Bird's 2025 accounts: headcount nearly halved, operating profit up to €101M as revenue dips to €475M
Bird, the Amsterdam-founded communications software company formerly known as MessageBird, nearly halved its workforce in 2025 and more than doubled its operating profit, according to its latest annual accounts as reported by Quote. Founder and CEO Robert Vis built the company from Amsterdam into a global player in business messaging, with offices including Singapore, Mexico, Sydney and Vilnius.
Statutory revenue fell almost 3% to €475M in 2025, mainly due to a decline in Asia, while the US grew. Headcount dropped from 458 to 238; the commercial team shrank from 207 to 37 people, with more than €7M spent on severance. Staff costs still fell by nearly €25M on balance. Operating profit rose from €43M to €101M, and net profit came in at €52M, up from €37.5M a year earlier, Quote reports. Tax charges were about €36M, including €11.9M of one-off items.
Currency moves took the shine off: Bird booked €13.6M in exchange-rate losses and a €54M currency translation difference on its largely dollar-denominated assets, leaving total comprehensive income slightly negative at around –€2M. "The exchange rate doesn't bother us much. One year it helps, the next it hurts," Vis told Quote.
The statutory figures include pass-through messaging costs. In its own 2025 shareholder letter, Bird reported $244M in net revenue, $157M in cash EBITDA and $149M in free cash flow, crediting automation across the business; it says headcount has fallen from more than 1,000 at its peak to about 120.
Bird ended 2025 debt-free with €157M in cash. That changed in September 2026, when it closed a $450M debt package led by J.P. Morgan with Capital One and Citi ($400M term loan plus a $50M revolving facility), structured as a dividend recapitalisation to return cash to shareholders, including current and former employees. The accounts also show a €0.5M donation pledge to People for People, a refugee-aid foundation Vis co-founded with bunq's Ali Niknam and Picnic's Joris Beckers.
Quote: Vette vangst voor Quote 500-lid Robert Vis (Bird): €52 miljoen winst (16 October 2026)
CX Today: Bird's 2025 shareholder letter
Bird press release: $450M financing (September 2026)
