FCFS

FORT WORTH, Texas, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (“FirstCash” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: FCFS), the leading international operator of more than 3,300 retail pawn stores, today announced record revenue and earnings results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2026. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.42 per share, which will be paid in August 2026. In addition, the Company has completed its previous $150 million share repurchase plan and the Board of Directors authorized a new $150 million share repurchase plan. Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, “FirstCash achieved record second quarter and year-to-date results, with revenue increases of 29% for the quarter and 28% year-to-date, driving exceptional growth in net income, EBITDA and earnings per share. Pawn demand remains extremely robust, with consolidated pawn receivables up 63% in total and 22% on a same-store basis over the prior year. We are again raising consolidated full year pawn revenue guidance given our second quarter results and continuing demand for pawn products and our deep-value retail sales model. “The Company expects to complete its previously announced acquisition of Ramsdens Holdings plc (“Ramsdens”) by the end of 2026, subject to the approval of Ramsdens’ shareholders, receipt of the required anti-trust and regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other closing conditions. Ramsdens is a leading operator of pawn stores in the U.K. with 174 locations that will expand FirstCash’s geographic footprint in the U.K. to more than 450 locations. We also expect to see additional 2026 store expansion opportunities across each of our major geographic markets through acquisitions and new store openings. “Additionally, during the second quarter, FirstCash successfully completed a $750 million bond offering and used the proceeds to pay down a significant portion of the revolving credit facility and to provide additional long-term funding capacity for further expansion of pawn operations and shareholder returns,” concluded Mr. Wessel. This release contains adjusted financial measures, which exclude certain non-operating and/or non-cash income and expenses, that are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the descriptions and reconciliations to GAAP of these and other non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release. Consolidated Operating Highlights Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter increased 58% over the prior-year quarter on a GAAP basis while adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 40% compared to the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date diluted earnings per share increased 42% over the prior-year period on a GAAP basis and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 34% compared to the prior-year period. Net income for the second quarter totaled $93 million, a 56% increase over the prior-year quarter on a GAAP basis, while adjusted net income increased 38% compared to the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date net income totaled $201 million, a 40% increase over the prior-year period on a GAAP basis, while adjusted net income increased 33% compared to the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $201 million, a 39% increase over the prior-year quarter. On a year-to-date basis, adjusted EBITDA increased 34% compared to the prior-year period. Consolidated revenue totaled $1.1 billion for the quarter and $2.1 billion year-to-date. Both total revenue and net revenue (gross profit) for the second quarter increased 29% over the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date revenue increased 28% over the prior-year period and net revenue increased 29% compared to the prior-year period. Combined revenues from the Company’s pawn segments increased 44% in the second quarter over last year, while the combined pawn segment income increased 59% over the same period. Year-to-date revenues from the Company’s pawn segments increased 42% while pawn segment income increased 59% over the same prior-year period. Consolidated assets at June 30, 2026 totaled a record $5.5 billion, including record pawn receivables of $898 million. This compares to assets of $4.5 billion and pawn receivables of $551 million a year ago. For the trailing twelve month period ended June 30, 2026, the Company reported: Growth Platforms During the second quarter, the Company added 20 retail pawn locations, including seven acquired stores and one new location in the U.S. and six de novo stores each in Latin America and the U.K. A total of 28 stores have been added year-to-date. Over the last twelve months, the Company has added 347 locations and as of June 30, 2026, the Company had 3,343 locations, comprised of 1,212 U.S. locations, 1,836 locations in Latin America and 295 U.K. locations. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company completed a one-store acquisition in the U.K. In addition to the Ramsdens transaction, the Company has an active pipeline of acquisition opportunities which could potentially add 35 to 40 additional acquired locations across its global footprint in the second half of 2026. Ramsdens acquisition update: The Company’s real estate portfolio of owned pawn locations now totals 466 properties, of which eight were acquired in the second quarter and 45 were acquired over the past twelve months. These are highly strategic investments which protect valuable store locations and reduce future operating expenses. Most of the owned properties are in the U.S. and now represent 38% of the total U.S. store base. AFF had approximately 16,700 active retail and e-commerce point-of-sale merchant partner locations at June 30, 2026, representing a 9% increase compared to a year ago. U.S. Pawn Segment Operating Results Total segment revenue increased 22% in the second quarter and 19% year-to-date, reflecting especially strong same-store revenue growth coupled with contributions from the 2025 acquisitions. Segment pre-tax operating income increased 31% compared to the prior-year quarter. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin increased to a record 26% for the second quarter of 2026 compared to 24% in the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date segment pre-tax operating income increased 28% compared to the prior-year period. Pawn receivables increased 20% in total at June 30, 2026 compared to last year. Same-store pawn receivables increased 19% and are up 32% on a two-year stacked basis. This represented the twelfth consecutive quarter of double-digit same-store receivables growth. Pawn loan fees increased 15% in the second quarter while retail merchandise sales increased 10%, both compared to the prior-year quarter. On a same-store basis, pawn fees increased 14% and retail sales increased 8%. Retail sales margins were 43% for the second quarter of 2026, which equaled the second quarter of 2025. Inventories aged greater than one year at June 30, 2026 remained low at 1.5% of total inventories, which excludes aged inventories from certain recently acquired stores, improving from 1.9% at June 30, 2025. Latin America Pawn Segment Operating Results Note: Certain growth rates below are calculated on a constant or local currency basis, a non-GAAP financial measure defined at the end of this release. The average U.S. dollar to Mexican peso exchange rate for the second quarter of 2026 was 17.4 dollar / peso, a favorable change of 11% versus the comparable prior-year period, and for the six month period ended June 30, 2026 was 17.5 dollar / peso, a favorable change of 13% versus the prior-year period. Total segment revenue in the second quarter of 2026 increased 42% on a U.S. dollar basis and 29% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date, segment revenue increased 41% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior-year period and increased 26% on a local currency basis. Second quarter segment pre-tax operating income increased 42% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to last year and increased 36% on a local currency basis. Year-to-date, segment pre-tax operating income increased 51% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior-year period and increased 42% on a local currency basis. Pawn receivables, both in total and on a same-store basis, as of June 30, 2026, increased 32% on a U.S. dollar basis while increasing 22% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year. Two-year stacked same-store receivable growth increased 42% in total and 35% on a currency adjusted basis. Total and same-store pawn loan fees in the second quarter both increased 33% on a U.S. dollar basis and 19% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior-year quarter. Total and same-store retail merchandise sales in the second quarter increased 28% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior-year quarter. On a constant currency basis, both total and same-store retail merchandise sales increased 15% in the second quarter compared to the prior-year quarter. Retail margins were 35% in the second quarter of 2026 versus 36% in the second quarter of 2025. Inventories aged greater than one year at June 30, 2026 remained extremely low, improving to 1.2% compared to 1.5% at June 30, 2025. U.K. Pawn Segment Operating Results Total revenues in the second quarter were $95 million, with strong growth over the prior-year quarter (pre-acquisition) in both pawn fees and merchandise sales. Segment pre-tax operating income for the second quarter of 2026 was $34 million, resulting in a segment pre-tax operating margin of 35%. Year-to-date segment pre-tax operating income was $73 million, resulting in a segment pre-tax operating margin of 37%. Pawn receivables at June 30, 2026 totaled $217 million, an increase of 22% on a U.S. dollar basis. On a local currency basis, both total and same-store pawn receivables increased 26% compared to a year ago (pre-acquisition). American First Finance (AFF) - Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment Operating Results Second quarter segment pre-tax operating income totaled $29 million. This represented a sequential increase over the first quarter of 2026 but an expected decrease compared to the second quarter of 2025, due primarily to loss of earnings from previously reported merchant partner bankruptcies. Year-to-date segment pre-tax operating income totaled $55 million. Gross transaction volume of lease and loan originations during the second quarter decreased 14% compared to the prior-year quarter, due primarily to continued weakness in the furniture industry coupled with an increased strategic focus on merchant quality. For the year-to-date period, overall gross transaction volume decreased 6% over the prior-year period. Net revenues in the second quarter decreased 15% compared to the prior-year quarter, representing a sequential improvement over the first quarter, while year-to-date decreased 26% compared to the prior-year period. The second quarter combined average monthly net charge-off rate for lease and finance products was 5.2%, which represented sequential improvement compared to 5.6% in the first quarter, and was consistent with the prior-year quarter. Cash Flow and Liquidity Consolidated operating cash flows for the twelve month period ended June 30, 2026 totaled $673 million, an increase of 21% compared to the same prior-year period, driven by significant contributions from each of the Company’s four business segments. Adjusted free cash flows, which includes net fundings/repayments of pawn loans and finance receivables, increased 16% to $309 million in the twelve month period ended June 30, 2026 compared to the same prior-year period. The operating cash flows helped fund significant growth in earning assets, continued investments in the pawn store platform, real estate and shareholder returns over the past twelve months: In May 2026, the Company successfully completed an offering of $750 million of 6.125% senior unsecured notes due in 2034. The Company used the proceeds to reduce the outstanding balance on the Company’s higher-rate, U.S. revolving credit facility and to repay in full and terminate other revolving credit facilities and secured term loans which were assumed as part of the H&T acquisition in 2025. Based on trailing twelve month actual results, the Company’s net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 2.7x at June 30, 2026. Including the estimated pro forma EBITDA contributions from acquisitions and other lender permitted adjustments over the past twelve months, the ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA at June 30, 2026 was 2.6x, which is an improvement versus the same ratio nine months ago (post the acquisition of H&T) of 2.9x. Shareholder Returns The Board of Directors declared a $0.42 per share third quarter cash dividend, which will be paid on August 28, 2026 to stockholders of record as of August 14, 2026. