ATLC
AtlanticusADocument history
Earnings documents stored for ATLC.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-20Atlanticus Announces Approval of Quarterly Preferred Stock Dividend
GlobeNewswire
Atlanticus Announces Approval of Quarterly Preferred Stock Dividend
ATLANTA, May 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: ATLC) (“Atlanticus,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”), a financial technology company that enables its bank, retail and healthcare partners to offer more inclusive financial services to millions of everyday Americans, today announced that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.476563 per share to Series B Cumulative Perpetual Preferred shareholders. The cash dividend will be paid on or about June 15, 2026 to holders of record of Atlanticus’ Series B Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock on the close of business on June 1, 2026. About Atlanticus Holdings Corporation Empowering Better Financial Outcomes for Everyday Americans Atlanticus Holdings Corporation empowers better financial outcomes for Everyday Americans by enabling bank, retail, healthcare, and automotive partners to offer more inclusive financial solutions to consumers. Leveraging proprietary technology and advanced analytics, Atlanticus applies more than 30 years of operating experience, servicing over 20 million customers and more than $50 billion in consumer loans, to support lenders across a broad range of consumer credit products. These offerings span retail and healthcare private-label credit and general purpose credit cards, through an omnichannel platform, including strategic partnerships. Additionally, through its Auto Finance subsidiary, Atlanticus helps address the specific needs of automotive dealerships and non-prime automotive finance organizations with a range of financing and service programs. Atlanticus is guided by the principles of responsible lending, smart innovation, and expanding access to credit for consumers working toward a stronger financial future. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current views with respect to the payment of dividends in the future. You generally can identify these statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “potential,” “continue,” “may,” “seek,” “approximately,” “predict,” “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate” or “anticipate” and similar expressions or the negative versions of these words or comparable words, as well as future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “likely” and “could.” These statements are subject to certain risks and unce...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-18How Stronger Q1 Earnings and New Institutional Stake At Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) Has Changed Its Investment Story
Simply Wall St.
How Stronger Q1 Earnings and New Institutional Stake At Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) Has Changed Its Investment Story
Atlanticus Holdings Corporation reported past first-quarter 2026 results showing net income of US$44.18 million, up from US$31.52 million a year earlier, with higher basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations. Alongside this earnings improvement, a Schedule 13G filing revealed Wellington Management affiliates now hold a 5.06% passive stake, highlighting growing institutional interest in Atlanticus’ credit-focused business. With this earnings momentum and fresh institutional ownership in mind, we’ll examine how the results reshape Atlanticus’ previously outlined investment narrative. Explore 26 top quantum computing companies leading the revolution in next-gen technology and shaping the future with breakthroughs in quantum algorithms, superconducting qubits, and cutting-edge research. To own Atlanticus today, you need to believe its near prime, credit card and point of sale model can keep converting receivable growth into sustainable earnings, despite credit and funding risks. The latest Q1 2026 results, with higher net income and EPS, support that earnings story for now, while the biggest near term risk still looks tied to credit performance and funding access. The Wellington 5.06% passive stake does not materially change those core catalysts or risks. The most relevant development alongside earnings is Wellington’s new 5.06% passive ownership. For many investors, a large institutional holder can reinforce confidence that Atlanticus’s credit focused model and Mercury integration remain investable catalysts, even as other indicators, such as GuruFocus viewing the shares as 18.4% overvalued and highlighting weaker financial strength and profitability, remind you that execution and balance sheet risk still matter. Yet behind the strong quarter, investors should still be aware that funding costs and high debt levels could... Read the full narrative on Atlanticus Holdings (it's free!) Atlanticus Holdings' narrative projects $4.2 billion revenue and $359.3 million earnings by 2029. This requires 96.3% yearly revenue growth and a $247.5 million earnings increase from $111.8 million today. Uncover how Atlanticus Holdings' forecasts yield a $92.40 fair value, a 20% upside to its current price. Some of the lowest estimate analysts were already cautious, assuming profits would only reach about US$381.7 million by 2029 and margins would shrink sharp...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-12Atlanticus (ATLC) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
Motley Fool
Atlanticus (ATLC) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET President & Chief Executive Officer — Jeffrey A. Howard Chief Financial Officer — William R. McCamey Chief Administrative Officer — Dan Mock Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Dan Mock: Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Atlantica released results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026 this afternoon after market close. If you did not receive a copy of our earnings press release, you may obtain it from the investor Relations section of our website at investors.atlanticus.com. We have also posted an updated investor presentation. With me on today's call are Jeffrey A. Howard, president and chief executive officer, and William R. McCamey, chief financial officer. This call is being webcast and will be archived on the investor relations section of our website. Today's discussion may contain forward looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to, among other things, earnings growth, returns on equity, portfolio performance, the benefits of the acquisition of Mercury, including expected synergies, and future financial and operating results. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward looking statements. Please review our earnings release and the risk factors discussed in our SEC filings. The forward looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and except to the extent required by federal securities laws, the company disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statement. In addition, during this call, we may refer to certain non GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our earnings release for important disclosures regarding such measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures. And with that, I will turn the call over to Jeffrey. Jeffrey A. Howard: Thanks, Dan. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. 2026 is off to a very good start. Combining strong legacy asset performance with continued momentum from our recent acquisition of Mercury Financial. Now 2 full quarters into the Mercury acquisition, and the integration continues to progress well. Last quarter, we noted that we were ahead of plan, and that pace continued throughout the firs...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-10A Look At Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) Valuation After Q1 2026 Earnings Beat And Mercury Integration Progress
Simply Wall St.
