NIQ Global Intelligence 1Q26 Results Show Encouraging Progress to Us, Despite NIQ Stock Near Post-IPO Lows

Research evidence excerpt

NIQ Global Intelligence 1Q26 Results Show Encouraging Progress to Us, Despite NIQ Stock Near Post-IPO Lows

eployment should continue to drive operating

leverage, and could help EBITDA margins cross the 30% mark some day (for

reference, NIQ delivered a 21.8% pre-SBC margin last year and we estimate a

23.8% margin in 2026E). However, in the near term, we believe the most

compelling value creation opportunity for NIQ is to drive adoption of the Full View

Measurement (FVM) standard for market measurement. FVM merges retailer point

of sale data, proprietary panels, eCommerce receipts, and traditional trade

measurement into one market measurement framework. NIQ had 209 FVM clients

as of 1Q26, up from 190+ three months prior. We do think NIQ is cleverly

preparing for the emergence of agentic commerce (one appealing use case for AI

is in facilitating easier shopping) and, if agentic commerce does take off, we expect

demand for FVM’s broader coverage and NIQ’s SKU-level Product Insights data

could be amplified.

• Balance sheet update: NIQ ended 1Q26 with $362mm in cash against $3.59bln of

gross debt (principal value), equating to $3.23bln of net debt. Net financial leverage

was 3.4x LTM adjusted EBITDA on management’s calculation (pre-SBC) and a

similar value on our calculation (which subtracts normal-course SBC). Management

continues to target sub-3x net leverage by YE 2026. NIQ has two term loans, one

priced in USD and the other in EUR, that both mature in October 2030. Free cash

flow is critical in evaluating NIQ’s fundamental trajectory. NIQ exceeded its

guidance for “breakeven” FCF (defined as CFO minus capex) in 2025, generating

$36mm in annual free cash flow. We expect NIQ to generate $248mm in FCF in

2026E and $423mm in 2027E. We show our bridge between adj.