Products and sales markets
Digitalisation, AI and digital sovereignty are dominant topics
As in 2024, the reporting period was also characterised by the reluctance of broad customer groups to commit to upcoming IT projects. Our SME customers in Germany and France in particular and, at least in the first nine months of the year, public-sector clients in Germany were rather reluctant to invest. The reason for this restraint is solely the difficult macroeconomic situation and not a structural problem in the IT market. On the contrary, the trends in IT are still intact. Digitalisation is still one of the most important drivers. High availability, access to the workplace from different locations and flexibility in IT use require a high degree of digitalisation. The subject of security will also become increasingly relevant. In 2023, an EU directive took effect (NIS-2), according to which numerous companies in the EU are obliged to guarantee certain security standards in their IT. This directive was transposed into national law in Germany at the end of 2025. Some of our customers also focussed on the fundamentally new possibilities offered by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the reporting period. AI-related requirements will make the operation of IT infrastructures even more complex, pushing the demand for competent partners. We see significant impulses for our business in the medium and long term in this area. In addition, the topic of digital sovereignty has become increasingly relevant in light of the uncertainties in the transatlantic relationship in the reporting period. As a European player, Bechtle is positioned excellently here. The development of an “Index of Sovereignty” also further sharpens our profile in this respect. Finally, the €500 billion special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality, adopted later in 2025, is expected to boost our business as well. The impact should be felt directly through increased IT and digitalisation investment, and indirectly as improved customer sentiment in Germany helps to revitalise demand.
However, it is currently impossible to reliably predict when these positive effects will actually materialise. Bechtle expects that some customers will bring forward their investments to the first half of the year due to the price increases. Business with public-sector clients in Germany and other national markets should make a positive contribution to growth throughout the year. However, the prerequisites for positive scenarios remain an improvement in the macroeconomic situation and a stabilisation of the political situation in our important French market, as well as good delivery capacity on the part of our manufacturing partners. However, it is clear that the need for continuous digital innovation is irreversible. Bechtle therefore anticipates high demand for future-proof IT solutions in the medium and long term.
We will expand our range of specialised IT solutions in the service business over the next few years. In this context, we regard subjects such as security, cloud solutions, networking solutions, as-a-service models, mobility, storage, modern workplace and AI as market drivers. Bechtle considers itself to be in an excellent position in all these areas and is always able to offer customers state-of-the-art solutions. In general, we plan to continually expand the share of higher-margin services and the share of recurring revenue.
Bechtle is confident that the demand for both individual solutions as well as for standardised processes will grow. With our multichannel strategy, including our digital platform bechtle.com, we offer customers of all sizes the opportunity to obtain IT solutions quickly and easily. We want to continuously expand this. In the current year, the Bechtle Clouds offerings are to be fully integrated into bechtle.com. Our efforts also include the expansion of our Service Factory with its managed service offerings for the standardised performance of services, which will help us to leverage economies of scale. Our platform strategy is supplemented by the operation of our three Bechtle data centres.
Digitalisation is also an internal lever
Digitalisation at Bechtle itself is a key element of the said platform strategy. Since 2017, we have been systematically expanding our website bechtle.com into a digital marketplace. On this website, our customers can see the entire bandwidth of Bechtle’s service and solution portfolio at a glance. Irrespective of the customer’s original request, Bechtle can address each customer holistically in this way and offer them targeted solutions. At the same time, this helps us to boost customer satisfaction and penetration. Moreover, cooperation across national borders is being further promoted under the “One Bechtle” motto. This would be nearly impossible without virtual collaboration platforms. By increasing the level of digitalisation, we can also make our own processes more productive and efficient. The use of artificial intelligence also plays an important role here. There are various projects within the Bechtle Group, particularly in internal sales, where we want to automate simpler tasks so that our employees can concentrate more on complex tasks and projects. We also invested heavily in the reporting period, for example in the automation of our supply chain management processes, in AI-driven sales support and in a platform that enables new manufacturers to easily integrate into our product portfolio. Apart from having a positive effect on profitability, all this will help us to achieve significant growth in the future without increasing headcount to the same extent. In view of the demographic factor, this is an invaluable advantage. For the future successful positioning of Bechtle, we therefore believe that, in general, digitalising many of our (internal) processes is vital.
