Payward's $60M EBITDA Shows Annual Pressure and a Quarterly Rebound
What happened: Kraken parent Payward reported third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $60 million, down 66% year over year but up 163% from the preceding quarter.
What happened: Kraken parent Payward reported third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $60 million, down 66% year over year but up 163% from the preceding quarter. Total Platform Margin reached $487 million, down 12% annually and up 12% sequentially, while transaction volume was $353 billion, down 30% annually but up 22% quarterly. Funded accounts grew 37% year over year to 7.1 million, as Payward outlined US prediction markets and an initial personal-finance AI agent harness targeted for early 2027.
Why it matters: The annual earnings decline and sequential recovery describe different comparisons, and both are necessary to assess the results fairly. Account growth alongside lower annual volume also shows why an expanding customer base does not, by itself, establish stronger trading activity or profitability. The proposed agent would operate within client-set limits, require approval for each trade and log every action, making those controls relevant delivery criteria; the prediction-market offering still has no disclosed launch date.