A Look At Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) Valuation After Q1 2026 Earnings Beat And Mercury Integration Progress
Get insights on thousands of stocks from the global community of over 7 million individual investors at Simply Wall St. Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) drew fresh attention after Q1 2026 earnings topped market expectations, with sharply higher year-on-year revenue and GAAP profit per share, supported by its Credit as a Service segment and Mercury Financial integration. See our latest analysis for Atlanticus Holdings. The stock price reaction has been strong over a longer period rather than just one day, with a 30 day share price return of 39.97% and a 90 day share price return of 40.67%. The 1 year total shareholder return of 40.44% and 3 year total shareholder return of 167.28% point to momentum that has built up around earnings beats and the Mercury integration story. If Atlanticus’s surge has you thinking about what else might be moving, this can be a good moment to broaden your search with the 18 top founder-led companies With earnings and the Mercury integration both ahead of expectations, Atlanticus now sits near analysts’ targets. The key question is whether recent strength still leaves room for upside or if the stock already reflects future growth. Atlanticus’s most followed narrative places fair value at $92.40, above the last close of $78.34. This puts the recent rally into a wider context. Read the complete narrative. Curious what kind of revenue expansion and margin profile need to line up for that valuation gap to make sense? The narrative leans heavily on ambitious growth, shifting profitability, and a future earnings multiple that sits below where the broader consumer finance group is currently priced. The full story connects these moving parts into one tight valuation case. Result: Fair Value of $92.40 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, this depends on Mercury achieving planned cost savings and earnings accretion, and on near prime customers avoiding a repeat of 2022 style pressure from higher fuel costs. Find out about the key risks to this Atlanticus Holdings narrative. With both optimism and concern in the mix, do you want to rely on headlines or see the detail for yourself? Take a closer look at the 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign If you stop with a single stock story, you risk missing other opportunities that could fit your goals even better, so broaden your searc...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-08Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (ATLC) Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates
Zacks
Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (ATLC) Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates
Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (ATLC) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.23 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.49 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +29.65%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $1.65 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.75, delivering a surprise of +6.06%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Atlanticus, which belongs to the Zacks Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry, posted revenues of $679.53 million for the quarter ended March 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.82%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $344.87 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Atlanticus shares have added about 16.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 7.6%. While Atlanticus has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Atlanticus was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-08Atlanticus Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
GlobeNewswire
Atlanticus Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
First Quarter Earnings of $2.23 Per Diluted Common Share Resulting from Strong Asset Level Performance and Continued Acquisition Integration ATLANTA, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: ATLC) (Atlanticus, the Company, we, our or us), a financial technology company that enables its bank, retail and healthcare partners to offer more inclusive financial services to millions of Everyday Americans, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. An accompanying earnings presentation is available in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.atlanticus.com or by clicking here. Financial and Operating Highlights First Quarter 2026 Highlights (all comparisons to the First Quarter 2025) Total operating revenue and other income increased 97.0% to $679.5 million Managed receivables1 increased 148.5% to $6.7 billion Net income attributable to common shareholders of $41.9 million, an increase of 49.8%, or $2.23 per Diluted common share Return on average equity of 26.8%2 Purchase volume of $1,351.0 million We serve over 5.9 million total accounts3 Over 600,000 new customers served during the quarter 1) Managed receivables is a non-GAAP financial measure and excludes the results of our Auto Finance receivables. See Calculation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures for important additional information. 2) Return on average equity is calculated using Net income attributable to common shareholders as the numerator and the average of Total equity as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025 as the denominator, annualized. 3 ) In our calculation of total accounts served, we include all accounts with account activity and accounts that have open lines of credit at the end of the referenced period. Management Commentary Jeff Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanticus, stated, “First and foremost, I want to congratulate and thank the entire Atlanticus team. Their efforts over the last six months have enabled us to be well ahead of plan in the integration of the Mercury acquisition, while providing exceptional service for the millions of customers we serve and generating positive results for our shareholders. For the quarter, we earned $2.23 per share, an increase of 49.8% over last year, and exceeded our return on capital target with a return on equity of 26.8%. This was accomplished through...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-08Atlanticus Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
