ACCESS Newswire Q1 2026 Update – ACCS
Mixed quarter: strong subscription KPIs, soft revenue
Disclosure: I own shares in ACCS. I am not a professional. Please do your own due diligence.
ACCESS Newswire provides public relations and investor relations communication solutions, including press release distribution, media monitoring, analytics, corporate newsrooms, IR websites, and event platforms. The company serves public and private issuers with a focus on workflow, distribution, and analytics. Its platform includes subscription‑based PR and IR tools and transactional press release services.
Price: $6.93 USD
MC: ~26.7 million USD
EV: ~25.6 million USD
1 year performance: -23.2%
ACCESS Newswire reported Q1 2026 results on May 12, 2026 and held a call yesterday. Results were below my expectations and the stock was down 14.55% yesterday.
all numbers in USD unless stated otherwise
Quarter Recap
Q1 2026 Financials
Revenue: 5.3M vs 5.5M (down 3 percent YoY)
Gross Profit: 4.0M vs 4.3M (down 7 percent YoY)
Gross Margin: 74 percent vs 78 percent (down 400 bps YoY)
Adjusted EBITDA: 0.6M vs 0.6M (flat YoY)
Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 11 percent vs 10 percent (up 100 bps YoY)
Subscribers: 1,119 vs 955 (up 17 percent YoY)
Average ARR per subscription: 12,803 vs 11,139 (up 15 percent YoY)
Total customers active in last 12 months: 13,786 vs 12,020 (up 15 percent YoY)
Subscription revenue mix: approximately 60 percent vs approximately 50 percent
Other KPIs
Subscribers: 1,119 vs 955 (up 17 percent YoY)
Average ARR per subscription: 12,803 vs 11,139 (up 15 percent YoY)
Total customers active in last 12 months: 13,786 vs 12,020 (up 15 percent YoY)
Subscription revenue mix: approximately 60 percent vs approximately 50 percent
Core press release revenue 4.4M vs 4.4M (flat YoY)
PR Platform and Media Suite revenue up 0.2M vs prior period (up 23 percent YoY)
PRO plan revenue down 0.13M vs prior period (down 46 percent YoY)
EDU subscribers: 115 vs not disclosed (not disclosed YoY)
Customer acquisition cost subscriber: 5,292
Customer acquisition cost non‑subscriber: 2,279
Conference Call Notes
Subscription performance
Retention improved to 92 percent
ARR per subscriber increased for seven of the last eight quarters
Subscription revenue mix reached approximately 60 percent
New product monetization
Social Monitoring produced approximately 20 percent ARR lift for upgrading subscribers
ACCESS Verified launched with early customer adoption
MCP analytics launched with initial customer usage
Revenue drivers
Core press release revenue declined sequentially due to seasonality
PRO plan revenue declined as customers migrated to subscription products
Webcasting and events revenue declined due to lower reseller activity
Cost structure
Operating expenses decreased 11 percent sequentially
Product development costs decreased due to higher capitalized software
G&A decreased year over year
Customer activity
110 new customers added in the quarter
EDU pipeline began converting into paid subscriptions
Total customers active in last 12 months reached 13,786
Guidance & Outlook
Revenue expectations
Management did not provide specific revenue guidance
Management previously expected top line growth but Q1 results were below expectations
ARR expectations
Management expects ARR per subscriber to continue increasing
Social Monitoring expected to contribute approximately 0.55M ARR over the next 12 months
MCP analytics expected to contribute incremental ARR
Management previously expected ARR growth and results were consistent with expectations
Gross margin expectations
Management expects gross margin to recover as volume increases
Management previously expected high 70s gross margin and Q1 results were below expectations
Cash neutrality expectations
Management expects continued positive cash flow from operations
Management previously expected cash neutrality and Q1 results were consistent with expectations
Unearned revenue expectations
Management did not provide expectations for unearned revenue
Profitability expectations
Management expects EBITDA margins to improve as subscription mix increases
Management previously expected high teens to 20s EBITDA margins and Q1 results were below expectations
Enterprise adoption expectations
Management expects enterprise adoption to increase through new product suite and marketplace integrations
Management previously expected enterprise adoption and Q1 results were consistent with expectations
Valuation
ACCS is trading at 11.5x EV/ttm EBITDA. Not cheap. I have them about 14.6x EV/FCF (my calculation). This gets cheaper if they manage to get to the numbers I am looking for.
Closing Thoughts
Though I was disappointed in the top line and gross margin, the business did generate more cash in Q1 2026 than Q1 2025.
I believe we are moving in the right direction, so I’m willing to give it a couple quarters before . I will monitor some of the leading indicators as well I would expect them to continue with the NCIB here.
In order for ACCS to work out we will need top line growth and gross margin to get back to the high 70s.
If they get to the stated goal of 80% ARR of total revenue, they we will get less quarterly swings and it might be worth an extra point on the multiple.
I am still holding my small position.
Thanks for reading my work.
Dean
long ACCS