be found in our earnings press release and 10-K filing, both of which are available on our investor relations website. I will now hand the call over to William Scott. Please begin.

[William Scott, Interim CEO and President at Meridian Holdings]

Thank you and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for our first earnings call under our new name, Meridian Holdings. I want to start by addressing our fourth quarter results. We delivered record revenue of $49.6 million, up 8% over last year. We closed out 2025 with record revenue of $182.9 million, up 21% from last year. However, we recorded a net loss of $88.4 million for the fourth quarter or $7.09 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $2.1 million or $0.20 per diluted share in the prior year. The loss was primarily driven by non-cash goodwill and intangible impairments charge of $91.8 million. The business generated $4.6 million of adjusted EBITDA for the quarter at 9.3% of revenue.

[William Scott, Interim CEO and President at Meridian Holdings]

Adjusted EBITDA was behind our near-term expectation of 12% due to lower sports betting margins in November and some higher marketing and administrative costs. Our balance sheet, we reduced debt by $36.3 million in a single year. Our net debt declined 59% year-over-year to $16.7 million, and our net debt leverage ratio fell to 0.9x. We're entering 2026 with a strong balance sheet and the flexibility to continue to grow our business. I'm also excited by our performance as we enter 2026. We can provide first quarter guidance of approximately $50 million in revenue or 17% growth from 2025 and $6.1 million adjusted EBITDA, a 9% growth from 2025. The rebrand to Meridian Holdings is complete. It's not a cosmetic change. It aligns our corporate identity with our most recognized and operationally significant brand.

[William Scott, Interim CEO and President at Meridian Holdings]

A name change means nothing without execution behind it. Our focus in 2026 is straightforward, deliver on guidance, maintain operational discipline across our 25 markets, and continue the balance sheet trajectory we established in 2025. Rich will take you through the financials in detail. Rich.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

Thank you, William. I'll start by walking through the details behind those numbers. Focusing on the fourth quarter, revenue of $49.6 million was 8% higher than 2024. The growth was led by Meridianbet, which delivered $35.2 million, up 15% year-over-year. The total company revenue was about $3 million behind our expectations. While foreign exchange contributed about $1 million of the shortfall, our sports betting business and casino had weaker than expected margins in late November and December. This reduced both revenue and profitability by about $1.5 million. It is also important to note that we have seen these businesses return to their longer-term trends in the first quarter of 2026. Gross profit reached $28.5 million, representing 57.5% margin compared to a 58.4% margin in 2024.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

This 90 basis point decline reflects the lower revenue mentioned earlier, as well as a slight mix shift to earlier-stage markets where we're currently investing in our future growth. In nominal terms, gross profit grew 6% from the fourth quarter of 2024. Operating expenses increased $95 million in the fourth quarter versus last year. This was primarily due to a non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge of $63.4 million and $28.4 million, respectively, and a charge for executive transition costs of $1.1 million for Brian Goodman's departure. The remaining increase of approximately $2 million was from the additional investment in selling and marketing expenses targeted at driving customer retention and growth.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

The $91.8 million goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge was recognized in accordance with ASC 350 and ASC 360, which requires companies to evaluate goodwill for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the fair value of their reporting units may have declined below their carrying value. Our triggering event for this impairment was a sustained decline in the company's share price during the fourth quarter. This prolonged decrease in the stock price also resulted in the corresponding reduction in the company's market capitalization, which fell significantly below its carrying value. Under US GAAP, this condition is treated as a clear indicator that the fair value of the business may be lower than its book value and therefore require the company to perform an interim quantitative impairment test. Following this trigger, management conducted an updated valuation incorporating current market inputs, revised discount rate assumptions, and updated long-term financial projections.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

