Hepsiburada (HEPS) Q1 2026 earnings review
Topline Growth Accelerates, But Credit Card Fees Widen Net Loss
Hepsiburada delivered solid 23% revenue growth and 28% GMV growth (inflation-adjusted) in Q1 2026. However, the bottom line painted a different picture: Net Loss more than doubled to TRY 992M. The primary culprit was a massive spike in financial expenses related to credit card collection fees in a high-interest macro environment, alongside heavy advertising investments. Despite these headwinds, operational efficiency improved at the core, with EBITDA expanding to TRY 420M.
🐂 Bull Case
Order frequency jumped 13.6% to 7.2 orders per active customer, pushing total orders up 22.1%. Customers are shopping more often, proving the stickiness of the platform.
Despite a massive jump in advertising spend, EBITDA margin expanded from 0.3% to 0.7%, proving the core commerce model has operating leverage when adjusted for financial headwinds.
🐻 Bear Case
Net loss more than doubled YoY. Higher credit card installment volumes in the Turkish market led to a massive TRY 943M increase in net financial expenses.
High-margin 'Other' revenues (including Premium subscriptions and Consumer Finance) dropped 17.7% YoY, a concerning drag on overall profitability.
⚖️ Verdict: ⚪
Neutral. The core e-commerce engine is Accelerating and generating positive EBITDA, but the severe vulnerability to Turkish macroeconomic conditions (inflation and credit card rates) makes the bottom line unpredictable and structurally weak.
Key Themes
Credit Card Fees Crushing the Bottom Line (Macro Impact)
While operating metrics improved, the bottom line was severely impacted by the macroeconomic environment. Net financial expenses surged by TRY 943M, directly driven by fees for the collection of credit card receivables due to higher installment numbers in the market. This highlights a structural vulnerability to Turkish credit conditions.
Premium and Fintech Revenue Contraction
Reversing its prior momentum, the 'Other' revenue segment—which houses Hepsiburada Premium, consumer finance, and fulfillment—fell 17.7% YoY. This is a specific data point that contradicts the broader narrative of 28% GMV growth. While a Premium price hike was implemented in late February 2026, the overall contraction in these high-margin services requires close monitoring.
Customer Acquisition and Advertising Costs
Growth is not coming cheap. Advertising expenses skyrocketed 42.2% YoY to TRY 1.77B, significantly outpacing GMV growth. Advertising as a percentage of GMV expanded to 3.1% from 2.8%, indicating that management had to buy this quarter's growth with heavier promotional activities.
Hepsijet Monetization Paying Off
Accelerating momentum in logistics. Delivery service revenue was a bright spot, growing 22.6% to TRY 3.74B. Crucially, management noted this was mainly driven by off-platform customers of Hepsijet, validating the strategy of turning the internal logistics network into an external revenue generator.
1P Inventory Efficiency
The 1P direct sales model demonstrated excellent cost control. While 1P revenue grew 26.7%, the cost of inventory sold increased only 23.4%. This generated meaningful margin improvement on the direct sales side, driven by tighter inventory management efficiencies.
Order Frequency Drives Volume
Active customer counts were largely Stable (+2.5%), but engagement surged. Order frequency jumped 13.6% YoY to 7.2 orders per customer. This higher engagement was the primary driver behind the 22.1% increase in total orders, proving that the platform is capturing a larger share of daily consumer habits.
Tech Empowerment for Women Entrepreneurs (TEWE)
The company continued to scale its TEWE program, reaching 72,000 women entrepreneurs. By leveraging its digital platform to provide commission discounts, specialized banking services, and digital marketing tools, Hepsiburada is using its tech stack to build a highly sticky and diverse 3P merchant base.
Other KPIs
Decelerating. Dropped 0.8pp from 15.5% a year ago. The compression was entirely driven by the sharp decline in high-margin 'Other' revenues, which offset the margin gains made in the 1P retail segment.
Stable. The cash outflow narrowed slightly by 8.1% compared to TRY (1.22) billion in Q1 2025. The improvement was driven by slightly better operating cash flow and a TRY 54 million reduction in tangible/intangible asset acquisitions.
Key Questions
Credit Card Installment Mitigation
Given the massive TRY 943M hit from credit card collection fees, are there any structural changes, merchant fee adjustments, or BNPL shifts planned to pass on or mitigate these costs in the coming quarters?
Premium Segment Rebound
With 'Other' revenue down 17.7% YoY, how much of a lift do you expect in Q2 from the late-February Hepsiburada Premium price increase, and what churn assumptions are built into that model?
Advertising Leverage
Advertising expenses grew 42% YoY and expanded as a percentage of GMV. At what point do you expect to see operating leverage in performance marketing, and what is your target ad spend ratio for the full year?