MarketBeat
Atlanticus Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
Interested in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. Mercury acquisition integration is ahead of schedule — Atlanticus reports faster-than-modeled repricing, stronger consumer response and earlier operating synergies, and says remaining technology consolidation may be completed sooner than the prior ~18‑month timeline. Strong Q1 financials: net income was $41.9 million ($2.23 diluted EPS), EPS rose 50% YoY and 27% sequentially with return on average equity of 26.8%, total operating revenue up 97% to $680 million, and the company ended the quarter with $7.5 billion of assets and $650 million of unrestricted cash. Legacy portfolio growth and stable credit trends: managed receivables excluding Mercury grew 35%, payment and delinquency metrics remain normal with improving newer cohorts, and Atlanticus says it is gaining share in retail credit despite increased solicitation in the general purpose card market. Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) executives said the company opened 2026 with “a very good start,” pointing to strong performance in its legacy portfolios and continued momentum from its acquisition of Mercury Financial, which is now two full quarters into integration. On the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, President and CEO Jeff Howard said Atlanticus is “ahead of schedule” on operational integration and the creation of “One Atlanticus,” adding that early portfolio management actions at Mercury are “ahead of our acquisition model,” alongside better-than-planned origination volumes and unit-level economics. → Berkshire Hathaway’s Record Cash Hoard: Why and What's Next? Atlanticus reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $41.9 million, or $2.23 per diluted share. Howard said earnings per diluted share were up 50% year-over-year and 27% sequentially, while return on average equity was 26.8%. He also reiterated the company’s expectation to deliver earnings growth and returns on equity “at or above our targets of 20%.” Howard attributed outperformance versus the company’s internal acquisition plan primarily to faster execution of changes in account terms and stronger consumer response than modeled. “The adoption rate, and I’ll call it stickiness and response from consumers, has been better than modeled,” he said, adding that Atlanticus is seeing “better financial performance on that repricing than we had origi...
TranscriptFY2026 Q12026-05-07FY2026 Q1 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 54 paragraphs
FY2026 Q1 earnings call transcript
Hello, and welcome to Atlanticus First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. I would now like to hand the conference over to Dan Mauch. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. And good afternoon, everyone. Atlanticus' released results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2026 this afternoon after market close. If you did not receive a copy of our earnings press release, you may obtain it from the investor relations section of our website at investors.atlanticus.com. We have also posted an updated investor presentation. With me on today's call are Jeff Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Bill McCamey, Chief Financial Officer. This call is being webcast and will be archived on the investor relations section of our website. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to, among other things, earnings growth, returns on equity, portfolio performance, the benefits of the acquisition of Mercury, including expected synergies and future financial and operating results.
These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Please review our earnings release and the risk factors discussed in our SEC filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and except to the extent required by federal securities laws, the company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement. In addition, during this call, we may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our earnings release for important disclosures regarding such measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures. With that, I'll turn the call over to Jeff.
Thanks, Dan. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. A 2026 is off to a very good start, combining strong legacy asset performance with continued momentum from our recent acquisition of Mercury Financial. We're now two full quarters into the Mercury acquisition, and the integration continues to progress well. Last quarter, we noted that we were ahead of plan, and that pace continued throughout the first quarter. We're encouraged by the early results from our portfolio management actions, which are ahead of our acquisition model, as well as better than planned origination volumes and unit-level economics. And most importantly, we are ahead of schedule on our operational integration and the creation of one Atlanticus. As I stated in our earnings release, we are a more scaled, better resourced, more talented and capable company than we were at this time last year.
