Can Bending Spoons’ stock growth outrun its $4.9 billion debt?

10 hours ago 35

Bending Spoons keeps growing, and growing fast — but not everyone is convinced the pace can hold. The Italian-founded, Nasdaq-listed software company has spent the past few months stacking acquisitions, expanding into new markets, and watching its stock climb well above its listing price. Yet a pointed analysis from the Wall Street Journal has raised fresh questions about whether Bending Spoons stock growth is built on solid ground or on debt-fueled momentum that could eventually run out of road.

Key takeaways

Bending Spoons IPOed on Nasdaq on July 1, 2026 at $29 per share; shares now trade around $38, a 31% rally.
The company completed its $2.25 billion acquisition of Airtable and signed a deal to acquire Miro, reportedly worth $1.4 billion according to The Motley Fool.
Market capitalization sits near $28 billion — almost 14 times revenue and over 100 times earnings.
Debt reached $4.9 billion as of June 30, nearly four times net worth, including a $1.8 billion loan at a 9.4% interest rate and an additional €500 million loan in July.
Of 12 analysts covering the stock, 8 rate it Buy, 3 Hold and 1 Sell, with an average price target of $48.25.

Bending Spoons IPO and Stock Performance

Bending Spoons landed on Wall Street on July 1, 2026, pricing its Nasdaq debut at $29 a share. Less than three months later, the stock is trading around $38 — a gain of roughly 31% since the offering closed, according to trading data cited in reporting on the company.

Stock Price Rally and Market Capitalization

That rally has pushed the company’s market capitalization to about $28 billion. On paper, that’s a striking figure for a business built on reviving other people’s software: it works out to nearly 14 times the last four quarters of revenue and more than 100 times earnings. Multiples like that usually signal a market betting heavily on future growth rather than paying for what a company earns today, and Bending Spoons is no exception. The question hanging over the stock is whether that bet is grounded in a durable business model or in a run of well-timed acquisitions.

Acquisition Strategy Expands Software Portfolio

The company’s answer to that question, so far, has been to keep buying. Led by CEO Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons has built its reputation on acquiring and reviving software products that have fallen out of favor — often assets that venture capital investors have moved on from — and running them for cash flow and long-term value rather than hype.

Completion of Airtable Acquisition

In early September, Bending Spoons confirmed it had completed the purchase of Airtable for $2.25 billion. It marked the company’s first completed deal since going public, and it set the tone for what came next.

Signed Agreement to Acquire Miro

Just days later, on September 10, Bending Spoons announced a definitive agreement to acquire Miro, a cloud-based visual collaboration platform built with AI capabilities. The Motley Fool reported the deal is valued at $1.4 billion, framing it as part of a deliberate playbook: buying established products that have lost their shine in the venture capital world and restoring their value by focusing on reliability and core functionality — a strategy the outlet noted has worked for the company before, given the scale of users these platforms already command.

Taken together, the two deals show a company doubling down on the same formula that got it to Wall Street in the first place. Whether that formula keeps working at this size and pace is exactly what’s now under the microscope.

Financial Scrutiny and Debt Concerns

The Wall Street Journal’s analysis is the clearest challenge yet to the optimism surrounding Bending Spoons stock growth. The paper scrutinized several balance sheet items — from how the company values itself on the market to how much debt it carries and how it presents its profits — and flagged all three as areas investors should watch closely.

Wall Street Journal’s Analysis on Growth Model and Accounting

According to the WSJ, Bending Spoons excludes depreciation and impairment of acquired intangible assets when calculating its Adjusted Net Income, a methodology the paper put into question. The Journal also noted that revenue growth has largely come from new acquisitions and price increases — moves that can create a quick jump in cash flow but, in the paper’s assessment, may not hold up over the long run.

Debt Levels and Financing Details

Debt is the other flashpoint. As of June 30, Bending Spoons’ debt stood at $4.9 billion, nearly four times its net worth and more than five times the debt level it carried at the end of 2024. That total includes a $1.8 billion loan taken out in 2025 at a notably steep 9.4% interest rate, plus a further €500 million (about $570 million) loan contracted in July, for which the interest rate has not been disclosed. The Journal’s conclusion was blunt: if financing for further acquisitions becomes harder to secure, valuation and growth prospects would be the main concern for investors — a risk that grows more relevant against a backdrop of rising interest rates.

This is where the story really matters for investors. A business model that depends on cheap, steady access to acquisition financing is only as strong as the credit conditions around it. Higher borrowing costs, or a tighter lending environment, would test how much of Bending Spoons’ expansion can continue at the same speed.

Analyst Coverage and Market Sentiment

Despite those warnings, Wall Street’s analyst community is largely betting on the stock, not against it. That gap between critical scrutiny and bullish coverage is one of the more interesting tensions in this story.

Diverse Analyst Ratings

Of the 12 analysts currently covering Bending Spoons, 8 rate the stock a Buy, 3 rate it Hold, and just 1 has a Sell rating. That spread suggests broad, if not unanimous, confidence in the company’s direction.

Average Target Price and Bullish Calls

The average 12-month price target sits at $48.25, implying roughly 27% upside from current levels. Among the standout calls, Bernstein raised its target from $40 to $47, pointing to about 23.6% upside while keeping an Outperform rating. The most aggressive view comes from Mizuho, which nudged its target from $72 to $72.28 — still rated Outperform — implying upside of more than 90%. In short, the analyst consensus paints a far more favorable picture of Bending Spoons stock growth than the Journal’s accounting critique might suggest, even as both readings are looking at the same set of numbers.

European Expansion and Hiring Efforts

Beyond the acquisitions and the balance sheet debate, Bending Spoons is also building out its talent pipeline in Europe. The company recently opened an office in Warsaw, Poland, part of a broader push to widen its hiring base.

Talent Acquisition in Poland

The numbers behind that push are notable: Bending Spoons said it received about 50,000 applications from Poland in 2026. Andrea Maiorana, the company’s Talent data lead, said: “So far this year we have received about 50,000 applications from Poland, more than double 2025. It’s not just the quantity, but the quality — many of the candidates we see are among the best in our selection process, and more than half of the people we recently hired from Poland were still studying at the time of application.”

That kind of hiring volume signals a company still scaling its operational base even as it absorbs two major acquisitions at once — a reminder that the debate over debt and accounting doesn’t seem to be slowing the company’s expansion plans on the ground.

FAQ

When did Bending Spoons IPO and at what price?

Bending Spoons IPOed on Nasdaq on July 1, 2026, at an issue price of $29 per share.

What major acquisitions has Bending Spoons completed recently?

Bending Spoons completed the acquisition of Airtable for 2.25 billion dollars and signed an agreement to acquire Miro.

What are the main concerns raised by the Wall Street Journal about Bending Spoons?

The WSJ questioned the sustainability of Bending Spoons’ growth model focused on acquisitions, highlighted its high debt levels, and criticized its accounting methodology for excluding depreciation and impairment.