The analysis concluded that the fair value of both goodwill and intangible assets was below their respective carrying amounts. As a result, the company recorded a goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge equal to the amount necessary to reduce its balance to the estimated fair value. The impairment is non-cash in nature and does not affect the company's liquidity, cash flows from operations, or compliance with financial covenants. While the decline in share price does not directly impact the company's ability to execute its operating strategy, the impairment reflects the alignment of the carrying value of goodwill and intangible assets with the current market valuation conditions as required under applicable accounting standards. Including these items, our net loss for the fourth quarter was $88.4 million, compared with a net loss of only $2.1 million in the same period of 2024.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

Adjusting for them, adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was $4.6 million, representing a 9.3% margin. As William noted, we entered 2026 having substantially de-leveraged the business. Let me put some specifics around those numbers. Cash at December 31st, 2025 was $18.1 million. Total debt was reduced to $34.7 million, down 51% from $71 million at the end of 2024. Net debt stands at $16.7 million, down 59% from $40.9 million, and our net debt leverage fell below 0.9x our trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA, compared with approximately 2.1x at the close of 2024. We reduced total debt by $36.3 million in a single year. This is a direct reflection on the cash-generating capability of the business. Our capital allocation priorities for 2026 are straightforward.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

First, organic growth investments in our core markets, including technology, compliance infrastructure, and market growth, where returns are clearly defined. Second, continued debt management to further reduce leverage in the near term. Strategic M&A remains on the table where target meets our goals of strategic fit and attractive valuation, synergies with our proprietary technology, and a clear path to value creation. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Zoran Milosevic, the CEO of Meridianbet, to walk through the operational performance. Zoran?

[Zoran Milosevic, CEO of Meridianbet Group at Meridian Holdings]

Thank you, Rich. Good morning, everyone. Beyond the financial metrics, full-year 2025 was the year in which we demonstrated what kind of company Meridianbet is becoming, and Q4 alone illustrates that well. On the product side, we launched Meridian Missions, a proprietary three-tier engagement system that transforms regular betting activity into structured, rewarding experience. We introduced Flash Bet, a proprietary instant sports simulation feature built around real scheduled events, bridging traditional pre-match betting with instant results, a growing segment of our user base. Combined with over 10 new sportsbook content partnerships added during the year, our product offering entering 2026 is materially stronger than 12 months ago. On the marketing community side, we extended our title sponsorship with Crvena zvezda through 2030. This club competes at the highest level of European basketball and carries a fan base of millions across our core markets.

[Zoran Milosevic, CEO of Meridianbet Group at Meridian Holdings]

It's a long-term commitment to our communities and the sport culture our users are part of. In Malta, we completed an acquisition that positions Meridianbet as the dominant retail operator in one of Europe's most tightly regulated and most difficult to enter gaming markets. We secured our Belgian B+ online casino license, adding regulated Western European market access to our footprint. The product decisions, community investments, and market commitments of full-year 2025 are what the numbers of 2026 will be built on. Looking ahead to 2026, Meridianbet strategic priorities align directly with Meridian Holdings' overall growth objectives. First, scaling our Brazil operations. Following our successful Q4 launch, we focused on aggressive user acquisition, market penetration, and establishing Meridianbet as the leading brand in one of the world's most attractive gaming markets. Second, expanding our AI-powered capabilities.

[Zoran Milosevic, CEO of Meridianbet Group at Meridian Holdings]

We will continue investing in machine learning, personalization, and predictive analytics to drive superior player experiences and higher lifetime value. Third, deepening our market presence across existing jurisdictions. We operate in 18 licensed markets today, and there is significant runway for growth within our existing footprint through increased market share and improved brand awareness. Fourth, pursuing strategic licensing opportunities in high growth regions, particularly in Latin America and selected European markets where regulatory framework are evolving favorably. I'm incredibly proud of what Meridianbet team accomplished in 2025, and I'm even more excited about what lies ahead in 2026. We have the platform, the team, the technology, and the market positioning to deliver exceptional growth while maintaining the operational discipline that has defined our success. With that, I'll turn the call back to Rich.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