I will further add with the ability to serve an even broader customer base. We're excited about the opportunity to build on these enhancements in the periods ahead. Aside from the Mercury acquisition, we also experienced growth in our legacy portfolios, which reinforces the underlying strength of the platform with managed receivables growth, excluding Mercury, of 35%. This growth remains broad-based across both our private label and general purpose product lines, supported by increased customer acquisition on behalf of our bank partners and deeper customer engagement, as well as retail partners' organic growth and market share gains within those partnerships. From an overall portfolio perspective, we continue to see favorable asset-level performance. Payment behavior remains consistent, purchase activity is steady, and newer customer cohorts are performing well as they season. While macro uncertainty persists, we have not observed any material change in underlying trends.
In fact, we continue to see stable and rational consumer behavior across the portfolio. Through our deep data-driven insights, we're closely monitoring our book of managed receivables for any signs of stress, particularly given the market's concern regarding recent increases in gas prices. Utilization rates, payment rates, first pay default, early delinquency trends, percent of consumers making on-time payments, percent of consumers making more than the monthly minimum payment, all exhibit normal behaviors. Yes, spending patterns have shown some changes. The percent being spent on gas did increase in March, remains in line with 2023 and 2024 spending levels, and well below 2022 levels. Conversely, we're actually seeing higher levels of discretionary spending and dining out expenditures.
While we are mindful of the risk associated with inflation and specifically the continued rise in gas prices, we also note that the economy at large is in reasonably good shape. Unemployment rates are steady, jobless claims are at a 50-year low, according to published reports, deposits as a percent of disposable income and inflation-adjusted deposit levels for middle-income consumers remain substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels. As a result, we continue to feel confident in our portfolio performance and the continued achievement of our unit-level return targets. From a competitive standpoint, as mentioned last quarter, the general purpose card environment remains active with continued elevated solicitation levels across the markets we serve. We are seeing somewhat lower response rates.
Despite this increased competition, we continue to see opportunities for prudent growth and attractive asset-level returns, which are supported by our differentiated analytics, multiple product offerings, and omnichannel origination capabilities. Turning to financial performance, we delivered another strong quarter of earnings with net income attributable to common shareholders of $41.9 million and $2.23 per diluted share, up 50% year-over-year and 27% sequentially. We also achieved a return on average equity of 26.8%. As we look ahead, we believe the business is better positioned than we have ever been. We remain focused on further optimizing the Mercury portfolio, leveraging our scale, driving disciplined growth, and maintaining stable credit performance as we continue to seek to serve the more than 100 million everyday Americans looking for a trusted financial partner.
We're excited about the momentum we have coming out of Q1 and continue to expect to deliver earnings growth and returns on equity at or above our targets of 20%. With that, I'll turn the call over to Bill.
Awesome. Thanks, Jeff. Thank you everyone for joining us. I'll begin with revenue. For the first quarter, total operating revenue and other income increased 97% year-over-year to $680 million, including $224 million from the Mercury portfolio, reflecting its continued contribution along with ongoing growth in our legacy receivables and customer base. Net margin increased over 60% year-over-year to $190 million, reflecting the earnings contribution from a larger receivable base, partially offset by higher funding costs and the higher fair value impacts associated with portfolio growth. Changes in fair value loans were negative $366 million, an increase of 105% year-over-year, reflecting a larger receivables base and the corresponding charge-offs, particularly offset or partially offset by favorable assumption changes and continued improvement in newer customer cohorts.
First quarter seasonal dynamics, including tax-related paydowns and typical moderation in new receivable growth, along with continued portfolio seasoning, provided a modest benefit to fair value. The quarter also included approximately $13 million of favorable impact related to reduction in contingent consideration associated with the Mercury acquisition. Delinquency and charge-off trends remain stable and consistent with our expectations. As anticipated, we are seeing the benefit of tax season in the first quarter with lower delinquency levels and corresponding improvements in charge-offs versus last year. Interest expense increased 158% year-over-year to $123 million, reflecting higher debt balances associated with receivables growth, higher borrowing costs, and financing associated with the Mercury portfolio.
Total operating expenses increased 69% year-over-year to $131 million, reflecting the scale of the combined platform, higher marketing and customer acquisition activity, and increased servicing costs as the portfolio continues to grow. As we continue to scale the platform, we are seeing the benefits of operating leverage begin to emerge. Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with total assets of $7.5 billion and total equity of $644 million, along with $650 million of unrestricted cash, providing ample capital to support continued growth. The first quarter reflects the continued revenue growth, stable credit performance, meaningful integration progress, and solid earnings expansion. Looking ahead, we remain focused on disciplined, profitable growth to most effectively deploy our capital. With that, I'll turn the call back to the operator for questions.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, to ask the question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of David Scharf with Citizens Capital Markets. Your line is open.
