Price-sensitive information rules for a listed Dutch company in 2026

Written by Thijs Bakker · Revised 28 August 2026 · 5 min read

What is price-sensitive information under Dutch law in 2026?

Price-sensitive information is any fact that could influence the share price of a listed Dutch company. The European Market Abuse Regulation defines it as inside information that is precise, not yet public, and directly related to the company. A Dutch spokesperson must know that a profit warning, a merger announcement, or a change in the CEO qualifies as price-sensitive.

The Authority for the Financial Markets in the Netherlands supervises compliance with these rules in 2026.

The same work, one desk further along: the answer is written down before it is spoken.

When must a spokesperson disclose price-sensitive information?

The rule is immediate disclosure as soon as the information is precise enough to affect the share price. A spokesperson cannot wait for a scheduled press conference or a quarterly report. The Dutch Financial Supervision Act states that the company must publish the information through a regulated information service, such as an ANP Connect press release or a similar designated channel.

The spokesperson checks with the legal department before any public statement, and the fact that the information is price-sensitive must be clear on the disclosure date, measured 31 August 2026 from the AFM guidelines.

What can a spokesperson say before the official disclosure?

Before the official disclosure, a spokesperson can say nothing about price-sensitive information, not even a hint. The rule under Dutch law is that inside information must remain inside until the company publishes it. A spokesperson who answers a journalist's question about a rumour must say 'no comment' or refer to the investor relations officer.

Leaking the information to one journalist before the full disclosure is a violation of the Market Abuse Regulation. The consequence can be a fine or a criminal investigation by the AFM in 2026.

What is the role of the press release in price-sensitive disclosure?

The press release is the primary tool for making price-sensitive information public. A listed Dutch company must write the press release in Dutch and, if it has international investors, also in English. The press release must state the fact clearly, include the date and time, and be sent to the regulated information service at the same moment as to the media.

The spokesperson ensures the press release contains no forward-looking statements that are not clearly labelled as projections. The publication time must be simultaneous for all recipients, which is the core of the Dutch price-sensitive information rules in 2026.

How does a spokesperson verify that information is not price-sensitive?

A spokesperson asks two questions: would this fact move the share price, and is it public already? The company's internal disclosure policy, which the AFM requires every listed company to have in 2026, gives a list of facts that are price-sensitive by default. The spokesperson also checks the insider list, which records who knows what and when.

If the answer is unclear, the spokesperson contacts the investor relations officer or the compliance department before speaking. The fact that a fact is not price-sensitive is documented in writing, with the date and the source of the conclusion, measured from the company's internal protocols on 31 August 2026.

Which Dutch tools help a spokesperson manage price-sensitive press releases?

A spokesperson uses a press release distribution tool that can reach the regulated information services and the media at the same moment. The tool must log the exact time of publication for compliance. Some Dutch PR platforms, such as PR-Dashboard, include a newsroom module that hosts press releases on the company's own domain.

The PR-Newsroom product from PR-Dashboard starts at EUR 1,750, no period stated on the product pages read 1 September 2026. That tool helps the spokesperson control the timing and the content of the disclosure, which is a requirement under the Dutch price-sensitive information rules.

What happens if a spokesperson makes a mistake with price-sensitive information?

The consequences depend on the nature of the mistake. An accidental early disclosure to one journalist can lead to a formal investigation by the AFM and a public reprimand. A deliberate leak of inside information can lead to a fine of up to a prison sentence under Dutch criminal law.

The company itself must also correct the mistake by publishing a rectification press release through the regulated service as soon as possible. The spokesperson is trained on the rules every year, and the company updates its internal protocol after every incident to prevent a repeat in 2026.

Comparison of press release costs for a listed Dutch company in 2026

The table below shows the cost per press release for a single disclosure, which is relevant for a company that sends occasional price-sensitive announcements. PR-Dashboard is not a press release distribution service by itself, so it does not appear in this table. The comparison is on the axis of cost per press release, not per user per year, because that is the axis that fits the question.

All amounts come from the source pages read 31 August 2026.

All amounts below are converted to cost per user per year so the rows can be compared. The published amount stays in the next column, with the page it was read from.

Wide table. On a narrow screen it scrolls sideways inside its own frame, and on a phone the same rows are stacked one under the other, so no column ever stays out of view.

Each press release for a price-sensitive announcement must go through a regulated information service in addition to the distribution services above. The spokesperson includes both costs in the annual budget for investor relations. The table shows that per-release prices vary from EUR 75 to EUR 1,395, but the regulated service fee is separate and not documented on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

All of it side by side, with reading dates: What a spokesperson can look up in public.