Thank you, Zoran. I'll walk through the performance of each of our segments. While we're presenting full-year results, as we believe this provides the clearest view of each segment's contribution, we will provide some additional color from the fourth quarter and what we're seeing in the first quarter of 2026. First, Meridianbet delivered revenue of $124.6 million this year, up 17% from 2024. Meridianbet represents 68% of total company revenue at roughly a 70% gross margin. Meridianbet registrations grew 72% year-over-year to 1.2 million, with active users up 35% and depositors growing 40%.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

While our year-over-year revenue growth rate moderated to 15% in the fourth quarter, as mentioned earlier, Meridianbet's fundamental growth remains very strong in the fourth quarter, with registrations up 63%, active users increasing 29%, and gross margin ticking up to 71%. As Zoran described, it is an exciting time for Meridianbet. The strategic investments we have made in people, technology, and our growing markets are driving profitable growth. In fact, Meridianbet is responsible for much of the accelerating growth described in our revenue guidance for the first quarter. We expect Meridianbet's revenue to climb approximately 25% in the first quarter when compared to the first quarter of 2025. Turning to Expanse Studios.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

While still a smaller part of Meridianbet, Expanse Studios delivered its strongest year on record and will be a larger contributor to financial performance in 2026 and beyond. Revenue grew 435% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, with full-year growth confirming the B2B content distribution model is scaling as designed. The operator network expanded from just 184-1,344 sites during 2025, an increase of 630% over last year. The game portfolio reached 71 proprietary titles across over 1,300 operator partners. New B2B licenses were secured in Romania and Sweden, with RGS certifications now active across nine jurisdictions, including Brazil, Romania, Peru, and Croatia.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

The RKings and Classics for a Cause segment delivered revenue in 2025 of $43.8 million, up 35% over last year and up 20% organically as Classics was acquired in the third quarter of 2024. This segment represents 24% of total company revenue. Ticket volume from the RKings platform scaled 137% year-over-year to 25.2 million, reflecting strong platform engagement. Value per new registration grew 23% in the fourth quarter and 19% for the full-year. This is a signal of improving customer quality within the customer acquisition mix. However, new registrations declined year-over-year, reflecting a deliberate shift in acquisition strategy towards higher value users. Consequently, segment revenue declined 8% from 2024 to $10.9 million in the fourth quarter.

[Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer at Meridian Holdings]

We expect this decline to reverse to growth in the first quarter of 2026 of between 5%-10%. Finally, GMAG delivered revenue in 2025 of $14.5 million, up 16% year-over-year, representing 8% of total company revenue. Growth declined 3% to $3.5 million in the fourth quarter. The segment continues to focus on higher margin client relationships during the year. Within the GMAG segment, MexPlay, the segment's Mexico-facing online casino, continues to scale, with registrations growing 256% year-over-year in Q4. The total active users reached 32,308 in the quarter. With that, I'll turn the call back to William for closing remarks. Thank you.

[William Scott, Interim CEO and President at Meridian Holdings]

Thank you, Rich. As we close the call, I want to leave you with a few direct thoughts on where we stand and where we're headed. FY 2025 was a year of operational delivery, record revenue, meaningful debt reduction, and a rebrand that positioned this company correctly for what it is today. The non-cash charges weighing on our GAAP results are behind us. The balance sheet work is largely done. What remains is execution. In 2026, our priorities are straightforward. Deliver on guidance, maintain operational discipline across all our markets, continue the balance sheet trajectory we established this year, and communicate clearly with you every quarter. No ambiguity about what the numbers mean and what drives them. Every decision we make will be grounded in long-term shareholder value, not on preserving complexity for its sake.

[William Scott, Interim CEO and President at Meridian Holdings]

We are three months into Q1 2026, and the business is performing in line with the preliminary guidance we provided today. We look forward to reporting Q1's results and continuing this conversation. Thank you for your time and your continued interest in Meridian Holdings.

[Operator]

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This brings us to the end of today's Meridian Holdings's fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call. We appreciate your time and participation, and you may now disconnect.

Participants

Executives

• Rich Christensen, CFO and Treasurer
• William Scott, Interim CEO and President
• Zoran Milosevic, CEO of Meridianbet Group