Adyen shares slip on headcount raise

Adyen’s second half earnings missed estimates as the company pledged to hire more staff to deal with an ambitious global growth strategy.

The company’s Ebidta margin stood at 52% compared with analysts expectation of a 58% price point. Growth in revenues and transactions processed failed to lift sentiment as the stock went into a tailspin.

Markets were spooked by Adyen’s failure to explain the likely costs of its expansion strategy and why it was picking up the pace of hiring.

Adyen added 757 more employees in the second half, taking the total count for last year to 3,332.

In a letter referencing job cuts across the wider tech industry in November, Adyen co-founder Van der Does said Adyen would expand staff by a similar number in the new year as it did in 2022.

This is in sharp contrast to peer firms like Apple and Stripe, who have each comitted to thousands of job cuts this year.