← Deep analysesHome
mttssn research · Nordic Deep Dive
G5 Entertainment (G5EN.ST)
Technology · F2P mobile games (live-ops) · LTM Q1 2026
Analysis date: 2026-06-07
Price at analysis: SEK 59.00
Method: mttssn_streamlined_v1
Conviction: LOW
HOLD
Conviction: LOW
A clean, debt-free mobile-games developer creating marginal economic value (adjusted ROIC 11.7%, EP +SEK 5M) but shrinking — FY2025 revenue −17%, EBIT −80%, Q1'26 MAU −13%. A structural D2C-margin lift (gross margin 70%→73%) is the offset. Fairly valued on reverse-DCF (−13%), cheap on FCF yield. HOLD, low conviction.
Adj. ROIC
11.7%
WACC 8% → spread +3.7pp
Economic Profit
+SEK 5M
+SEK 5M; positive but marginal
FCF Yield
11.2%
~11% FCF yield; net cash SEK 245M
Price / Target
SEK 59 → SEK 60
+2% base; HOLD
Revenue (LTM)
SEK 916M
LTM; FY2025 −17% (SEK), Q1'26 MAU −13%
EBIT Margin
2.3%
Gross margin 70.6%→72.7% on D2C
EV / IC
1.64×
Enterprise value / invested capital
Net Debt
n/a
Net cash SEK 245M; debt-free
Thesis

G5 is an asset-light, net-cash F2P mobile developer earning ~99% of revenue from in-app purchases, with ~30% of gross billings paid to Apple/Google. Its edge is a live-ops engine that monetises a long-lived catalogue, but the portfolio is hit-concentrated (top-3 games 61% of carrying value) and the franchise is contracting: FY2025 revenue −17%, EBIT −80%, Q1'26 MAU −13%, paying users −19%.

The bright spot is margin mix: the direct-to-consumer G5 Store lifted gross margin to a record 70.6% FY / 72.7% Q1 and monetisation quality (MAGRPPU +16%) is improving. Accounting is unusually clean for the sector (no goodwill, no PPA, capitalised dev ≈ amortisation so near-zero adjustment). But with EP only +SEK 5M and the top line rolling over, the stock is roughly fair, not cheap.

Valuation · reverse-DCF & scenarios

On adjusted NOPAT of SEK 14.5M capitalised at WACC−g plus net cash over 7.75M shares, fair value is ~SEK 57–59 versus SEK 68 — a modest premium (PEBV 1.10). The ~11% FCF yield is the support; the reverse-DCF offers no discount while users and revenue decline.

Base SEK 60 (−12%) on continued gradual decline offset by D2C margin; bull SEK 75 if the D2C mix and monetisation stabilise revenue and re-rate the FCF yield; bear SEK 45 if user erosion accelerates.

Market-implied growth
+0.1%
NOPAT CAGR over 5y the EV already requires
No-growth value / share
SEK 59
100% of price; rest = priced-in growth
ROIC − WACC
+3.7 pp
ROIC 11.7% vs WACC 8.0% — positive = value creation
CAP (priced-in)
n/a
years of excess returns the price implies (fades to WACC)

The market pays today’s enterprise value for roughly 0.1% NOPAT growth over 5 years. The business earns 12% on capital against a 8% cost of capital (spread +3.7 pp); the no-growth value is SEK 59/share (100% of price), so the rest is priced-in growth.

Scenario24m targetImpl. gUpsideProb.Driver
BullSEK 75≥11%+27%30%D2C mix + monetisation stabilise revenue; FCF yield re-rates
BaseSEK 60+2%+2%40%Gradual decline offset by D2C margin
BearSEK 45-36%-24%30%User erosion (MAU/DAU) accelerates
Prob-weightedSEK 60+2%100%Scenario-weighted expected value

Sensitivity — fair value / share at WACC × growth

WACC \ g0%3%5%8%10%15%
6.50%687173777985
7.25%636566697075
8.00% (base)596062636467
8.75%565758596062
9.50%545455565657

Green = fair value above the current price of SEK 59.00. The reverse-DCF conclusion is dominated by WACC and growth — see the whole surface, not a single fair value.

Method & data. NOPAT SEK 14, invested capital and ROIC 11.7% are observed (adjustments.json); WACC 8.0% and terminal g 2.5% are assumptions. EV→equity uses net debt SEK -249. The model holds ROIC constant (no fade) over the explicit horizon; the CAP figure instead fades excess returns to WACC.

⤓ Download the full model (.xlsx) — formula-driven sheets; flex the blue input cells and the model cascades in Excel.

Key drivers

1. D2C margin lift

G5 Store drove gross margin 70.6% FY → 72.7% Q1 — a structural, mix-driven profitability gain.

2. Net cash + FCF yield

Debt-free, ~SEK 245M net cash, ~11% FCF yield — downside support and buyback capacity.

3. Clean accounting

No goodwill, no PPA, capitalised dev ≈ amortisation — no accounting games inflating earnings.

4. Monetisation quality

MAGRPPU +16% — squeezing more from a smaller but higher-value paying base.

Key risks
Conclusion

G5 is a clean, cash-rich, marginally value-creative developer whose D2C-margin story is real but fighting a shrinking user base. Fairly valued on reverse-DCF, cheap only on FCF yield. HOLD, low conviction; base SEK 60 (−12%).

An upgrade needs top-line stabilisation — D2C mix and monetisation actually arresting the MAU/DAU decline — before the FCF yield re-rates.

