A Look Back at Personal Loan Stocks’ Q3 Earnings: FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Vs The Rest Of The Pack

Let’s dig into the relative performance of FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 personal loan earnings season.

Personal loan providers offer unsecured credit for various consumer needs. The sector benefits from digital application processes, increasing consumer comfort with online financial services, and opportunities in underserved credit segments. Headwinds include credit risk management in unsecured lending, regulatory oversight of lending practices, and intense competition affecting margins from both traditional and fintech lenders.

The 9 personal loan stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 5.8%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.1% on average since the latest earnings results.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS)

Offering a financial lifeline to the unbanked and credit-constrained since 1988, FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) operates pawn stores across the U.S. and Latin America while also providing retail point-of-sale payment solutions for credit-constrained consumers.

FirstCash reported revenues of $935.6 million, up 11.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 9.3%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, “FirstCash’s third quarter operating results were outstanding, evidenced by accelerating revenue growth, strong margins and continued earnings growth in both the U.S. and Latin American pawn segments coupled with a strong partial quarter contribution from the recently acquired H&T pawn stores in the U.K. We continue to experience extremely strong pawn demand across all markets, with third quarter local currency same-store pawn receivables up 13% in the U.S., 18% in Latin America and 25% in the U.K. over last year. Additionally, the retail point-of-sale payment solutions segment, American First Finance or “AFF,” recorded strong earnings growth driven by lower loss provisions and improved operating margins.

Interestingly, the stock is up 7.5% since reporting and currently trades at $159.13.

Is now the time to buy FirstCash? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE)

Named after the biblical David fighting financial Goliaths, Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE) is a digital financial services platform that helps Americans living paycheck to paycheck with cash advances, banking services, and tools to improve their financial health.

Dave reported revenues of $150.7 million, up 63% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 12.9%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Dave pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 18.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $195.61.

Is now the time to buy Dave? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Enova (NYSE:ENVA)

Pioneering online lending since 2004 with a massive database of over 65 terabytes of customer behavior data, Enova International (NYSE:ENVA) provides online financial services including installment loans and lines of credit to non-prime consumers and small businesses in the United States and Brazil.

Enova reported revenues of $802.7 million, up 16.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Still, its results were good as it locked in an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Enova delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 18.3% since the results and currently trades at $134.91.

Read our full analysis of Enova’s results here.

OneMain (NYSE:OMF)

Dating back to 1912 and formerly known as Springleaf, OneMain Holdings (NYSE:OMF) provides personal loans, auto financing, and credit cards to nonprime consumers who have limited access to traditional banking services.

OneMain reported revenues of $1.27 billion, up 9.8% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also put up a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates.

OneMain had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 17.2% since reporting and currently trades at $65.33.

Read our full, actionable report on OneMain here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL)

Founded in 2016 as an alternative to traditional credit cards for younger shoppers, Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) provides a payment platform that allows consumers to split purchases into four interest-free installments over six weeks at participating retailers.

Sezzle reported revenues of $116.8 million, up 67% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 10.1%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Sezzle delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 5.4% since reporting and currently trades at $69.85.

Read our full, actionable report on Sezzle here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

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