Bertelsmann made a good start to the 2026 financial year. The international media, services and education company generated revenues of €4.4 billion (prior-year quarter: €4.5 billion). Adjusted for exchange-rate and portfolio effects, especially the sale of RTL Netherlands in 2025, revenues increased by 4.9 percent. BMG, Arvato Group, and Bertelsmann Investments recorded particularly strong growth.
Bertelsmann Chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe said: “Bertelsmann made a very promising start to the year in every respect. Alongside the encouraging operating performance across nearly all divisions, we achieved important strategic milestones. The antitrust approval for RTL Group’s acquisition of Sky Deutschland, as well as the planned combination of BMG and Concord, will sustainably strengthen Bertelsmann’s business portfolio in the years ahead.”
Highlights from the Divisions
At RTL Group, the number of paying streaming subscribers increased by 18.8 percent to 8.4 million. RTL Group’s streaming services – RTL+ in Germany and Hungary and M6+ in France – were profitable for the first time in the first quarter of 2026. RTL Deutschland launched streaming partnerships with HBO Max, CH Media and Edeka, while Groupe M6 entered into a distribution agreement with Amazon Prime Video for M6+. In April 2026, the European Commission approved the acquisition of Sky Deutschland (DACH) without conditions. The transaction is expected to close on June 1, 2026.
Penguin Random House (PRH) delivered a strong business performance, driven by global successes including “For the Fans! (KPop Demon Hunters)” by Angela Song, which sold 1.6 million copies across the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Spain in the first quarter, and “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, which sold more than 1.5 million copies in the US, UK, and Australia. Additional momentum came from the film adaptations of Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” and Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights.” In Spain, “Mentira” by Juan Gómez-Jurado was among the notable bestsellers, while in Germany Ferdinand von Schirach’s children’s book “Alexander” contributed to the quarterly result.
BMG continued to invest in its music rights portfolio and completed seven acquisitions. BMG also signed high-profile talent including Gary Barlow and Jamiroquai, and expanded its global reach through a partnership with Sketch Music. The newly established SYNC+ business unit achieved strong results with major brand campaigns. BMG artists and songwriters also celebrated major creative successes in the first quarter, with chart placements worldwide and honors at the GRAMMY Awards, including three wins for country star Jelly Roll, as well as an Academy Award for “Golden” from the Netflix show “KPop Demon Hunters.” In April, Bertelsmann announced the planned combination of BMG and Concord.
Arvato Group further strengthened its logistics business and continued to expand its position in growth markets. The focus was on e-commerce services for fashion, beauty and lifestyle providers, as well as for data center operators, particularly in the US. Arvato Systems further expanded its activities in the area of sovereign cloud services.
At Bertelsmann Marketing Services, illustration printing in Germany recorded good capacity utilization, while publisher book volumes in the US and Germany were below the prior-year level. The marketing businesses performed well despite continued subdued demand in the direct marketing and agency markets.
Bertelsmann Education Group grew organically across all business areas. Afya, Brazil’s leading higher education group for medical education and training, increased the number of medical students to around 26,500. Relias further expanded its digital platform for continuing education as well as workforce and compliance management solutions in the healthcare sector in the US and Germany. Alliant University expanded its Health Sciences portfolio and launched a new master’s degree program in occupational therapy.
Bertelsmann Investments (BI) held 319 investments worldwide as of March 31, 2026, following 12 new and four follow-on investments in the first quarter of 2026. Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) in particular made several new investments, including in the AI companies Meshy.AI and AI Motion. Strong growth at Bertelsmann Next was driven notably by the mobile adtech company Applike, which continued its global expansion. In addition, BI announced the launch of two new funds in the first quarter of 2026: Futurepresent will focus primarily on investments in AI and technology companies, while Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments (BHI) will bundle all investments in the digital health sector.
Bertelsmann’s Chief Financial Officer Rolf Hellermann said: “We look back on a good first quarter of 2026. We confirm our outlook for the full year and continue to expect revenue and earnings growth. Taking into account the acquisition of Sky Deutschland, we expect revenues of more than €20 billion.”
About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company with about 75,000 employees that operates in some 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment group RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato Group, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company generated revenues of €19 billion in the 2025 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination enables first-class media offerings and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.