Hi. Good afternoon. Thanks for thanks for taking my questions. Congrats on a very strong start to the year. I guess, one of the things I was, well, curious to get some color on, Jeff, is maybe how you define ahead of plan in so many of the aspects of the Mercury deal? You obviously were looking at this target for quite a while. Can you provide a little more color, maybe first on why you think you're kind of performing ahead of pace on originations, in that asset, whether it's something that is deliberate in terms of kind of a lean into marketing or if there was just something about the product that seems to be capturing share? I guess secondly, on the integration front, does being ahead of plan refer to just timing, or are there potentially greater cost synergies than you originally anticipated?
Yeah. Thanks, David. I'll try to go through those sequentially as you ask them. Obviously, a lot of good questions there, really getting behind the detail of why we're so excited about what we've been able to accomplish and look forward to accomplishing with the Mercury acquisition. You rightly point out that, you know, we had a lot of time to due diligence and build models and come up with an operating and financial plan for the Mercury acquisition. You know, that included repricing and changing terms activities that include operational integration, that include overhead reduction, a whole host of things that we had, you know, well laid out as our operating plan.
I think the biggest driver of it thus far has been the change in terms were able to be executed more quickly, and the adoption rate, and I'll call it stickiness and response from consumers, has been better than modeled. We're getting better financial performance on that repricing than we had originally modeled. Additionally, we're seeing, I guess, the more rapid realization of some of the operating synergies, and therefore the leveraging of the combined infrastructure. We're putting the companies together from a technology and infrastructure perspective, ahead of our schedule.
Across all of the metrics that you've mentioned as the possibilities for areas where we, quote-unquote, say we're ahead of plan, we're checking all of those boxes. As it relates to new originations and being a bit ahead of tempo there as well, we were really conservative. I'd say we were conservative in terms of our acquisition model and the change in terms. We were also very conservative in terms of what we thought we might be able to do from an origination perspective. I would say having the capital to put behind the team and to lean into opportunities where we see at or above unit level target return opportunities in the market, we've been able to put capital to work there.
That supported the team to, you know, find those opportunities, bring those opportunities up, and increase the mail velocity, increase some of our online partnerships, and really expand at a rate that is a bit faster than we had anticipated in terms of new account origination.
Got it. No, appreciate that color. Maybe just as a follow-up, this is more in the weeds. The $13 million kind of contingency release, where would we see that in the P&L?
Well, that's in our fair value mark, David.
Oh. Okay. Got it.
[inaudible]
Okay. Understood. Great. Thank you.
Yep.
Our next question comes from the line of Vincent Caintic with BTIG. Your line is open.
Hey, thank you. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Congratulations on that great quarter. First, I wanted to talk about the relative competition, comments. I know you talked earlier about maybe competition increasing a little bit. It's pretty amazing to see, you know, same company managed receivables growth 35% year-over-year. I don't think of, I don't cover any other company that's growing that fast. It seems like loan growth, you know, with other credit card and purchase finance providers are slowing down. Should we read that, to mean that you're taking shares, maybe some prime lenders and others are tightening? Would you attribute it to Atlanticus own sales efforts?
I did note on the press release, there was a paragraph about expanding with one of your retail partners. If you could maybe describe that in more detail? Is that retailer shifting away from another provider towards Atlanticus, or is that a new kind of greenfield opportunity for expansion? Thank you.
Thanks, Vincent. Appreciate the questions. On the general purpose side, I think that the competition has increased as people have realized that there's stability in the consumer segment that we market in, and I think that's indicative of not just our view, but, like, what our competitors are seeing as well. You know, we had a massive amount of what I would consider irrational competition during the quote, unquote, fintech bubble. You know, to call that from 2015-2021, 2022. That competition is rationalized. I think it's consolidated amongst, you know, five or six players in this space that are, have a long history of serving this consumer. They, like us, are seeing a good, stable consumer and are leaning into those market opportunities.
We're just seeing more mail volume in the direct mail channel than we've seen in a while. As a result, you know, we've seen slightly lower response rates. For the most part, it's rationally priced competition. We, you know, we're all trying to serve that a hundred million consumers, it's a really, really, really big market at a time where we're seeing more rational pricing coming from fewer competitors. I think that's really the summation of it. I think a lot of concern, headline-grabbing quotes have been made about the K-shaped economy, I think a lot of that has more to do with the separation between the top half and the bottom half. The bottom part of that K-shaped is really doing fine. It's stable. It's not decreasing.