Footnote evidence & sources

Every adjustment traces to the cited note/page in the source filing — click to open it there. Annual report / 10-K: 📄 open  ·  Latest interim: 📄 open

NOPAT adjustments: THE CORE ADJUSTMENT (software.md): capitalized game development. G5 capitalizes directly attributable development cost and amortizes it over 24 months (Note C1/C11, AR p.79-81). NC/mttssn methodology REVERSES the capitalization: rd_capitalization_reversal = -(the year's capitalization) + (the year's amortization of capitalized dev). LTM (USD, Q1 report Note 2): capitalization 9,982, amortization 9,570, write-off 0 -> -9,982 + 9,570 = -412 KUSD @9.8251 = -4.0 MSEK. THE NET IS NEAR ZERO because G5 is a MATURE developer in steady state (cap ~= amort), just like BETS-B (gaming, -0.5). No double counting: the amortization already sits in reported R&D cost (p.79), so we add it back and subtract the capitalization. IFRS 16: the lease interest (LTM -89 KUSD, immaterial) already sits below EBIT — no NOPAT add-back. FX revaluation losses in operations (FY -32.9 MSEK, Note C8; Q1'26 +1.1 MUSD) are treated consistently as OPERATING (recurring FX on customer/supplier receivables), NOT one-offs — no normalization. SBC kept in opex (see company_addbacks_we_reject). after_tax @ normalized 15%.

Post-tax add-backs: NO impairment in the LTM window. Note C11 (AR p.88): write-downs of capitalized dev = 0 KSEK 2025 (accumulated write-downs -121,457 unchanged YoY). Q1 report Note 2: write-offs 0 KUSD both Q1 2026 and LTM. G5 tests the portfolio quarterly per CGU (each game); 'No games have showed any sign of impairment ... in 2025 or 2024'. No goodwill on the balance sheet (asset-light, internally developed) -> no goodwill-impairment risk. Genuinely one-off-free this year in that sense.

Company add-backs we reject: PPA amortization = 0 (no goodwill/acquired intangibles; all intangible is internally developed game portfolio, Note C11). SBC/IFRS 2: total group cost FY2025 = 6,184 KSEK (equity table AR p.76, line 'IFRS2 - Employee share schemes'; down from 9,055 in 2024). Three LTI programs (AGM 2022/2023/2024, max 160,000 shares each, vest 3 years, Note C13 p.89). SBC/revenue only 0.66% — low for software. mttssn KEEPS SBC in opex (real compensation cost). G5's ONLY own APM is 'EBIT excluding UA' (adds back a REAL operating cost) — which we reject; G5 publishes NO flattering adjusted EBIT with SBC/PPA/dev add-back, an unusually clean governance signal for a software company.

Invested capital: BS snapshot Mar-31-2026 (Q1 report p.10, KUSD -> SEK @9.2098). total_equity 49,501 KUSD = 455.9 MSEK (matches AR Dec-25 457.0 MSEK well). accumulated_oci = 'Other reserves' 11,265 KUSD = 103.7 MSEK (FVOCI equity instruments + FX translation reserve; equity table p.11). NOTE: the USD presentation's translation reserve differs from the SEK annual report's 'Other reserves' 30,713 KSEK because the entire group has been re-translated from a SEK to a USD base — I use the USD-consistent figure (11,265) to match the USD BS on which I build IC. equity_ex_oci = 49,501 - 11,265 = 38,236 KUSD = 352.1 MSEK. NO interest-bearing debt (non-current liabilities = only deferred tax 864 KUSD; current = trade payables/accruals). cash 26,644 KUSD = 245.4 MSEK; operational_cash = min(cash, 0.02 x revenue 93,175 = 1,864) = 1,864 KUSD = 17.2 MSEK; excess_cash = 24,780 KUSD = 228.2 MSEK. IC = equity_ex_oci 352.1 + 0 - excess_cash 228.2 = 123.9 MSEK. capitalized_rd_removal = capitalized dev carrying value 19,156 KUSD = 176.4 MSEK — NC KEEPS this as a productive asset in IC (it already sits in equity via the intangible); the field DOCUMENTS the size, does NOT adjust IC downward (same convention as APR.OL/BETS-B). Short- and long-term financial investments (369+3,626 KUSD) are left in equity/IC (financial, not separately stripped — conservative, lowers ROIC). Lease immaterial (office; no ROU/lease line on the BS, lease financing LTM -89 KUSD) -> lease_liabilities_in_ic=false. NCI=0 (all subsidiaries 100%).

Pages read — FY: [2, 4, 21, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 122] · Q: [2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]   📄 p.2

Analysis history

How the mttssn view has evolved — each prior dated note is preserved.

Quality · Buffett tenets8 / 15
Understandable business
Asset-light, debt-free F2P mobile developer/publisher (Hidden City, Sherlock); ~99% of revenue from in-app purchases, ~30% platform fee in COGS — clean and legible.
Durable moat
Weak: a live-ops engine monetising a long-lived catalogue, but hit-concentrated (top-3 games 61% of carrying value) and the user base is shrinking.
Able & honest management
Net cash, returned SEK 75M (div + buybacks) in 2025, unusually clean accounting (no goodwill, no PPA, no dev-cap add-back games) — but the 2026 dividend was cut to SEK 2.00 from ~8.1, signalling caution.
Financial strength
Adjusted ROIC 11.7% > WACC but EP only +SEK 5M; revenue −17%, EBIT −80% — returns are real but marginal and falling.
Margin of safety
Roughly fair: reverse-DCF ~SEK 59 vs SEK 68 (−13%), PEBV 1.10. Cheap on FCF yield (~11%) but no rDCF discount with the top line rolling over.