An important step towards even greater customer penetration and higher customer satisfaction has been the realignment of the Executive Board organisation since January 2025. We bundle responsibility for all sales channels in a particular country market in one hand. The aim is to implement a holistic market strategy and to optimally serve customers across all channels in line with their needs. Michael Guschlbauer has been responsible for the business in Germany and Austria since 1 January 2025. Konstantin Ebert is responsible for all other national markets in which Bechtle is active with its own companies; these are Belgium, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary. In addition to further strengthening customer loyalty and improving market penetration, the consistent multichannel approach should also ensure positive economic effects through greater efficiency in processes.
Bechtle as a driver of consolidation
The consolidation on the European IT market, which has been ongoing for years, will continue in the coming years. Smaller providers, in particular, will find it increasingly difficult to offer their customers services in the needed breadth and depth and ensure competitive availabilities for the products offered. In view of the tense macroeconomic situation that has persisted for several years now, it is generally assumed that consolidation will continue. However, the high degree of fragmentation of the European IT market and especially of the German-speaking IT market has not changed fundamentally. This structure is likely to remain unchanged even if, in the coming years, consolidation should intensify as expected. The Bechtle Group can benefit from this development thanks to its financial strength, its leading competitive position, its decentralised positioning as well as its outstanding reputation in the M&A market and among all relevant customer groups. We therefore expect to continue to expand our market share in the future.
The Bechtle Group will carry on with its efforts to reinforce its market position by expanding existing companies and business fields and through acquisitions. Our acquisition strategy envisages making acquisitions in all 14 countries in which we are already represented. We are thus going to step up our individual presences and extend our range of system-integration services to countries in which we had previously only engaged in trading. We were also represented with our service portfolio in eight European countries in the reporting period, and in nine since January 2026 with the acquisition in Portugal. By making acquisitions and expanding our portfolio, we are not only increasing our growth potential in these countries – we are also strengthening our existing activities in the respective markets as well as customer loyalty. In 2026, the focus of the M&A strategy will be on Southern and Eastern Europe. Complementary acquisitions in countries where we already offer service business naturally remain an option.
Bechtle is well positioned to benefit from a positive overall macroeconomic development.
Personnel
Sharpening the employer brand
Staff development, training as well as further education will continue to play an extremely important role in our company. With an established range of training measures and consistent continuation of the internal management programmes, Bechtle intends to continue investing in the development of junior and executive staff. For 2026, the Executive Board plans to increase the number of employees slightly – irrespective of acquisitions – but at a lower rate than the business volume. As already mentioned, the advancing internal digitalisation enables us to keep the headcount increase below the growth of the business volume. However, the increase in the number of employees is closely linked to economic development and is therefore also closely monitored during the year. Stable development or a slight organic decline as in the reporting period are also possible.
The further sharpening of the Bechtle employer brand is a central objective of the personnel policy. This clearly shows that Bechtle has a strong ability to attract attention and stimulate enthusiasm. The further development of employer branding is not an entirely cost-neutral process. However, the investments made in this area are future-oriented and effectively secure Bechtle’s success in the coming years.
Relevant control and performance indicators
Below, we describe the forecast in relation to the relevant control parameters and performance indicators, whereby business volume, EBT and EBT margin represent significant financial performance indicators within the meaning of Section 315 (1) sentence 3 of the German Commercial Code (HGB).
Business volume
Bechtle has the ambition to grow every year, and to grow faster than the market. For Bechtle, the business volume is the most important metric for measuring, controlling and planning the operating business. Only the business volume, which reflects gross revenue, provides a realistic picture of the Bechtle Group’s size, development and significance from both customer and manufacturer perspectives. This is because business volume includes software sales where Bechtle acts as an agent, which, under IFRS 15, cannot be fully recognised as revenue. Despite the challenging conditions in the reporting period, Bechtle managed to grow by 8.1 per cent thanks to a successful final spurt. Bechtle has shown sustained high growth for many years. Since 2015, we have greatly increased our business volume at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 12 per cent, thereby outperforming the IT market. The successful growth over the years was primarily organically driven. With strong M&A activity in the reporting period in the form of four acquisitions, the share of acquired companies in the growth in business volume was 2.9 percentage points. We assume that the Group’s growth rates will be characterised more organically again in the future.