It's not showing any real signs of stress. I think the market in total is just leaning into that and continue to serve that consumer more fully. On the retail credit side, I think you hit the nail on the head. We are taking share. You might recall that we bought a portfolio from another competitor in this space back in October. There's some consolidation competition there as well. The merchant partners that competitor served, we've grown our share within, as well as continue to grow with existing merchants who are, you know, having some organic growth of their own. I'd say we're sort of checking the boxes across all of those variables. We are taking share. We're continuing to grow and supporting some of the organic growth that exists at our merchant partners. As a result, we're seeing, you know, good, attractive growth across the entire portfolio.
Okay. That's great. Thank you. And then, wanted to kind of touch back on that Mercury acquisition update, and maybe just follow up on David's question. But, so it sounds like things are, you know, better relative to the guidance. Maybe if you could help us understand, because you provided a multi-year guidance framework on the acquisition slide deck when Mercury was announced. You know, where are we in that path? Has your view of guidance changed in the terms of are we still in line with guidance, or are things looking, you know, better than that guidance pathway? If you could also talk about what's left in terms of the integration pathway. Thank you.
Yeah, a good question. Thank you, I think we feel very good about the guidance we provided. Obviously, we provided a range of guidance for both 26 and 27 and feel very good about our progression towards the achievement of those financial outcomes within that range. As to what's left, you know, there's ongoing opportunities in the portfolio to optimize it, to continue to undertake portfolio management activities that we think will result in long-term value creation, whether it be, you know, continued repricing, credit line increases, in some cases, APR reductions to help stimulate retention and growth with existing lower-risk account holders. That's just an ongoing exercise that we now have a more scaled portfolio to undertake those portfolio management activities on.
And so, you know, that will be an ongoing process for us. As it relates to sort of the operational integration, there's some more technology work that needs to be done. Obviously, we had two disparate infrastructures that we're trying to bring together. You know, those are going to happen over the course of, as we had outlined before, about a 18-month timeline. We feel good about that timeline. Feel like we'll probably come in before that 18-month period expires, but there's still some work to be done there. You know, multiple databases, decision engine, system of records, all that needs to get consolidated, and it's work that's well underway, and we feel like we have a very thoughtful plan in place and a team that's extraordinarily adept at accomplishing those tasks.
Okay, great. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, that's star one one to ask the question. Please stand by for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Randy Binner with Texas Capital. Your line is open.
Thanks for taking the question. I had a couple, if I could. I guess, the first one is just on the lower response rates. There's a lot of competition, but is it also kind of a read on your target market, like not, maybe not reaching as much for credit? Is there another way to look at, you know, lower response rates in addition to just seeing a lot of competition? Is that kind of a sign of stability that they don't? You're not getting, you know, like, really high responses?
Yeah, I think there's two ways to look at it. One, do we have a supply issue, or two, do we have a demand issue? We are certainly seeing, based on third-party data, an increase of supply. We're certainly seeing more mail. You know, you're right to point out that if there are early signs of stress, you typically see demand from consumers, and therefore response rates go up. We're not seeing that across any of our channels per se. Like we said before, we're seeing good, stable performance across all of our early indicators, you know, response rates or demand for credit being one of them. I think it's just indicative of stability. I think we see a lot of people using the term resilience.
I like the term stable better because we haven't seen anything in our data that suggests the customer is struggling against some headwind. We know the gas prices are going up. We haven't really seen it affect credit yet. We've seen some changes in other payment behavior. Like we've seen over our 30-year history, if our consumer is given time to adjust to whatever headwind, they have. They have found a way to do that. That's what, you know, why we like the space that we're in. The utility they see in our product, they treat accordingly. Therefore, we see, you know, better performance over time, as long as the consumer's had a chance to have time to adjust to that. I think that's what we're seeing now.
You know, they can—we're seeing some indications that consumers are driving less because gas prices are up. We saw when food inflation was up, a shift from dining out to groceries. Our consumer is typically gonna try to find ways to adjust their lifestyle, whether it be through changing expenditures or supplementing income, to continue to meet their credit obligations. That's the sort of steady performance we're seeing and has not led, back to your original question, to what we've seen as an unusual demand for credit.