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.68 per share. Any future dividends are subject to approval by the Company’s Board of Directors. Through the date of this release, the Company repurchased 725,000 shares of common stock in 2026 at an average price of $206.73 per share for a total cost of $150 million. This completes, in less than nine months, the $150 million stock repurchase program authorized in October 2025. On July 22, 2026, the Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase authorization of up to $150 million, effective immediately. Future share repurchases are subject to expected liquidity, acquisition and other investment opportunities, debt covenant restrictions, market conditions and other relevant factors. Over the past twelve months, the Company has repurchased 1,005,000 shares of common stock at an average price of $180.96 per share for a total cost of $182 million and paid out $74 million in cash dividends, representing a payout ratio of approximately 66% of net income over the same period. The Company generated a 17% return on equity and an 8% return on assets for the twelve months ended June 30, 2026. Using adjusted net income for the twelve months ended June 30, 2026, the adjusted return on equity was 20% while the adjusted return on assets was 9%. 2026 Outlook The outlook for the remainder of 2026 continues to be highly positive as the Company is again raising its overall expectations for year-over-year growth in consolidated pawn segment revenue. While the acquisition of Ramsdens and other prospective and in-process acquisitions are anticipated to close by the end of 2026, the estimates provided below do not include revenue and earnings contributions from such potential acquisitions. Pawn Operations: Pawn operations remain the primary earnings driver as the Company expects the combined U.S., Latin America and U.K. pawn segments to be over 90% of total net revenue and segment level pre-tax income for 2026. U.S. Pawn Pawn fees in the first half of 2026 were up 14% compared to a year ago. The Company continues to see strong results in July and expects mid-teen or better growth in pawn fees in second half and full year 2026. The Company expects retail merchandise sales to grow in a range of 10% to 15% in 2026 and will continue to target retail margins in a range of 42% to 43%. Additionally, the Company continues to anticipate increased gross profit from scrap jewelry sales. Store operating expenses are projected to grow at a mid-to-high single-digit range in 2026, primarily due to increased variable compensation expense and the significant 2025 store additions. Latin America Pawn Pawn fees in the first half of 2026 were up 21% on a constant currency basis and 37% on a U.S. dollar basis due to a 13% favorable change in the peso exchange rate compared to the same period last year. The Company expects approximately 20% growth in pawn fees on a U.S. dollar basis in the second half of 2026, assuming an exchange rate equal to the first half of 2026. The Company expects second half retail merchandise sales to grow in a mid 20% range on a U.S. dollar basis, assuming an exchange rate equal to the first half of 2026, with consistent retail margins of approximately 35%. Similar to the U.S., Latin America expects a year-over-year increase in gross profit from scrap jewelry sales. Combined with increased store counts and increased variable compensation expense, operating expenses are expected to grow at a rate in the mid-teens on a U.S. dollar basis. U.K. Pawn Based on first half of 2026 performance and increased full year revenue projections, 2026 segment income (before administrative expenses, interest expense and taxes) is now expected to be in a range of $135 million to $140 million assuming the current GBP exchange rate. Retail POS Payment Solutions (AFF) Operations: Given continued softness in furniture and other large-ticket retail sales, gross transaction volumes for lease and loan originations for 2026 are now forecast to be down approximately 10% compared to 2025. Net revenue (after depreciation of leased merchandise and lease and loan loss provisioning) is expected to decrease in a range of 20% to 25% for the full year. The decrease is primarily due to the decrease in net revenue from the American Freight and Conn’s portfolios as a result of their bankruptcies at the end of 2024 and the expected decline in 2026 originations. Other Expenses, Tax Rates and Currency: Corporate administrative expenses for the remainder of 2026 are expected to remain at a run rate which is similar to the first and second quarters of 2026, while interest expense is expected to increase for full year 2026 in a range of 15% to 20% over 2025 assuming current interest rates. The full year 2026 consolidated effective income tax rate is expected to range from 26% to 27% of net income. Each full point change in the exchange rate of the Mexican peso is projected to have an annual earnings impact of approximately $0.10 to $0.12 per share. A comparable percentage rate change in the exchange rate for the British pound sterling would have an annual earnings impact of approximately $0.07 to $0.09 per share. Additional Commentary and Analysis Mr. Wessel further commented on FirstCash’s exceptionally strong operating performance and its outlook for the remainder of 2026, “We are extremely excited to share outstanding second quarter results which clearly reflect continued consumer demand for our core pawn products and services coupled with outstanding execution on the part of our front-line associates, store operators and support teams. The record level of pawn receivables coupled with solid inventory positions at quarter end position us well for further revenue growth in the second half of the year from both pawn fees and merchandise sales. “The strength of our pawn business is notable in its consistency and breadth across each of our pawn segments, both domestically and internationally. Every market continues to see record levels of customer transaction volumes and increased transaction amounts. In addition, the discipline in our lending practices and retail strategies continue to be reflected in optimized inventory positioning with strong turns, low levels of aged inventories and industry leading retail margins. “From a store growth perspective, the second quarter saw continued global expansion in all pawn segments with the addition of 20 locations through a combination of store openings and acquisitions. We added 13 de novo locations spread across each of our pawn segments. The seven acquired U.S. locations were all in targeted and attractive U.S. growth markets including the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma. I am especially pleased to report that over the last twelve months, we have now added a total of almost 350 locations in four different countries. “Our experienced operations and support teams have demonstrated capabilities and the necessary resources for successfully integrating the significant volume of acquired stores. As an example, we completed, in June, the integration of the acquired H&T store platform, representing almost 300 locations, into our proprietary FirstPawn POS system which was accomplished in less than nine months and well ahead of the original schedule. We believe this POS integration and future consolidation of other back office platforms will improve customer service, facilitate product enhancements and generate additional operating synergies for H&T. “Equally as exciting is the especially large pipeline of pawn acquisitions anticipated for the second half of 2026. The opportunity to add the established Ramsdens brand represents a highly complementary strategic fit as one of the U.K.’s leading pawnbrokers. Operating with a network of 174 stores, Ramsdens will expand our geographic footprint, especially in the more northern regions of U.K., further providing additional scale, operating efficiencies and long-term growth opportunities. In addition, we have a number of other smaller acquisitions in process across multiple geographies which could add 35 to 40 additional locations between now and year end. These expected transactions continue to reinforce both the near and long-term opportunities for FirstCash’s continued growth of its store base, revenues and earnings. “Our balance sheet and cash flows remain incredibly strong, as demonstrated by the successful $750 million bond offering completed in the second quarter which allowed us to pay down a significant portion of our U.S. credit facility and to pay off all of the assumed, higher-rate H&T debt. The bond issuance provides greater financial flexibility going forward for continued acquisitions, new store growth, real estate purchases and future shareholder returns. Furthermore, we continue to maintain the leverage ratio within our normal targeted range of 2.0x to 3.0x adjusted EBITDA. “We are also pleased to report that during the second quarter, FirstCash repurchased $77 million of its common stock, bringing our year-to-date buybacks to $127 million at an average cost of $204.77. Subsequent to quarter end in early July 2026, we fully completed the $150 million share buyback authorization, and the Board of Directors has now authorized an additional $150 million for further potential share repurchases. “A final highlight of the quarter was the shareholder approval of the reincorporation of FirstCash to become a Texas-domiciled company. The conversion from a Delaware to a Texas corporation was completed on June 18 and now aligns our corporate domicile with the state where we are headquartered and have the largest number of U.S. locations and employees. “In summary, we are very excited about the ongoing strength of our business model and the potential for further long-term growth and shareholder value creation,” concluded Mr. Wessel. About FirstCash FirstCash is the leading international operator of pawn stores focused on serving cash and credit-constrained consumers. FirstCash operates more than 3,300 pawn stores in the U.S., Latin America and the U.K. Most of the stores buy and sell a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, musical instruments and other merchandise, and make small non-recourse pawn loans secured by pledged personal property. FirstCash’s pawn operations account for approximately 90% of net revenue, with the remainder provided by its wholly owned subsidiary, AFF, a leading provider of customer payment solutions at the point-of-sale for retailers of consumer goods and services. FirstCash is a component company in both the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index® and the Russell 2000 Index®. FirstCash’s common stock (ticker symbol “FCFS”) is traded on the Nasdaq, the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market. For additional information regarding FirstCash and the services it provides, visit FirstCash’s websites located at http://www.firstcash.com, http://www.americanfirstfinance.com and http://www.handt.co.uk. Forward-Looking Information This release contains forward-looking statements about the business, financial condition, outlook and prospects of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (together, the “Company”), including the Company’s outlook for 2026 and the Company’s previously announced Ramsdens acquisition. Forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” “may,” “estimates,” “should,” “plans,” “targets,” “intends,” “could,” “would,” “anticipates,” “potential,” “confident,” “optimistic,” or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, objectives, estimates, guidance, expectations, outlook and future plans. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the fact these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. While the Company believes the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurances such expectations will prove to be accurate. Security holders are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements made in this release. Such factors and risks may include, without limitation, risks related to the extensive regulatory environment in which the Company operates, including uncertainty involving the present regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; risks associated with the legal and regulatory proceedings that the Company is a party to or may become a party to in the future; risks related to the Company’s acquisitions, including the failure of the Company’s acquisitions to deliver the estimated value and benefits expected by the Company and the ability of the Company to continue to identify and consummate acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all; risks related to the Ramsdens acquisition, in particular, the ability to obtain the necessary shareholder, anti-trust and regulatory approvals, and to satisfy the other closing conditions in the expected timeframe, if at all, and the ability to achieve the anticipated benefits from the acquisition of Ramsdens on the anticipated timeline, if at all; potential changes in consumer behavior and shopping patterns which could impact demand for the Company’s pawn loan, retail, lease-to-own (“LTO”) and retail finance products; labor shortages and increased labor costs; a deterioration in the economic conditions in the United States, Latin America and the United Kingdom, including as a result of geopolitical conflicts, inflation, elevated interest rates, increased energy costs and trade policy, which potentially could have an impact on discretionary consumer spending and demand for the Company’s products; currency fluctuations, primarily involving the Mexican peso and British pound sterling; competition the Company faces from other retailers and providers of retail payment solutions; the ability of the Company to successfully execute on its business strategies; risks related to the Company’s ability to prevent cyber attacks, other cybersecurity incidents, security breaches or other disruptions to its information technology systems; risks related to the Company’s ability to develop, operate and adapt its information technology infrastructure suitable for the nature of its business and to successfully transition acquired businesses to its information technology platform; contraction in sales activity or store closures at merchant partners of the Company’s retail point-of-sale (“POS”) payment solutions business; the ability of the Company’s retail POS payment solutions business to continue to grow its base of merchant partners; and other risks discussed and described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the risks described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” thereof, and other reports filed with the SEC. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the ability of the Company to control, nor can the Company predict, in many cases, all of the risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.SEGMENT RESULTS(unaudited) The Company organizes its operations into four reportable segments as follows: United States pawn (“U.S. pawn”) Latin America pawn (“LatAm pawn”) United Kingdom pawn (“U.K. pawn”) Retail POS payment solutions (American First Finance or “AFF”) Operating expenses of the three pawn segments include salary and benefit expenses of store-level employees, occupancy costs, bank and other treasury fees, security, insurance, utilities, supplies and other costs incurred by the pawn stores. Operating expenses of the AFF segment include salary and benefit expenses of operations-focused departments, payment processing charges, data analytics and decisioning costs, information technology costs, advertising costs and other operational costs incurred by AFF. Corporate expenses and income, which include administrative expenses, corporate depreciation and amortization, interest expense, interest income, loss (gain) on foreign exchange, merger and acquisition expenses, and other income, net, are presented on a consolidated basis and are not allocated between the segments. Intersegment transactions related to AFF’s LTO payment solution product offered in U.S. pawn stores are eliminated from consolidated totals. The Company completed the acquisition of H&T, the leading pawn operator in the United Kingdom, on August 14, 2025, the date which the balance sheet and operating results of H&T were included in the Company’s consolidated financial results. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.PAWN STORE LOCATIONS AND MERCHANT PARTNER LOCATIONS Pawn Operations As of June 30, 2026, the Company operated 3,343 pawn store locations composed of 1,212 stores in 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, 1,729 stores in 32 states in Mexico, 77 stores in Guatemala, 18 stores in El Salvador, 12 stores in Colombia and 295 stores in the U.K. The following tables detail pawn store count activity: Retail POS Payment Solutions As of June 30, 2026, AFF provided LTO and retail POS payment solutions for consumer goods and services through a network of approximately 16,700 active retail merchant partner locations. This compares to the active door count of approximately 15,300 locations at June 30, 2025. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURESTO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES(unaudited) The Company uses certain financial calculations such as adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted return on equity, adjusted return on assets and constant currency results as factors in the measurement and evaluation of the Company’s operating performance and period-over-period growth. The Company derives these financial calculations on the basis of methodologies other than generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), primarily by excluding from a comparable GAAP measure certain items the Company does not consider to be representative of its actual operating performance. These financial calculations are “non-GAAP financial measures” as defined under the SEC rules. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures in operating its business because management believes they are less susceptible to variances in actual operating performance that can result from the excluded items, other infrequent charges and currency fluctuations. The Company presents these financial measures to investors because management believes they are useful to investors in evaluating the primary factors that drive the Company’s core operating performance and provide greater transparency into the Company’s results of operations. However, items that are excluded and other adjustments and assumptions that are made in calculating these non-GAAP financial measures are significant components in understanding and assessing the Company’s financial performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, the Company’s GAAP financial measures. Further, because these non-GAAP financial measures are not determined in accordance with GAAP, and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, the non-GAAP financial measures, as presented, may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures of other companies. The Company has adjusted the applicable financial calculations to exclude merger and acquisition expenses, amortization of acquired intangible assets, the CFPB litigation settlement and certain other income and expenses. The Company does not consider these items to be related to the organic operations of the Company’s businesses or its continuing operations and are generally not relevant to assessing or estimating the long-term performance of the Company. In addition, excluding these items allows for more accurate comparisons of the financial results to prior periods. Merger and acquisition expenses include incremental costs directly associated with merger and acquisition activities, including professional fees, legal expenses, severance, retention and other employee-related costs, contract breakage costs, costs related to the consolidation of technology systems and corporate facilities and other integration costs, among others. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURESTO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES(unaudited) Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Management believes the presentation of adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance and prospects for the future by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and are not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. In addition, management believes the adjustments shown below are useful to investors in order to allow them to compare the Company’s financial results for the current periods presented with the prior periods presented. The following tables provide a reconciliation between net income and diluted earnings per share calculated in accordance with GAAP to adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, which are shown net of tax (in thousands, except per share amounts): FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURESTO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES(unaudited) Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) and Adjusted EBITDA The Company defines EBITDA as net income before income taxes, depreciation and amortization, interest expense and interest income and adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted for certain items, as listed below, that management considers to be non-operating in nature and not representative of its actual operating performance. The Company believes EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are commonly used by investors to assess a company’s financial performance, and adjusted EBITDA is used as a starting point in the calculation of the consolidated total debt ratio as defined in the Company’s senior unsecured notes. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA (in thousands): FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURESTO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES(unaudited) Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow For purposes of its internal liquidity assessments, the Company considers free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow. The Company defines free cash flow as cash flow from operating activities less purchases of furniture, fixtures, equipment and improvements and net fundings/repayments of pawn loan and finance receivables, which are considered to be operating in nature by the Company but are included in cash flow from investing activities. Adjusted free cash flow is defined as free cash flow adjusted for merger and acquisition expenses paid that management considers to be non-operating in nature. Free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow are commonly used by investors as additional measures of cash generated by business operations that may be used to repay scheduled debt maturities and debt service or, following payment of such debt obligations and other non-discretionary items, that may be available to invest in future growth through new business development activities or acquisitions, repurchase stock, pay cash dividends or repay debt obligations prior to their maturities. These metrics can also be used to evaluate the Company’s ability to generate cash flow from business operations and the impact that this cash flow has on the Company’s liquidity. However, free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash flow from operating activities or other income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following table reconciles cash flow from operating activities to free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow (in thousands): FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURESTO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES(unaudited) Adjusted Return on Equity and Adjusted Return on Assets Management believes the presentation of adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on assets provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. Annualized adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on assets is calculated as follows (dollars in thousands): Constant Currency Results The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, however, certain performance metrics discussed in this release are presented on a “constant currency” basis, which is considered a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company’s management uses constant currency results to evaluate operating results of business operations in Latin America and the U.K., which are transacted in local currencies in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and the U.K. The Company also has operations in El Salvador, where the reporting and functional currency is the U.S. dollar. The Company believes constant currency results provide valuable supplemental information regarding the underlying performance of its business operations in Latin America and the U.K., consistent with how the Company’s management evaluates such performance and operating results. Constant currency results reported herein are calculated by translating certain balance sheet and income statement items denominated in local currencies using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period, as opposed to the current comparable period, in order to exclude the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations for purposes of evaluating period-over-period comparisons.