Many of our customers still have an investment backlog. However, it is not possible to predict whether and when this will be resolved. Following the adoption of the 2026 budget in December of the reporting period, at least the public sector in Germany already has the necessary certainty and predictability to make use of the existing framework agreements or launch new tenders on the market this year. At the time of reporting, there was considerable uncertainty due to the price increases implemented by many manufacturers. The price of some PCs has already risen significantly. Price increases have been announced for servers and storage. It remains to be seen whether customers will accept the higher prices or prefer to postpone projects. The development of our business volume may be affected accordingly. Possible delivery problems are also discussed repeatedly. Such a scenario could also have a negative impact on our growth. The development of the Bechtle Group continues to depend on the overall economic environment. All in the range of possible scenarios for the overall economic development, the industry development and thus for the development at Bechtle is very broad. It is therefore very difficult to formulate a precise forecast. Nevertheless, we also see positive signals for the IT market and thus also for Bechtle in the variety of possible scenarios. We are therefore entering the new fiscal year with optimism. We anticipate significant growth in business volume in the range of 5 per cent to 10 per cent (including acquisitions) in 2026.
Revenue
In principle, the development of revenue follows the same framework parameters as the development of business volume. As a result of solid growth in our software business in recent years, it typically remained somewhat below the growth rates of the business volume. This picture was also evident in the reporting period. Due to the above-average development of our software business, revenue grew by 1.6 per cent, 6.5 percentage points less than the business volume. For 2026, we expect revenue growth to remain below the growth in business volume due to the continued dynamic development of our software business. It is impossible to predict how strongly the software business will develop in concrete terms. However, we expect revenue to develop in the range of 0 per cent to +5 per cent.
Costs
In recent years, the cost of sales increased at more or less the same rate as revenue. In years marked by significant growth rates – which are usually associated with a higher proportion of hardware – we often see a disproportionately high increase in material costs, resulting in pressure on gross margins. We can compensate for this in years with lower growth rates and a frequently higher proportion of revenue with services and in the solutions business as well as with software. Developments in the reporting period were similar. In view of the high demand for services and software and still subdued demand for hardware, the cost of materials rose less sharply than revenue. The gross margin therefore increased again from an already high 18.1 per cent to 18.6 per cent. If demand for large-volume client projects or for servers and storage increases again in 2026, the cost of materials could rise more sharply and thus exert pressure on the gross margin. Our goal therefore remains to keep the gross margin above 17.5 per cent. We are also planning for the cost of sales to develop roughly in line with sales growth in 2026.
Being a service provider, personnel expenses play a prominent role at the Bechtle Group. They represent the largest items within distribution costs at just under 80 per cent and within administrative costs at over 60 per cent. In view of Bechtle’s increasingly consulting-intensive business model and the decentralised, nationwide positioning of the locations as well as the shortage of specialists in some areas, it is not feasible to structure personnel costs flexibly. Moreover, especially in view of the shortage of experts, Bechtle considers employee bonding and a reputation as a reliable employer to be far more important than short-term cost-optimisation measures. Nevertheless, due to the increasing digitalisation and automation of internal processes, on the one hand, and the fact that we are making work processes more efficient and productive, on the other, we will be increasingly successful in achieving high business volume growth with only a disproportionately low increase in personnel. In the 2026 fiscal year, we anticipate an organic increase in personnel costs that should be roughly in line with inflation or slightly higher. All in all, the Executive Board expects the absolute expenses for the two functional areas sales and administration to further increase in 2026. However, we are endeavouring to avoid disproportionate growth in personnel costs and also want to reduce the respective ratios again through stronger revenue growth. The aim is to keep the distribution cost ratio below 7.5 per cent and the administrative expense ratio below 6.5 per cent of revenue.
