First Berlin Equity Research has published a research update on Verve Group SE (ISIN: SE0018538068). Analyst Ellis Acklin reiterated his BUY rating and maintained his EUR 4.50 price target.

Abstract
Q1 reporting fell short of FBe, but the miss chiefly reflects the timing mismatch between front-loaded investment costs and future growth rather than operational deterioration. AEBITDA came in below our and street forecasts as the enlarged sales force is still ramping and recently unveiled Retail Media activities weighed on costs. From a pure operational standpoint, however, the quarter showed continued improvement. Gross margin rose 2.7PP YoY to 41% providing further evidence that last year’s platform unifications are feeding through into underlying business economics. Management continue to frame 2026 as a back-loaded year, with the benefits from sales hires, AI-driven efficiencies and Retail Media likely becoming more visible only in H2/26. Against this backdrop, the task ahead is now clear: convert the hard groundwork of the past 18 months into visible revenue acceleration and renewed earnings leverage. We maintain our Buy rating with an unchanged €4.5 TP (upside: 172%).