Times remain tough for terminal vendors. PAX Global (Bermuda-registered, Hong Kong-listed, with main operations in China) reported H1 2025 revenue of US$348 million, down 10% year-on-year and continuing a decline that began in 2022.
Management once again blamed “global economic uncertainty” for the slump.
Europe remains PAX’s strongest region, generating US$139 million (–2%). Italy, the UK, and France performed well, with good demand for the A920Pro and A35 terminals, while the IM30 unattended unit is reportedly doing well with EV charging providers.
North America delivered the best positive performance, possibly buoyed by distributors front-loading orders ahead of looming import tariffs, but sales were down in Latin America and APAC.
Services revenue rose 8% to US$22 million, driven by SaaS fees from MAXSTORE, which now connects 15 million terminals to a marketplace of up to 16,000 applications. The idea is that banks and PSP’s white-label the MAXSTORE and encourage their merchants to download apps. Yet with services revenues amounting to less than US$3 per terminal per year, these recurring fees are welcome but far from transformational.
Hardware sales fell 4% although management is keen to highlight that 65% of terminal revenue came from the newer Android-based machines.
Overall, gross profit declined 10% to US$163 million, and operating profit slipped 12% to US$60 million. Weaker top-line growth is squeezing margins despite good cost control.
Encouragingly PAX isn’t cutting corners on R&D, which held steady at US$39 million, and headcount remained flat at around 1,500 employees. Management highlighted two key certifications: the A920Pro achieved EMVCo C-8, and the A77 Mini became the world’s first terminal certified under PCI v7.0.
Despite continued tough market conditions, PAX remains financially strong and will pay a dividend yielding around 8.3% at current share price.
The story remains familiar: terminal sales in their third year of decline, services inching forward, and Android dominance intact. PAX remains profitable, cash generative and dividend-friendly, but its core challenge stays the same – how to turn a shrinking hardware business into sustainable, services-led growth.
