Circus SE’s Robotic Chef Targets Mercedes-Benz Factory Floor as Market Waits for Revenue Conversion

Circus SE's autonomous cooking robot CA-1 to deploy at Mercedes-Benz canteen by 2026; defence arm accelerates with NATO interest. Yet stock trades near lows amid €15M EBITDA loss and uncertain revenue growth.

Circus SE is preparing to roll out its autonomous CA-1 cooking robot in a Mercedes-Benz canteen at Sindelfingen by summer 2026, giving investors a rare tangible milestone to latch onto. The unit — capable of dosing, cooking, cleaning and packaging on a seven-square-metre footprint and producing more than 500 meals per load — will serve shift workers at a site that employs roughly 35,000 people. Yet for all the operational progress, the stock continues to trade near its lows, down about 71% from the 52-week high of €23.50 and roughly 43% lower since the start of the year.

The defence arm of the business is accelerating even faster. Circus expects the military-grade CA-M outdoor robot to start generating revenue as early as 2026, a full two years ahead of the original schedule. The German Bundeswehr has been fully integrated since the first quarter, and deployments are already under way in Ukraine and with Lithuanian forces. More than ten NATO member states are in active discussions, among them Poland and Italy, although the company has not disclosed any order values. On the production side, Circus has slashed the manufacturing time for the CA-1 from eight weeks to around four, and system availability in the first quarter hit 92% — comfortably above the contractual minimum of 85%. The group is targeting monthly output of up to 64 units.

Those operational wins stand in stark contrast to the financial scorecard for 2025. Revenue reached only about €1.5 million, reflecting a few weeks of initial deliveries in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA came in at a loss of €15.3 million, worse than the previous year’s €11.9 million deficit, partly due to a one-off charge of €3.2 million from acquisitions and capital increases. The audited annual report for 2025 is due by 30 June, and the preliminary figures will then face full scrutiny.

Management has set an ambitious revenue target of €44 million to €55 million for 2026 — a roughly thirty-fold increase on paper. Whether that leap materialises depends on how many pilot projects convert into recurring commercial contracts. A critical decision is expected in the autumn, when REWE will decide on a nationwide rollout of Circus’s technology. The next checkpoint is the quarterly update call on 16 July, where executives will have to explain how many trials have already turned into paid orders.

The market’s patience has worn thin. After closing at €6.76 on Monday, the stock slipped to around €6.90, still far below its 200-day moving average of €11.26. The CEO, Nikolas Bullwinkel, recently addressed a high-profile Handelsblatt conference in Berlin on the topic of autonomous retail gastronomy and smart convenience, but no new partnership or order was announced on the day. The speech generated headlines but no price uplift.

Investors are left weighing a mixed picture: production improvements and defence momentum against a deep loss-making phase and a highly uncertain revenue trajectory. With the audited report due in a matter of weeks and the REWE decision months away, the company faces a concentrated period of verdicts that will determine whether its robotics story can command a higher valuation — or remains priced for disappointment.