All right. That's helpful. I guess, and then, I came into the call late, so I apologize if I missed this, but just on tax refunds, that was a big, you know, it's been a big talking point, I guess, going into earnings, but it's broadly reported at this point that, you know, the refunds were, you know, maybe like 9%-12% higher than last year. It depends on the source you look at. I think, yeah, I'm wondering if you saw like kind of a typical, like your experience with tax refunds because of the, you know, the Big Beautiful Bill tax reforms. Did you see that? Was most of it kind of front-loaded, like meaning it was in these first quarter numbers or would we still see it in the second quarter?
Did that, you know, did that help organic growth at all? You know, did it affect anything on the delinquency numbers? Just kind of interested in how that came through the first quarter numbers, and if it could be something to consider as we think about second quarter?
Yeah, good question. Let me answer the growth part of that question first. That is, you know, it did not affect our growth or leaning into originations in any way, shape, or form. Obviously, we've got now 30 years' worth of modeling to understand how seasonality works for our consumer space and, you know, don't tend to try to play the timing game as it relates to tax season. I will say that, you know, our portfolio now is obviously much larger than it was a year ago. We have more data in the near-prime space than we did before. We're able to see the impact of tax season across a broader subsegment of the less than prime consumer space.
You know, what we did see was what I would consider a better tax season in the deeper subprime. We saw greater reduction in early delinquencies. We saw it's what I would consider a longer tax season in the near-prime space. Importantly is how do things look coming out of tax season? I would say, as we look at it right now, coming out of tax season looks very much like it did last year.
Okay. Just like one, because I feel like I've heard different accounts of this earnings season. Do you feel like a lot of that impact was before March 31st, or will that can kind of continue into some of the second quarter numbers?
No, we see tax benefit that does lean into, you know, into April. Like I said, particularly on the near-prime portfolio, that tax season was a little bit more extended. It started a little later, ended a little later.
Okay.
Across our entire portfolio, we see the benefit of tax pay down through March 31st and into the early parts of first quarter.
Okay. Yeah, I see what you're-
Second quarter, excuse me.
That's helpful. Yeah. Understood. All right, well, I'll leave it there. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back to Jeff Howard for closing remarks.
Thank you. I want to thank everyone for their interest. We're obviously very pleased with Q1 and equally so in the positioning of our business on a go-forward basis. We're excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for us, not just with the Mercury acquisition and integration and obviously the leveraging of that platform and the ongoing profit growth for us, but the organic opportunities that exist across our entire platform, whether it be retail credit, general purpose, healthcare, all of our lines of business. We're excited about the positioning of our business, excited about what lies ahead for us, and we're certainly looking forward to sharing that results with you in the next quarter. Thank you all.
That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-01Atlanticus to Host First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call and Webcast on May 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET
GlobeNewswire
Atlanticus to Host First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call and Webcast on May 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET
ATLANTA, April 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: ATLC) (“Atlanticus,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”), a financial technology company that enables its bank, retail and healthcare partners to offer more inclusive financial services to millions of everyday Americans, today announced that it will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss its first quarter financial results and operating performance on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The live webcast will be accessible at the Atlanticus Investor Relations website at https://investors.atlanticus.com/news-market-information/event-calendar, along with the Company’s first quarter earnings press release and first quarter investor presentation. An archived version of the webcast will be available on the Atlanticus Holdings Corporation Investor Relations website for 45 days. About Atlanticus Holdings Corporation Atlanticus Holdings Corporation empowers better financial outcomes for everyday Americans by enabling bank, retail, healthcare, and automotive partners to offer more inclusive financial solutions to consumers. Leveraging proprietary technology and advanced analytics, Atlanticus applies more than 30 years of operating experience, servicing over 20 million customers and more than $50 billion in consumer loans, to support lenders across a broad range of consumer credit products. For more information, visit www.atlanticus.com. Contact: Investor Relations, [email protected] Dan Mauch, [email protected] Sara Savarino, [email protected]
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-29Do Bullish Valuation Calls On Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) Justify Its Leverage And Earnings Trade‑Off?
Simply Wall St.
Do Bullish Valuation Calls On Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) Justify Its Leverage And Earnings Trade‑Off?
