Smartbroker Holding, Aspermont, Goldgroup – Data Is the New Gold

Smartbroker Holding: Reach Meets Transaction

Smartbroker Holding AG demonstrates how financial information and securities trading can be combined. In the first half of 2026, the company increased consolidated revenue by 9.6% to EUR 35.4 million. Operating EBITDA after customer acquisition costs improved from EUR 0.1 to 2.2 million. The online broker SMARTBROKER+ showed particularly strong growth. With 4.7 million transactions, the number of trades rose by approximately 60% compared to the previous year.

What sets the business model apart is the integration of brokerage and financial media. wallstreetONLINE, FinanzNachrichten.de, BörsenNews, and ARIVA collectively reached approximately 1.5 billion page views and an average of 4.9 million monthly users in the first half of the year. The media segment generated an operating EBITDA margin of 26.4%. This means that reach is not only monetized through advertising but can also guide users into the brokerage ecosystem.

The retirement savings account is expected to provide new momentum. SMARTBROKER+ has already announced a model for this that does not charge account maintenance fees, savings plan fees, or commission on trades. CEO André Kolbinger expects stronger performance again in the fourth quarter and sees additional opportunities in retirement planning, among other areas.

GBC also remains optimistic. In mid-September, the analysts reaffirmed their "Buy" rating with a price target of EUR 17.80. For 2027, they expect revenue of EUR 83 million and EBITDA of EUR 11.5 million; by 2028, these figures are projected to reach EUR 99 million and 22 million, respectively. If the company succeeds in integrating media reach and brokerage even more closely, operational scaling could gain significant momentum.

Aspermont: Transforming Specialized Media into a Data Platform

What Smartbroker is demonstrating in the broader financial market, Aspermont is trying to do in a highly specialized niche. The Australian company has established B2B brands for mining, energy and agriculture, enabling it to reach professional decision-makers in industries where high-quality information holds immediate economic value.

Aspermont is increasingly evolving from a traditional trade publisher into a provider of data and intelligence for the global commodities industry. Content, industry contacts and proprietary data built up over decades are no longer to be monetized solely through advertising and subscriptions, but rather serve as the foundation for higher-value information products.

Artificial intelligence could further enhance the value of this treasure trove of data. The better large volumes of data can be automatically analyzed, linked and made usable for customers, the more valuable proprietary information—which is not freely available on the internet—becomes. For a specialized provider like Aspermont, this opens up the opportunity to develop additional scalable products from existing content.

Added to this is the market environment. Record gold prices, the race for critical raw materials and investments worth billions in new supply chains are increasing the demand for information among mining companies, investors and service providers. With its specialized brands, Aspermont is positioned right between these groups.

The key lever, therefore, lies in monetization. If the company succeeds in converting a growing share of its existing user base into recurring, higher-margin data and intelligence revenue, its earnings profile could change significantly. The Australian company's market capitalization currently stands at around EUR 9 million.

Goldgroup Mining: Record Financing and Expansion Plans in Mexico

Goldgroup Mining shows how much capital can still flow back into attractive commodities projects. On September 25, the company completed a private placement totaling USD 121.85 million. Strong demand from institutional investors increased the offering's original target volume by more than 60%. A total of 33.38 million units were placed at an issue price of USD 3.65 each. Each unit consists of one common share and half a warrant, which can be exercised by March 2028 at a fixed price of USD 5.10. Management plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate the expansion of existing mining operations and to explore strategic investments and potential acquisitions in the commodities sector.

The Group's operational focus remains on the Don David Gold Complex in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. There, the company operates two active underground mines: Arista and Alta Gracia. The adjacent El Aguila processing plant processes the mined ore using flotation and leaching facilities to produce copper, lead and zinc concentrates containing gold and silver. The entire concession area spans more than 55,000 hectares along the San Jose structural corridor. To further develop the remaining resource potential, Goldgroup is conducting a 34,250 m drilling program this year.

Results to date have confirmed continuous precious metal occurrences within the existing Arista and Switchback vein systems. In addition, the newly discovered "Three Sisters-Gloria" structure is increasingly emerging as another key production source for future mining planning.

Information, reach, and capital are gaining importance in the new commodities boom. Smartbroker Holding shows how financial media and brokerage services can integrate into a digital ecosystem. Goldgroup Mining, in turn, illustrates the growing investor interest in the gold sector with its multi-million financing round. Aspermont sits right in the middle and could benefit from the industry's rising demand for information through its established trade media, decades of accumulated commodities data, and new intelligence products.