Earnings
Our goal is profitable growth. In general, the pre-tax margin should at least be maintained and ideally increased. Earnings performance has varied in recent years: After many years of continuous growth, the last two years have been characterised by declines. Nevertheless, the CAGR of EBT has been just under 10 per cent since the 2015 fiscal year. In the reporting period, the general economic conditions had a negative impact on Bechtle’s business and thus also on our earnings performance. There was a lack of impetus from the demand side, particularly in France. Due to the lack of top-line growth, it was not possible to compensate for the high cost base. As a result, both the result and the margin fell compared to the previous year. The cost base is expected to continue to rise in 2026. The aim is to keep the increase in costs roughly in line with the growth in business volume. Acquisitions cannot be planned either, but have an impact on both personnel costs and depreciation and amortisation. Continuous investment in our own IT is also essential, but is also reflected in depreciation and amortisation. The decisive factor for the development in 2026 is that business volume growth remains roughly at the previous year’s level so that it is higher in relation to cost growth. As mentioned, the range of possible scenarios is very broad. We are generally assuming a positive trend for 2026. Due to the very high level of uncertainty and the necessary investments mentioned above, we nevertheless expect earnings to develop below the business volume. We are therefore planning for an overall EBT development in the range of 0 per cent to +5 per cent for 2026. As a result, we expect the margin to decline slightly.
Bechtle AG plans to continue to share its entrepreneurial success with its shareholders in the form of an attractive dividend. The dividend policy is mainly aligned with the group’s earnings and liquidity position and provides for a dividend payout ratio of about one third of the earnings after taxes. The current dividend proposal for the 2025 fiscal year of €0.70 per share represents a ratio of 38.5 per cent. It is therefore noticeably above the line of our long-term dividend strategy and also above the previous year (35.9 per cent). Our aim is to at least keep the dividend stable. There are no plans for any fundamental changes to the company’s dividend policy.
Net assets and financial position
Liquidity
The balance sheet structure of the Bechtle Group did not undergo any fundamental changes in the reporting period. As previously, Bechtle boasted an excellent liquidity situation and a very sound equity ratio. This financial strength is a vital precondition that enables Bechtle to continuously grow under its own steam and respond flexibly to the requirements of the markets. The high level of liquidity is therefore proving to be a competitive advantage. The financial position and stability of the IT partner is a key decision-making criterion from the customer perspective, especially in connection with the award of long-term projects. Therefore, Bechtle will continue to attach special importance to cash flow management. In addition to the free liquidity of €452.0 million, Bechtle’s debt potential is considerable in view of the good balance sheet ratios. Combined with the continued positive development of the operating cash flow, Bechtle thus has the leeway needed for attaining its goals and financing the targeted above-average growth – even under its own steam. We assume that we will also generate positive cash flows in 2026 and subsequent years.
Financing
Traditionally, Bechtle’s financial liabilities have always remained at manageable levels. This is also reflected in the net debt. At €20.6 million, it was at a very good level in the reporting period. This means that Bechtle’s debt is de facto minimal. The basic positions will not undergo any material changes in 2026, unless major acquisitions take place. Smaller acquisitions could be financed in 2026 from existing liquidity and current cash flow. In general, Bechtle’s excellent credit rating means that borrowing is also possible at any time. The acquisition of larger companies could lead to a noticeable outflow of liquid funds. In such a case, however, it would be more likely that at least partial financing would be obtained by raising additional debt capital. It would also be possible to utilise equity financing options in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the Annual General Meeting. Until May 2030, the Executive Board is authorised to increase the share capital by issuing up to 8.9 million shares against cash or non-cash contributions. The Executive Board also has authorisation to issue convertible bonds or other instruments with a total nominal value of €400 million (contingent capital 2025). Bechtle has already utilised the previous option to issue convertible bonds (contingent capital 2021) in 2023. A conversion has not yet taken place.
Provided that no major takeovers occur in 2026, the balance sheet structure will most likely not undergo any material changes compared to the reporting date 31 December 2025.
Investments
The business of Bechtle AG, which comprises IT product trading and IT services, does not involve any major investments. The investment ratio was about 25.6 per cent in 2025, a figure higher than the long-term average. That said, the investment sum of €121.0 million was influenced by the leasing business, which we handle via our own financing company Bechtle Financial Services and which we have to recognise in part as an investment. Traditional investments totalled around €98 million and were therefore roughly in line with our expectations. This year, Bechtle will continue to invest in the company’s future. Larger individual investments relate, in particular, to the changeover from Navision to SAP. In addition, there is ongoing investment in our digitalisation, our own IT and our Clouds platform, as well as in buildings at our business locations. We assume that traditional investments in 2026 (excluding the leasing business) will amount to between €100 million and €110 million.
Acquisitions will remain an integral element of our growth strategy in all business fields.
