The Warsaw Stock Exchange said on 15 September 2026 that its new automated trading system has been confirmed as functionally ready for a planned production launch in October.
The Warsaw Automated Trading System, known as GPW WATS, is a proprietary platform developed by the exchange to replace its current core trading system. Independent software-testing specialist Exactpro carried out the assessment ahead of the planned switch.
The testing covered core functions including the order book, dissemination of market data and the system’s ability to operate under heavy loads. Confirmation of readiness marks one of the final stages before the new platform is introduced into live trading.
For companies already listed in Warsaw, prospective issuers and investors using the Polish market, the significance goes beyond an IT replacement. WATS sits at the centre of the infrastructure through which orders are processed and market information distributed, making its rollout an important operational change for Poland’s main public equity market.
The timing also coincides with a sharp increase in activity on the exchange.
Share turnover on the WSE Main Market reached PLN 51.9 billion in August, an increase of 44.8 per cent compared with the same month in 2025. Average daily share-trading value within the order book stood at PLN 2.45 billion.
Investor participation has also reached a new milestone. GPW said the number of securities accounts maintained by brokerage houses, brokerage offices and banks in Poland has exceeded 3 million for the first time.
The figures provide a stronger backdrop for the WATS introduction than a technology upgrade taking place during stagnant market activity. More accounts and higher turnover mean the new system is being introduced as more transactions and investors are passing through Warsaw’s market infrastructure.
GPW has also reported record financial results for the first half of 2026. Revenue reached PLN 324.2 million, up 17.3 per cent year-on-year, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, increased by 20.1 per cent to PLN 140.6 million.
Adjusted net profit attributable to owners of the parent reached PLN 127.9 million, an increase of 18.2 per cent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.
For international businesses, GPW is the abbreviation commonly used for Giełda Papierów Wartościowych w Warszawie (Warsaw Stock Exchange). It operates Poland’s principal public equity market and is therefore part of the financial infrastructure encountered by companies considering public capital in Warsaw.
The development of WATS is significant because GPW has built the new trading platform itself rather than simply treating the project as a routine update to its existing core system. The exchange describes WATS as its proprietary technology.
That puts the October implementation date at the centre of attention. Exactpro’s assessment confirms functional readiness ahead of production, but it does not mean the transition has already happened. Until WATS enters live operation, the project remains in its pre-launch phase.
The distinction is important for issuers and market participants assessing the announcement. The independent testing provides evidence that core functionality has been examined, including performance under heavy load, but the practical operation of the platform will only become visible after deployment.
For listed companies, the immediate significance is primarily the modernisation of the market on which their securities trade rather than a change to their underlying businesses. For companies considering a future listing, the project forms part of the infrastructure supporting access to Warsaw’s public capital markets.
The wider numbers nevertheless give the launch additional context. August’s 44.8 per cent increase in Main Market share turnover, the crossing of the 3 million securities-account threshold and GPW’s record first-half financial performance all point to a market handling substantially more activity as it prepares to move to its new core system.
Attention will now turn to whether GPW proceeds with the planned October production launch and how the transition operates once WATS begins handling live trading. The September announcement establishes functional readiness; the next test will come when the new system moves from testing into everyday market operation.