In recent weeks, Atlanticus Holdings has attracted bullish analyst coverage, including a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and Strong Buy broker consensus, highlighting its value credentials based on P/E, P/B and P/CF metrics versus industry peers. This contrast between upbeat external ratings and the company’s weaker multi‑year earnings trend and substantial leverage raises important questions about how much risk investors are willing to accept for perceived value. Against this backdrop of favorable analyst sentiment around valuation, we’ll now examine how this affects Atlanticus Holdings’ existing investment narrative. Find 53 companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. To own Atlanticus, you have to be comfortable with a lender focused on near prime and underserved borrowers, where earnings and returns depend heavily on credit quality and access to funding. Recent bullish analyst ratings and the stock’s strong price run do not materially change the near term focus on integrating Mercury, while the biggest current risk remains the company’s substantial leverage and reliance on wholesale funding to support its sizeable receivables book. Among recent announcements, the US$400 million 9.750% Senior Notes due 2030 stand out as most relevant. They underline how central external debt markets are to Atlanticus’s growth plans and balance sheet management, directly linking into both the valuation driven optimism in the latest analyst coverage and the key risk that higher funding costs or reduced market appetite could constrain receivables growth and weigh on earnings. By contrast, investors should also keep in mind the very high net debt to EBITDA level and what that means if funding conditions were to... Read the full narrative on Atlanticus Holdings (it's free!) Atlanticus Holdings' narrative projects $4.2 billion revenue and $359.3 million earnings by 2029. This requires 96.3% yearly revenue growth and about a $247.5 million earnings increase from $111.8 million today. Uncover how Atlanticus Holdings' forecasts yield a $92.40 fair value, a 16% upside to its current price. Some of the most optimistic analysts were assuming revenue could reach about US$4.5 billion and earnings US$378.0 million, a far more upbeat path than the cautious funding risk narrative the latest news brings into sharper focus, which is why your own view on these compet...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-03-19Personal Loan Q4 Earnings: Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) is the Best in the Biz
StockStory
Personal Loan Q4 Earnings: Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) is the Best in the Biz
Let’s dig into the relative performance of Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q4 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 strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1% below. Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 11.4% since the latest earnings results. Using data analytics to serve the millions of Americans with less-than-perfect credit scores, Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) provides technology and services that help lenders offer credit products to consumers often overlooked by traditional financing providers. Atlanticus Holdings reported revenues of $609.2 million, up 97.4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 7.1%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ revenue and EPS estimates. Jeff Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanticus stated, “We are pleased to have achieved both our return on capital and earnings growth goals in the quarter and for the year. With quarterly Net income attributable to common shareholders increasing approximately 25%, annual Net income attributable to common shareholders growing approximately 28%, all while achieving a return on average equity in excess of 22%, we continue to demonstrate the earnings power of the Atlanticus platform. While our historical lines of business continue to perform within our expectations, we added a significant contributor to long-term earnings growth with the acquisition of Mercury Financial in the third quarter of 2025. I am especially proud of the way our team has come together to integrate the two businesses while continuing to remain focused on the most important driver of shareholder value creation – unit level profitability. The integration of Mercury is ahead of our pla...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-03-195 Insightful Analyst Questions From Atlanticus Holdings’s Q4 Earnings Call
StockStory
5 Insightful Analyst Questions From Atlanticus Holdings’s Q4 Earnings Call
Atlanticus Holdings’ fourth-quarter results were met with a positive market reaction, reflecting both robust organic growth and the successful integration of its Mercury Financial acquisition. Management attributed the quarter’s outperformance to increased managed receivables, strong origination volume, and operating scale gains. CEO Jeff Howard highlighted that, even excluding the impact of Mercury, the company achieved notable growth in receivables and new account originations, underscoring core business momentum. The leadership team also emphasized the stability of consumer repayment trends and rational credit behavior among its customer base, despite a competitive market environment. Is now the time to buy ATLC? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $609.2 million vs analyst estimates of $568.6 million (97.4% year-on-year growth, 7.1% beat) Adjusted EPS: $1.75 vs analyst estimates of $1.57 (11.6% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $48.84 million (8% margin, 21.1% year-on-year growth) Operating Margin: 7.6%, down from 12.8% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $791 million While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Vincent Kaintic (BTIG) asked for detail on Mercury integration progress and its timeline. CEO Jeff Howard explained that policy and pricing changes were implemented quickly, with full system integration targeted for completion within 18 months and earnings benefits accruing through 2027. Vincent Kaintic (BTIG) questioned funding structure resilience and the possibility of becoming a bank. Howard stated that Atlanticus has strong and diverse funding partners, sees no deterioration in funding access, and is evaluating the merits of pursuing a bank charter. Alex Howell (Stephens) inquired about the impact of tax refund season on receivables growth and credit trends. Howard responded that tax season is expected to follow normal patterns, with temporary paydowns followed by balance rebuilds and no unusual consumer stress anticipated. Zach (Citizens Capital Markets) asked about the effect of rising oil prices on customer budgets and portfolio resilience. Howard highlighted the c...