Encore Capital Group ECPG is no longer a turnaround story waiting for proof. Shares have climbed 56.2% in the past six months and 120.4% over the trailing 12-month period. The valuation question is now harder. Investors must decide whether low earnings multiples and higher profit forecasts still leave room for upside, or whether leverage and cost risks should cap the rerating. ECPG trades at 6.4X forward 12-month earnings, while its current fiscal-year price-to-earnings ratio is 6.6. That remains below 7.88X for the Zacks sub-industry, 16.29X for the Zacks Finance sector and 21.32X for the S&P 500 index.The stock is also trading at its five-year median forward multiple of 6.4X, despite a stronger operating setup than it had during weaker collection periods. Its five-year range of 4.14X to 12.84X leaves room for a higher multiple if earnings quality continues to improve. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research PRA Group, Inc. PRAA is the closest public comparison because it also acquires and collects nonperforming loan portfolios. That makes portfolio supply, funding access and recovery efficiency central issues for both companies. On the other hand, FirstCash Holdings, Inc. FCFS offers a different way to view consumer-finance exposure. Its pawn-focused model depends less on charged-off receivable purchases, making it a useful contrast to ECPG’s debt-purchasing cycle.At present, PRA Group and FirstCash Holdings are trading at a premium to ECPG. Encore’s latest quarter helped reset the earnings base. First-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.86 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.4%, while revenues of $475 million rose 21% year over year.The operating support was clear. Global collections increased 19% to a record $718.4 million, and the U.S. MCM business generated record collections of $556 million, up 23% from the prior-year quarter. Encore Capital Group Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Encore Capital Group Inc Quote Management raised its 2026 earnings outlook to $13 per share from $12, implying 19% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate shows earnings rising from $10.91 in 2025 to $13.01 in 2026 and $13.86 in 2027. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The $99 price target reflects 7.38X forward earnings. That is not an aggressive multiple relative to the broader market, but it does imply some rerating from the current 6.40X forward 12-month level.A modest multiple expansion could be supported if collection outperformance keeps flowing into results. Collections exceeded expectations in the first quarter, and positive changes in expected future recoveries suggest estimated remaining collection curves are beginning to move higher.As those curves adjust, management expects more of the benefit to shift from cash overperformance into portfolio revenues. Stronger reported portfolio revenue can make earnings visibility more durable. ECPG’s low multiple comes with balance-sheet risk. Borrowings totaled $4.03 billion at the end of the first quarter, and the company depends on debt funding to purchase receivable portfolios.Interest expense and other income are projected to total about $300 million in 2026. If borrowing costs remain elevated or portfolio returns normalize, the earnings benefit from higher collections could face pressure. Legal collection costs are another margin risk. Rising legal activity can support recoveries, but it can also create fixed and semi-variable cost pressure if collections growth slows.The business mix adds a limitation. The U.S. business is driving most of the momentum, while Cabot in Europe continues to face subdued lending, low delinquencies and strong competition. The bottom line is that ECPG still looks inexpensive, but not risk-free. The earnings reset, low forward multiple and $99 price target support the undervaluation argument, while leverage, legal costs and geographic concentration keep the case selective.ECPG currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), which supports the view that estimate trends remain favorable in the near term. Its Value Score of B also strengthens the bargain case for investors focused on valuation. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The rest of the style profile is less supportive. ECPG has a VGM Score of C, Growth Score of D and Momentum Score of F. That mix suggests the stock is better viewed as a selective value opportunity backed by earnings revisions, rather than an all-clear momentum play after a major rally. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PRA Group, Inc. (PRAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (FCFS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Encore Capital Group Inc (ECPG) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (“FirstCash” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: FCFS), the leading international operator of more than 3,300 retail pawn stores, today announced record revenue and earnings results for the three month period ended March 31, 2026. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.42 per share, which will be paid in May 2026. Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, “FirstCash is pleased to report its first quarter results highlighted by record revenue, net income and earnings per share. Consolidated revenues again exceeded $1 billion for the quarter, representing an increase of 26% over the first quarter of last year. Resulting net income and adjusted EBITDA both increased 29%, while fully diluted earnings per share increased an impressive 30%. “Our tremendous first quarter results were driven by exceptionally strong performances in each of the three pawn segments. Pawn revenues in the U.S. were up 16% while Latin America was up 40% on a U.S. dollar basis and 23% in local currency. The recently acquired U.K. operations contributed meaningfully to the overall revenue and earnings results with an outstanding quarter as well. The earnings contribution margin in each pawn segment further improved, driven by pawn fee growth coupled with strong merchandise sales and margins. “Most notably, same-store pawn receivables at the end of the first quarter increased an unprecedented 19% in the U.S., 30% in Latin America and 29% in the U.K. (all on a local currency basis), representing further acceleration in pawn demand since the start of the year. These trends point to significant further revenue momentum as we begin the second quarter, and accordingly, we are raising full year 2026 revenue guidance for each of our pawn segments. “FirstCash’s store opening and acquisition activity remains strong with 340 locations added over the last twelve months, including eight pawn locations added in the first quarter. There continues to be a solid pipeline of opportunities across all markets for further expansion in 2026. “Additionally, the strong first quarter operating results generated significant operating cash flows which we utilized to further invest in the business while also reducing our leverage ratio, repurchasing stock and paying the quarterly cash dividend,” concluded Mr. Wessel. This release contains adjusted financial measures, which exclude certain non-operating and/or non-cash income and expenses, that are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the descriptions and reconciliations to GAAP of these and other non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release. Consolidated Operating Highlights Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter increased 30% on both a GAAP basis and on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year quarter. Net income for the first quarter totaled $108 million, a 29% increase over the prior-year quarter on a GAAP basis, while adjusted net income increased 28% compared to the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter increased 29% to $211 million compared to the prior-year quarter. Consolidated revenue for the first quarter increased 26% over the prior-year quarter while net revenues (gross profit) increased 28% compared to the prior-year quarter. Combined revenues from the Company’s pawn segments increased 40% in the first quarter over last year, while the total pawn segment income increased 60% over the same period. Consolidated assets at March 31, 2026 totaled a record $5.4 billion, including record pawn receivables of $851 million. This compares to assets of $4.4 billion and pawn receivables of $500 million a year ago. For the trailing twelve month period ended March 31, 2026 the Company reported: Revenues of $3.9 billion Net income of $354 million on a GAAP basis and adjusted net income of $416 million Adjusted EBITDA of $746 million Operating cash flows of $613 million and adjusted free cash flows (a non-GAAP measure) of $267 million Pawn Store Locations and Merchant Partner Growth During the first quarter, the Company added eight pawn locations, including four de novo stores in Latin America, three de novo stores in the U.K. and one acquired location in the U.S. Over the last twelve months, the Company has added 340 locations, which includes 24 U.S. locations, 26 in Latin America and 290 in the U.K. At March 31, 2026, the Company had 3,334 locations, comprised of 1,207 U.S. locations, 1,838 locations in Latin America and 289 U.K. locations. The Company’s real estate portfolio of owned pawn locations now totals 458 properties, of which 15 were acquired in the first quarter and 51 were acquired over the past 12 months. AFF had approximately 16,600 active retail and e-commerce point-of-sale merchant partner locations at March 31, 2026, representing a 14% increase compared to a year ago. U.S. Pawn Segment Operating Results Total segment revenue increased 16% in the first quarter, reflecting especially strong same-store revenue growth coupled with contributions from the 2025 acquisitions. Segment pre-tax operating income increased 25% compared to the prior-year quarter. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin increased to a record 29% for the first quarter of 2026 compared to 27% in the prior-year quarter. Pawn receivables increased 21% in total at March 31, 2026 compared to last year. Same-store pawn receivables increased 19% and are up 32% on a two-year stacked basis. This represented the eleventh consecutive quarter of double-digit same-store receivables growth. Pawn loan fees increased 14% in the first quarter while retail merchandise sales increased 13%, both compared to the prior-year quarter. On a same-store basis, pawn fees increased 13% and retail sales increased 9%. Retail sales margins improved to 44% for the first quarter of 2026 compared to 42% for the first quarter of 2025. Inventories aged greater than one year at March 31, 2026 remained low at 1.7% of total inventories and consistent with the prior year. Latin America Pawn Segment Operating Results Note: Certain growth rates below are calculated on a constant or local currency basis, a non-GAAP financial measure defined at the end of this release. The average U.S. dollar to Mexican peso exchange rate for the first quarter of 2026 was 17.6 dollar / peso, a favorable change of 14% versus the comparable prior-year period. Total segment revenue in the first quarter of 2026 increased 40% on a U.S. dollar basis and 23% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior-year quarter. First quarter segment pre-tax operating income increased 62% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to last year, totaling a record $51 million, and increased 48% on a local currency basis. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin increased to 20% for the first quarter of 2026 compared to 17% in the prior-year quarter. Pawn receivables, both in total and on a same-store basis, as of March 31, 2026, increased 45% on a U.S. dollar basis while increasing 30% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year. Total and same-store pawn loan fees in the first quarter increased 42% on a U.S. dollar basis while both increased 23% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior-year quarter. Total and same-store retail merchandise sales in the first quarter increased 33% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior-year quarter. On a constant currency basis, both total and same-store retail merchandise sales increased 15% in the first quarter compared to the prior-year quarter. Retail margins were 35% in both the first quarter of 2026 and 2025. Inventories aged greater than one year at March 31, 2026 remained extremely low at 1.3% and down sequentially from 1.4% at the end of 2025. U.K. Pawn Segment Operating Results Total revenues in the first quarter were $102 million, with strong growth over the prior-year quarter (pre-acquisition) in both pawn fees and merchandise sales. Segment pre-tax operating income for the first quarter of 2026 was $39 million, resulting in a segment pre-tax operating margin of 39%. Pawn receivables at March 31, 2026 totaled $215 million, an increase of 29% on both a total and same-store local currency basis, compared to a year ago (pre-acquisition). American First Finance (AFF) - Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment Operating Results First quarter segment pre-tax operating income totaled $26 million. This represented an expected decrease compared to the first quarter of 2025, which included significant run-off revenues from certain merchant partner bankruptcies that occurred in late 2024. Gross transaction volume of lease and loan originations during the first quarter increased 3% compared to the prior-year quarter, which was a sequential improvement compared to the year-over-year decrease of 3% during the fourth quarter of 2025. Gross revenues for the first quarter decreased 11%, primarily due to the merchant bankruptcies in late 2024. The combined average monthly net charge-off rate for lease and finance products remained within our targeted range at 5.6% for the first quarter of 2026, relatively consistent with the 5.4% in the first quarter of 2025. Cash Flow and Liquidity Consolidated operating cash flows for the twelve month period ended March 31, 2026 totaled $613 million, an increase of 13% compared to the same prior-year period, driven by significant contributions from each of the Company’s four business segments. Adjusted free cash flows, which includes net fundings/repayments of pawn loans and finance receivables, decreased 1% to $267 million in the twelve month period ended March 31, 2026 compared to the same prior-year period. The decrease was primarily due to the extraordinarily strong growth in new pawn loans made during the quarter. The operating cash flows helped fund significant growth in earning assets, continued investments in the pawn store platform and shareholder returns over the past twelve months: A total of 309 pawn stores were acquired for a combined purchase price of $450 million. Excluding earning assets obtained through acquisitions over the past twelve months, pawn earning assets (pawn receivables and inventories) increased $277 million compared to last year. 31 de novo pawn stores were opened with a combined investment of approximately $12 million in fixed assets and working capital. Real estate purchases totaled $86 million as the Company purchased the underlying real estate at 51 of its existing pawn stores, bringing the number of Company-owned properties to 458 locations. Shareholder returns comprised of stock repurchases and cash dividends totaled $178 million. Based on trailing twelve month actual results, the Company’s net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 2.9x at March 31, 2026. Including the estimated pro forma EBITDA contributions from acquisitions and other lender permitted adjustments over the past 12 months, the ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA at March 31, 2026 was 2.6x, which compares favorably to the same ratio six months ago (post the acquisition of H&T) of 2.9x. Shareholder Returns The Board of Directors declared a $0.42 per share second quarter cash dividend, which will be paid on May 29, 2026 to stockholders of record as of May 15, 2026. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.68 per share. Any future dividends are subject to approval by the Company’s Board of Directors. During the first quarter, the Company repurchased 261,000 shares of common stock at an average price of $191.79 per share for a total cost of $50 million under the $150 million stock repurchase program authorized in October 2025. Under its current authorization, the Company has $100 million available for future share repurchases, subject to expected liquidity, acquisition and other investment opportunities, debt covenant restrictions, market conditions and other relevant factors. Over the past twelve months, the Company has repurchased 648,000 shares of common stock at an average price of $162.60 per share for a total cost of $105 million and paid out $72 million in cash dividends, representing a payout ratio of approximately 50% of net income over the same period. The Company generated a 16% return on equity and a 7% return on assets for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026. Using adjusted net income for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026, the adjusted return on equity was 19% while the adjusted return on assets was 8%. 2026 Outlook The outlook for the remainder of 2026 continues to be highly positive. The Company is raising its expectations for year-over-year growth in pawn segment revenues, driven by the continued growth in same-store pawn receivables and better than anticipated revenue contributions from stores acquired in 2025. Pawn Operations: Pawn operations are expected to remain the primary earnings driver as the Company expects segment income from the combined U.S., Latin America and U.K. pawn segments to be almost 90% of total net revenue and segment level pre-tax income for 2026. U.S. Pawn Same-store pawn receivables, the leading indicator of future revenues, at March 31, 2026 were up 19% compared to a year ago, with April balances presently up over 20%. While the Company will lap its 2025 acquisitions of 23 stores over the course of this year, the Company now expects mid-teen revenue growth from pawn fees in 2026 compared to the previous forecast for low double-digit growth. The Company expects retail merchandise sales to grow 10% or more in 2026 and will continue to target retail margins at approximately 42%. Previous guidance was for high single digit retail sales growth. Additionally, the Company continues to anticipate improved year-over-year scrap jewelry sales and margins. Store operating expenses are projected to grow at a high single-digit range in 2026, primarily due to increased variable compensation expense and the significant 2025 store additions. Latin America Pawn Same-store pawn receivables at March 31, 2026 were up 30% on a local currency basis with continued growth in April. While the Company assumes these comps could moderate over the course of 2026, it still expects a high-teen growth rate in pawn fees (compared to the previous guidance in the mid-teens), assuming a similar exchange rate to last year. The Company is now expecting retail merchandise sales to grow at a rate in the mid-teens over 2025 with consistent retail margins at approximately 35%, and like the U.S., expects year-over-year improvement in scrap jewelry volume and margins. The previous retail sales forecast was for high-single digit growth. Combined with increased store counts and increased variable compensation expense, operating expenses are expected to increase in a range of 10% to 12% on a U.S. dollar basis. U.K. Pawn Pawn receivables at March 31, 2026 were up 29% compared to a year ago, with April balances trending similarly. Based on first quarter performance and increased full year revenue projections, 2026 segment income (before administrative expenses, interest expense and taxes) is now expected to be in a range of $125 million to $135 million assuming the current GBP exchange rate. Previous guidance was $115 million to $125 million. Retail POS Payment Solutions (AFF) Operations: Given continued softness in furniture and other large-ticket retail sales, gross transaction volumes for lease and loan originations for 2026 are currently forecast to increase in a flat to low single digit range compared to 2025. As expected, full year 2026 revenues are forecast to decrease in a mid-to-high single digit range compared to the prior year due to lower comparable leased merchandise balances at the beginning of the current year compared to last year. Resulting net revenue (after depreciation of leased merchandise and lease and loan loss provisioning) is expected to decrease in a range of 15% to 20% for the full year due primarily to reduced LTO net revenue from legacy furniture merchant partners. Other Expenses, Tax Rates and Currency: Quarterly corporate administrative expenses for the remainder of 2026 are expected to remain at a run rate similar to the first quarter of 2026. Interest expense is expected to increase for full year 2026 in a range of 10% to 15% over 2025 assuming current interest rates on the Company’s floating rate debt. The full year 2026 consolidated effective income tax rate under current tax codes in the U.S., Latin America and the U.K. is expected to range from 25.5% to 26.5% of net income. Each full point change in the exchange rate of the Mexican peso is projected to have an annual earnings impact of approximately $0.10 to $0.12 per share. A comparable percentage rate change in the exchange rate for the British pound sterling would have an annual earnings impact of approximately $0.07 to $0.09 per share. Additional Commentary and Analysis Mr. Wessel further commented on FirstCash’s first quarter results and the outlook for the remainder of 2026, “With another quarter of outstanding results, we continue to validate FirstCash’s long-term commitment to its core pawn operations and strategies for growing its global presence. We believe pawnshops are more relevant than ever given their dual role as both a customer-friendly lender and a vibrant second-hand marketplace. These trends, coupled with our focus on customer service, continue to broaden our customer base. “Our legacy U.S. business continues to perform well, driven by exceptionally strong same-store performance coupled with highly accretive contributions from recently acquired stores. Despite larger than average U.S. tax refunds, lending trends reflected lower than normal first quarter pawn loan paydowns. Retail sales were stronger than expected as well, reinforcing our relevance as a deep-value retailer which is minimally impacted by tariffs. Additionally, we attribute some of the growth to the fact that almost 80% of our U.S. store base is located in the high-growth regions of Texas, the Southeast and Mountain West, which we believe positions us well to enjoy expected long-term demographic tailwinds. “Latin America produced an even greater first quarter growth rate in pawn revenues, which we attribute to continued inflationary pressures along with the apparent impacts of reverse-migration and reduced remittance volumes from the U.S. to Latin America. Combined with the similarly strong growth of gross profits from merchandise sales and favorable currency trends, Latin America generated a 62% increase in U.S. dollar segment income. “Pawn growth metrics in the U.K. were outstanding as well, resulting in strong profitability for H&T in the first quarter that was well ahead of our original expectations. The integration of H&T is progressing well, with the migration of these stores to FirstCash’s proprietary pawn point-of-sale technology platform now underway, which we anticipate completing over the next few months. We believe the integration of the point-of-sale system and other back office platforms will improve customer service, enable product enhancements and generate additional operating synergies. “Based on the extremely strong first quarter results and accelerating pawn loan demand across all markets, we begin the second quarter with tremendous momentum. For each pawn segment, we have increased our 2026 guidance for expected pawn fees and merchandise sales. Our inventories remain well positioned to support the increased sales expectations with retail and scrap jewelry margins continuing to trend at or above our targeted ranges. “From a longer-term strategic perspective, we remain focused on identifying opportunities to expand pawn operations in the U.S., Latin America and the U.K. There is a solid pipeline of planned new store openings for 2026 coupled with further acquisition opportunities across all markets. We believe that our demonstrated ability to source, finance and close accretive acquisitions quickly, followed by rapid integration into our operating model, is a meaningful competitive advantage. “The AFF business segment continues to perform profitably as well, despite ongoing weakness in the retail furniture industry. AFF’s increasing penetration into other retail verticals is driving increased door counts and greater merchant diversification. We are encouraged by the increase in first quarter gross transaction volumes over last year. At the same time, portfolio performance metrics remain steady and within our target ranges as we continue to focus on prudent underwriting and merchant quality. “Each of our pawn segments and AFF continues to generate robust cash flows which support the strong growth in earning assets and continued investments in store expansion. Even with the significant volume of acquisitions over the past 12 months, which includes the all-cash acquisition of H&T last August, our proforma leverage ratio remains modest and has declined as expected over the past several months. “In summary, we remain focused on operational excellence and customer service, while further creating long-term shareholder value through meaningful growth and consistent shareholder returns,” concluded Mr. Wessel. About FirstCash FirstCash is the leading international operator of pawn stores focused on serving cash and credit-constrained consumers. FirstCash operates more than 3,300 pawn stores in the U.S., Latin America and the U.K. Most of the stores buy and sell a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, musical instruments and other merchandise, and make small non-recourse pawn loans secured by pledged personal property. FirstCash’s pawn operations currently account for over 90% of net revenue, with the remainder provided by its wholly owned subsidiary, AFF, a leading provider of customer payment solutions at the point-of-sale for retailers of consumer goods and services. FirstCash is a component company in both the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index® and the Russell 2000 Index®. FirstCash’s common stock (ticker symbol “FCFS”) is traded on the Nasdaq, the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market. For additional information regarding FirstCash and the services it provides, visit FirstCash’s websites located at http://www.firstcash.com, http://www.americanfirstfinance.com and http://www.handt.co.uk. Forward-Looking Information This release contains forward-looking statements about the business, financial condition, outlook and prospects of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (together, the “Company”), including the Company’s outlook for 2026. Forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” “may,” “estimates,” “should,” “plans,” “targets,” “intends,” “could,” “would,” “anticipates,” “potential,” “confident,” “optimistic,” or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, objectives, estimates, guidance, expectations, outlook and future plans. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the fact these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. While the Company believes the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurances such expectations will prove to be accurate. Security holders are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements made in this release. Such factors and risks may include, without limitation, risks related to the extensive regulatory environment in which the Company operates, including uncertainty involving the present regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; risks associated with the legal and regulatory proceedings that the Company is a party to or may become a party to in the future; risks related to the Company’s acquisitions, including the failure of the Company’s acquisitions to deliver the estimated value and benefits expected by the Company and the ability of the Company to continue to identify and consummate acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all; potential changes in consumer behavior and shopping patterns which could impact demand for the Company’s pawn loan, retail, lease-to-own (“LTO”) and retail finance products; labor shortages and increased labor costs; a deterioration in the economic conditions in the United States, Latin America and the United Kingdom, including as a result of inflation, elevated interest rates, increased energy costs and trade policy, which potentially could have an impact on discretionary consumer spending and demand for the Company’s products; currency fluctuations, primarily involving the Mexican peso and British pound sterling; competition the Company faces from other retailers and providers of retail payment solutions; the ability of the Company to successfully execute on its business strategies; risks related to the Company’s ability to prevent cyber attacks, other cybersecurity incidents, security breaches or other disruptions to its information technology systems; risks related to the Company’s ability to develop, operate and adapt its information technology infrastructure suitable for the nature of its business and to successfully transition acquired businesses to its information technology platform; contraction in sales activity or store closures at merchant partners of the Company’s retail point-of-sale (“POS”) payment solutions business; the ability of the Company’s retail POS payment solutions business to continue to grow its base of merchant partners; and other risks discussed and described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the risks described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” thereof, and other reports filed with the SEC. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the ability of the Company to control, nor can the Company predict, in many cases, all of the risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. SEGMENT RESULTS (unaudited) The Company organizes its operations into four reportable segments as follows: United States pawn (“U.S. pawn”) Latin America pawn (“LatAm pawn”) United Kingdom pawn (“U.K. pawn”) Retail POS payment solutions (American First Finance or “AFF”) Operating expenses of the three pawn segments include salary and benefit expenses of store-level employees, occupancy costs, bank and other treasury fees, security, insurance, utilities, supplies and other costs incurred by the pawn stores. Operating expenses of the AFF segment include salary and benefit expenses of operations-focused departments, payment processing charges, data analytics and decisioning costs, information technology costs, advertising costs and other operational costs incurred by AFF. Corporate expenses and income, which include administrative expenses, corporate depreciation and amortization, interest expense, interest income, gain on foreign exchange, merger and acquisition expenses, and other income, net, are presented on a consolidated basis and are not allocated between the segments. Intersegment transactions related to AFF’s LTO payment solution product offered in U.S. pawn stores are eliminated from consolidated totals. The Company completed the acquisition of H&T, the leading pawn operator in the United Kingdom, on August 14, 2025, the date which the balance sheet and operating results of H&T were included in the Company’s consolidated financial results. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. SEGMENT RESULTS (unaudited) Pawn Operating Metrics (dollars in thousands, except as otherwise noted) FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. SEGMENT RESULTS (unaudited) Retail POS Payment Operating Metrics (dollars in thousands) (1) During the third quarter of 2025, AFF began assisting certain customers in applying for a direct-to-consumer unsecured installment loan that is underwritten and fully retained by AFF’s bank partner (“OBS Loans”). OBS Loans are not reflected on the Company’s balance sheet as a finance receivable. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, gross transaction volume includes $14.4 million of OBS Loans originated by AFF’s bank partner through the assistance of AFF. (1) Does not include $32.9 million of outstanding OBS Loans held by AFF’s bank partner as of March 31, 2026. Combined finance receivables, before allowance for loan losses, and OBS Loans totaled $276.8 million as of March 31, 2026. (1) Calculated as provision for lease or loan losses as a percentage of the respective gross transaction volume originated. (2) Calculated as charge-offs, net of recoveries, as a percentage of the respective average earning asset balance before allowance for lease or loan losses. (3) Calculated as the percentage of the respective contractual earning asset balance owed that is 1 to 89 days past due (the Company charges off leases and finance receivables when they are 90 days or more contractually past due). FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. PAWN STORE LOCATIONS AND MERCHANT PARTNER LOCATIONS Pawn Operations As of March 31, 2026, the Company operated 3,334 pawn store locations composed of 1,207 stores in 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, 1,733 stores in 32 states in Mexico, 75 stores in Guatemala, 18 stores in El Salvador, 12 stores in Colombia and 289 stores in the U.K. The following table details pawn store count activity: (1) Store consolidations, which include certain acquired locations that have been combined with overlapping stores, represent closings for which the Company expects to maintain a significant portion of the customer base in the consolidated location. Retail POS Payment Solutions As of March 31, 2026, AFF provided LTO and retail POS payment solutions for consumer goods and services through a network of approximately 16,600 active retail merchant partner locations. This compares to the active door count of approximately 14,500 locations at March 31, 2025. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (unaudited) The Company uses certain financial calculations such as adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted return on equity, adjusted return on assets and constant currency results as factors in the measurement and evaluation of the Company’s operating performance and period-over-period growth. The Company derives these financial calculations on the basis of methodologies other than generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), primarily by excluding from a comparable GAAP measure certain items the Company does not consider to be representative of its actual operating performance. These financial calculations are “non-GAAP financial measures” as defined under the SEC rules. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures in operating its business because management believes they are less susceptible to variances in actual operating performance that can result from the excluded items, other infrequent charges and currency fluctuations. The Company presents these financial measures to investors because management believes they are useful to investors in evaluating the primary factors that drive the Company’s core operating performance and provide greater transparency into the Company’s results of operations. However, items that are excluded and other adjustments and assumptions that are made in calculating these non-GAAP financial measures are significant components in understanding and assessing the Company’s financial performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, the Company’s GAAP financial measures. Further, because these non-GAAP financial measures are not determined in accordance with GAAP, and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, the non-GAAP financial measures, as presented, may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures of other companies. The Company has adjusted the applicable financial calculations to exclude merger and acquisition expenses, amortization of acquired intangible assets and certain other income and expenses. The Company does not consider these items to be related to the organic operations of the Company’s businesses or its continuing operations and are generally not relevant to assessing or estimating the long-term performance of the Company. In addition, excluding these items allows for more accurate comparisons of the financial results to prior periods. Merger and acquisition expenses include incremental costs directly associated with merger and acquisition activities, including professional fees, legal expenses, severance, retention and other employee-related costs, contract breakage costs and costs related to the consolidation of technology systems and corporate facilities, among others. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (unaudited) Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Management believes the presentation of adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance and prospects for the future by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and are not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. In addition, management believes the adjustments shown below are useful to investors in order to allow them to compare the Company’s financial results for the current periods presented with the prior periods presented. The following tables provide a reconciliation between net income and diluted earnings per share calculated in accordance with GAAP to adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, which are shown net of tax (in thousands, except per share amounts): FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (unaudited) Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) and Adjusted EBITDA The Company defines EBITDA as net income before income taxes, depreciation and amortization, interest expense and interest income and adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted for certain items, as listed below, that management considers to be non-operating in nature and not representative of its actual operating performance. The Company believes EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are commonly used by investors to assess a company’s financial performance, and adjusted EBITDA is used as a starting point in the calculation of the consolidated total debt ratio as defined in the Company’s senior unsecured notes. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA (in thousands): FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (unaudited) Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow For purposes of its internal liquidity assessments, the Company considers free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow. The Company defines free cash flow as cash flow from operating activities less purchases of furniture, fixtures, equipment and improvements and net fundings/repayments of pawn loan and finance receivables, which are considered to be operating in nature by the Company but are included in cash flow from investing activities. Adjusted free cash flow is defined as free cash flow adjusted for merger and acquisition expenses paid that management considers to be non-operating in nature. Free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow are commonly used by investors as additional measures of cash generated by business operations that may be used to repay scheduled debt maturities and debt service or, following payment of such debt obligations and other non-discretionary items, that may be available to invest in future growth through new business development activities or acquisitions, repurchase stock, pay cash dividends or repay debt obligations prior to their maturities. These metrics can also be used to evaluate the Company’s ability to generate cash flow from business operations and the impact that this cash flow has on the Company’s liquidity. However, free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash flow from operating activities or other income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following table reconciles cash flow from operating activities to free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow (in thousands): FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (unaudited) Adjusted Return on Equity and Adjusted Return on Assets Management believes the presentation of adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on assets provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. Annualized adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on assets is calculated as follows (dollars in thousands): (1) See detail of adjustments to net income in the “Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share” section above. Constant Currency Results The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, however, certain performance metrics discussed in this release are presented on a “constant currency” basis, which is considered a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company’s management uses constant currency results to evaluate operating results of business operations in Latin America and the U.K., which are transacted in local currencies in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and the U.K. The Company also has operations in El Salvador, where the reporting and functional currency is the U.S. dollar. The Company believes constant currency results provide valuable supplemental information regarding the underlying performance of its business operations in Latin America and the U.K., consistent with how the Company’s management evaluates such performance and operating results. Constant currency results reported herein are calculated by translating certain balance sheet and income statement items denominated in local currencies using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period, as opposed to the current comparable period, in order to exclude the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations for purposes of evaluating period-over-period comparisons. FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (unaudited) Latin America Pawn Segment Constant Currency Results The following table presents operating results for the Latin America pawn segment using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period (in thousands): The following table presents earning assets for the Latin America pawn segment using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period (in thousands): Exchange Rates for the Mexican Peso, Guatemalan Quetzal, Colombian Peso and British Pound Sterling For further information, please contact: Gar Jackson Global IR Group Phone: (817) 886-6998 Email: [email protected] Doug Orr, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Phone: (817) 258-2650 Email: [email protected] Website: investors.firstcash.com

The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how personal loan stocks fared in Q4, starting with FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS). 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 8 personal loan stocks we track reported a strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.9% below. Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 6.6% since the latest earnings results. 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 $1.06 billion, up 19.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, “FirstCash generated record fourth quarter and full year revenue and earnings results. Driven by strong fourth quarter revenue growth of 20%, the Company marked its first fiscal quarter in history in which consolidated revenues exceeded $1 billion, resulting in a 26% increase in fourth quarter earnings per share. Interestingly, the stock is up 14% since reporting and currently trades at $195.92. Is now the time to buy FirstCash? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. 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 $129.9 million, up 32.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 14.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $71.94. Is now the time to buy Sezzle? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin with a mission to create honest financial products, Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) provides a payment network that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them over time with transparent, flexible installment loans. Affirm reported revenues of $1.12 billion, up 29.6% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. Still, it was a mixed quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates. As expected, the stock is down 15% since the results and currently trades at $50.52. Read our full analysis of Affirm’s results here. 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 $839.4 million, up 15.1% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Enova had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is down 11.9% since reporting and currently trades at $138.97. Read our full, actionable report on Enova here, it’s free. Pioneering peer-to-peer lending in the US before evolving into a digital bank, LendingClub (NYSE:LC) operates a marketplace that connects borrowers with lenders, offering personal loans, auto refinancing, and banking services. LendingClub reported revenues of $266.5 million, up 22.7% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. It was a strong quarter as it also produced full-year EPS guidance beating analysts’ expectations and a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates. The stock is down 24.5% since reporting and currently trades at $14.78. Read our full, actionable report on LendingClub here, it’s free. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. StockStory’s analyst team — all seasoned professional investors — uses quantitative analysis and automation to deliver market-beating insights faster and with higher quality.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. reported past fourth-quarter 2025 results with revenue of US$1.06 billion and net income of US$104.17 million, alongside full-year diluted earnings per share of US$7.42 from continuing operations. The board also affirmed a first-quarter 2026 cash dividend of US$0.42 per share and highlighted record annual revenue and earnings supported by extensive pawn store expansion, including the H&T Pawnbrokers acquisition in the U.K. We’ll now examine how record revenue and earnings, underpinned by an expanded pawn footprint, reshape FirstCash Holdings’ broader investment narrative. The best AI stocks today may lie beyond giants like Nvidia and Microsoft. Find the next big opportunity with these 30 smaller AI-focused companies with strong growth potential through early-stage innovation in machine learning, automation, and data intelligence that could fund your retirement. For someone considering FirstCash, the big picture is about believing in a resilient, cash-generative pawn and retail platform that can turn a larger store base into consistent earnings. The latest quarter reinforced that story: revenue climbed to about US$1.06 billion with higher net income and EPS, and the board kept the quarterly dividend at US$0.42 per share after a year of record results. Those outcomes support the near term catalyst of integrating the recently expanded footprint, including H&T in the U.K., and give management more flexibility around ongoing buybacks and debt service. At the same time, a richer valuation, high leverage and a seasoned but slow-to-refresh board remain key risks. The fresh earnings beat and dividend affirmation help sentiment, but they do not remove those pressure points. However, one issue around leverage and how it interacts with growth is worth watching closely. FirstCash Holdings' shares are on the way up, but could they be overextended? Uncover how much higher they are than fair value. Four fair value views from the Simply Wall St Community span roughly US$82 to US$201, underlining how differently people see FirstCash, especially when weighing record earnings against its higher debt load and valuation. Explore 4 other fair value estimates on FirstCash Holdings - why the stock might be worth less than half the current price! Disagree with this assessment? Create your own narrative in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd. A great starting point for your FirstCash Holdings research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision. Our free FirstCash Holdings research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate FirstCash Holdings' overall financial health at a glance. Right now could be the best entry point. These picks are fresh from our daily scans. Don't delay: Capitalize on the AI infrastructure supercycle with our selection of the 33 best 'picks and shovels' of the AI gold rush converting record-breaking demand into massive cash flow. Uncover the next big thing with 25 elite penny stocks that balance risk and reward. The future of work is here. Discover the 28 top robotics and automation stocks leading the charge in AI-driven automation and industrial transformation. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include FCFS. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (“FirstCash” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: FCFS), the leading international operator of more than 3,300 retail pawn stores, today announced record revenue and earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.42 per share, which will be paid in February 2026. Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, “FirstCash generated record fourth quarter and full year revenue and earnings results. Driven by strong fourth quarter revenue growth of 20%, the Company marked its first fiscal quarter in history in which consolidated revenues exceeded $1 billion, resulting in a 26% increase in fourth quarter earnings per share. “The outstanding results were fueled by exceptional strength in all three pawn segments, as combined same-store pawn receivables in the legacy U.S. and LatAm pawn segments increased a record 18% in total, and 15% on a local currency basis. Pawn receivables for H&T, the new U.K. pawn subsidiary, increased 25% on a local currency basis compared to a year ago. “From a strategic perspective, we invested significantly during 2025 in the long-term growth of our global pawn operations with the addition of almost 350 pawn locations, the most in any year since our merger with Cash America almost ten years ago. The expansion into the U.K., through the 286-store H&T acquisition in August, was followed by a strong fourth quarter push which saw the acquisitions of 17 U.S. stores in five states in addition to 11 new store openings in Latin America. The continued growth seen in all markets is exciting and, we believe, bodes well for further revenue and earnings growth in 2026. “In addition to supporting store expansion, our strong balance sheet and cash flows further benefited our shareholders in 2025 through $71 million in cash dividends and stock repurchases totaling $115 million. We are more confident than ever in the opportunities to drive long-term shareholder value,” concluded Mr. Wessel. This release contains adjusted financial measures, which exclude certain non-operating and/or non-cash income and expenses, that are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the descriptions and reconciliations to GAAP of these and other non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release. Consolidated Operating Highlights Full year diluted earnings per share in 2025 increased 29% on a GAAP basis and 31% on adjusted basis compared to the prior year. Fourth quarter 2025 diluted earnings per share increased 26% on a GAAP basis and 25% on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year quarter. Record net income for 2025 totaled $330 million on a GAAP basis while adjusted net income was $390 million, which represented increases of 28% and 29%, respectively, over the prior year. Net income for the fourth quarter totaled $104 million, a 25% increase over the prior-year quarter on a GAAP basis, while adjusted net income increased 23% compared to the prior-year quarter. Consolidated revenue totaled a record $3.7 billion in 2025, an increase of 8%, while total revenues were $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter, an increase of 20% over last year. Net revenue (gross profit) increased at a greater pace than revenue, up 13% for the full year and 22% in the fourth quarter, compared to the respective prior-year periods, indicating accelerating margin expansion. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year increased 25% to $698 million compared to the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter totaled $210 million, increasing 27% compared to the prior-year quarter. Operating cash flows totaled a record $586 million for 2025 and adjusted free cash flows (a non-GAAP measure) were $307 million. Consolidated assets at December 31, 2025 totaled $5.3 billion, which included record consolidated pawn receivables at year end, totaling $831 million. Pawn Store Locations and Merchant Partner Growth During the fourth quarter, the Company added 28 pawn locations through a combination of acquisitions and new store openings. In the U.S., a total of 17 locations were acquired in three separate transactions. These are high-performing stores which will further expand the Company’s existing operations in Texas, Nebraska, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. In Latin America, a total of 11 pawn locations were opened in the fourth quarter, comprised of nine locations in Mexico and two in Guatemala. For full year 2025, a total of 344 retail pawn locations were added through acquisitions and new store openings, and as of December 31, 2025, the Company had 3,330 locations, comprised of 1,207 U.S. locations, 1,837 locations in Latin America and 286 U.K. locations. At December 31, 2025, AFF had approximately 16,400 active retail and e-commerce point-of-sale merchant partner locations, representing a 21% increase in the number of active merchant locations compared to a year ago. U.S. Pawn Segment Operating Results Total segment revenues increased 14% in the fourth quarter and 12% for the full year, reflecting strong same-store revenue growth coupled with contributions from the 25 U.S. stores added in 2025. Segment pre-tax operating income increased 15% compared to the prior-year quarter and 14% for the full year. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin increased to 27% for the fourth quarter of 2025 and 26% for the full year, both up compared to the prior year. Pawn receivables increased 14% in total at December 31, 2025 compared to last year. Same-store pawn receivables increased 12% and were up 24% on a two-year stacked basis. This represented the tenth consecutive quarter of double digit same-store receivables growth. Pawn loan fees increased 10% for both the fourth quarter of 2025 and for the full year, while on a same-store basis, pawn loan fee revenue increased 10% and 9% compared to both of the respective prior-year periods. Retail merchandise sales increased 9% for the fourth quarter of 2025 and 8% for the full year, while on a same-store basis, retail merchandise sales increased 8% and 6% compared to both of the respective prior-year periods. Retail sales margins were 43% in the fourth quarter and 42% for full year 2025, both consistent with prior-year periods. Inventories aged greater than one year at December 31, 2025 remained low at 1.8% of total inventories. Latin America Pawn Segment Operating Results Note: Certain growth rates below are calculated on a constant currency basis, a non-GAAP financial measure defined at the end of this release. The average U.S. dollar to Mexican peso exchange rate for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 18.3 dollar / pesos, a favorable change of 9% versus the comparable prior-year period, and for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2025 was 19.2 dollar / pesos, an unfavorable change of 5% versus the prior-year period. Total segment revenues in the fourth quarter of 2025 increased 27% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior-year quarter while increasing 17% on a constant currency basis. For the full year, segment revenues increased 10%, or 14% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year. Fourth quarter segment pre-tax operating income accelerated significantly as well, increasing 36% on a U.S. dollar basis and 27% on a local currency basis compared to last year. For the full year of 2025, segment pre-tax operating income saw an 18% increase on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior year and a 22% increase on a local currency basis. Total and same-store pawn receivables at December 31, 2025 both increased 38% on a U.S. dollar basis while increasing 23% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year. Total and same-store pawn loan fees in the fourth quarter accelerated as well, both increasing 29% on a U.S. dollar basis and increasing 19% and 18%, respectively, on a constant currency basis compared to the prior-year quarter. For the full year, total pawn loan fees increased 10%, or 15% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year. On a same-store basis, pawn loan fees increased 9%, or 14% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year. Retail merchandise sales in the fourth quarter of 2025 increased 24% on a U.S. dollar basis compared to the prior-year quarter while increasing 14% on a constant currency basis. On a same-store basis, fourth quarter retail merchandise sales increased 24% on a U.S. dollar basis, and 13% on a constant currency basis. For the full year, retail merchandise sales increased 8%, or 13% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year, while same-store retail merchandise sales increased 7%, or 12% on a constant currency basis. Retail margins were consistent at 35% for the fourth quarter of 2025 and for the full year, both similar to prior-period results. Inventories aged greater than one year at December 31, 2025 remained extremely low at 1.4%. U.K. Pawn Segment Operating Results The fourth quarter of 2025 represented the first full quarter of U.K. segment operating results since FirstCash’s acquisition of H&T effective August 14, 2025. As a reminder, seasonal fourth quarter results typically represent approximately 30% of H&T’s full-year results. Total revenues in the fourth quarter were $96 million, with strong growth over the prior year quarter (pre-acquisition) in both pawn fees and merchandise sales. Segment pre-tax operating income for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $35 million, resulting in a segment pre-tax operating margin of 36%. Pawn receivables at December 31, 2025 totaled $214 million, an increase of 25% in total and 24% on a same-store basis, both on a local currency basis, compared to a year ago. American First Finance (AFF) - Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment Operating Results For the full year of 2025, AFF recorded segment pre-tax operating income of $169 million, a 31% increase over the prior year. While fourth quarter segment pre-tax operating income decreased 16% compared to the prior-year quarter, AFF remained solidly profitable and produced segment pre-tax income of $33 million in the quarter. The fourth quarter decrease was primarily driven by the expected runoff of lease portfolios generated by American Freight and Conn's, formerly significant furniture retailers who declared bankruptcy in late 2024. Gross transaction volume of lease and loan originations during the fourth quarter decreased 3% compared to the fourth quarter of last year, primarily as a result of previously discussed merchant bankruptcies. Excluding prior-year originations from these retailers, fourth quarter of 2025 origination volume increased approximately 8% over last year. For the full year, overall gross transaction volume decreased 5% over the prior year while increasing 11% excluding the bankruptcies. Gross revenues for the fourth quarter decreased 15% compared to the prior-year quarter and for the full year decreased 14% compared to the prior year, primarily related to the merchant partner bankruptcies in late 2024. Excluding the impact of the aforementioned merchant bankruptcies, gross revenues for the quarter increased 11%. For the full year, gross revenues increased 14% excluding the bankruptcies. As a percentage of the total gross transaction volume, the combined lease and loan loss provision expense was 27.7% for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to 26.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting an increased mix of finance product originations which carry slightly higher loss rates than the LTO product. Charge-off rates for both products remained within targeted ranges. AFF continued to realize significant operating expense reductions in 2025 with a 32% decrease in fourth quarter operating expenses and a 31% decrease for the full year. Cash Flow and Liquidity Consolidated operating cash flows in 2025 totaled $586 million, up 9% over 2024, with each of the Company’s four business segments generating significant operating cash flows. Adjusted free cash flows increased 17% to $307 million in 2025 compared to $262 million in the prior year. The strong operating cash flows helped fund significant growth in earning assets and continued investments in the pawn store platform and shareholder returns during 2025: A total of 309 pawn stores were acquired for a combined cash purchase price of $475 million. Excluding earning assets obtained through acquisitions in 2025, pawn earning assets (pawn receivables and inventories) increased $186 million compared to last year. 35 new pawn de novo stores were opened with a combined investment of $13 million in fixed assets and working capital. Real estate purchases totaled $62 million as the Company purchased the underlying real estate at 43 of its existing pawn stores, bringing the number of Company-owned properties to 443 locations. Shareholder returns comprised of stock repurchases and cash dividends totaled $186 million. Outstanding debt at December 31, 2025 was $2.2 billion, of which $1.5 billion are unsecured fixed rate senior notes with favorable interest rates ranging from 4.625% to 6.875% with maturity dates that do not begin until 2028 and continue into 2032. The outstanding balance under the $700 million U.S. revolving line of credit totaled $559 million at December 31, 2025, an increase of only $361 million despite the significant investments and shareholder returns outlined above. The Company’s net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 3.0x at December 31, 2025. Including the estimated proforma EBITDA contributions from the 2025 acquisitions and other lender allowed adjustments, the ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA at year end was 2.7x to 1. Shareholder Returns The Board of Directors declared a $0.42 per share first quarter cash dividend, which will be paid on February 27, 2026 to stockholders of record as of February 18, 2026. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.68 per share. Any future dividends are subject to approval by the Company’s Board of Directors. During the fourth quarter, FirstCash repurchased 157,000 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $25 million, completing the $200 million share repurchase program authorized in July 2023. For the full year, the Company repurchased 912,000 shares of its common stock at an average price of approximately $126 per share for a total cost of $115 million. In October 2025, the Board of Directors authorized a new common stock repurchase program for up to $150 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock, all of which is currently available for repurchases. Future share repurchases are subject to expected liquidity, acquisition and other investment opportunities, debt covenant restrictions, market conditions and other relevant factors. The Company generated a 15% return on equity and a 7% return on assets in 2025. Using adjusted net income for 2025, the adjusted return on equity was 18% while the adjusted return on assets was 8%. 2026 Outlook The Company’s outlook for 2026 is highly positive given the continued growth in pawn receivables and expected earnings contributions from the 344 pawn stores added in 2025. Anticipated conditions and trends for 2026 include the following: Pawn Operations Pawn operations are expected to remain the primary earnings driver as the Company expects segment income from the combined U.S., Latin America and U.K. pawn segments to be almost 90% of total net revenue and segment level pre-tax income for 2026. U.S. Pawn Pawn receivables, the leading indicator of future revenues, began 2026 up 14% compared to a year ago, with January balances up similarly. While the Company will lap its 2025 acquisitions of 23 stores over the course of this year, the Company still expects low double-digit revenue growth from pawn fees in 2026. The Company expects merchandise sales to grow 8% to 10% in 2025 and will continue to target retail margins at 42%. Additionally, the Company anticipates improved year-over-year margins on scrap jewelry sales. Store operating expenses are projected to grow in a mid to high single-digit range in 2026, primarily due to normal inflationary impacts and the significant 2025 store additions. Latin America Pawn Pawn receivables began 2026 up 23% on a local currency basis with continued strength in January. While the Company assumes these comps could moderate over the course of 2026, it still expects a mid-teen growth rate in pawn fees, assuming a similar exchange rate to last year. The Company expects retail sales to grow high single digits compared to 2025 with consistent retail margins of 35%, and like the U.S., expects improved scrap margins. Operating expenses will continue to reflect ongoing adjustments to the minimum wage in Mexico, which increased 12% effective January 1, 2026. Combined with increased store counts, operating expenses are expected to increase in a range of 8% to 10% on a U.S. dollar basis. U.K. Pawn Pawn receivables began 2026 up 25% compared to a year ago, with January balances up similarly as well. Given this momentum, full year 2026 segment income (before administrative expenses, interest expense and taxes) is expected to be in a range of $115 million to $125 million assuming the current GBP exchange rate. Retail POS Payment Solutions (AFF) Operations Gross transaction volumes for lease and loan originations for 2026 are currently forecast to increase in a range of 5% to 10% compared to 2025, representing solid improvement versus the furniture-driven decline experienced in 2025. Full year 2026 revenues are still forecast to decline slightly compared to the prior year due to lower comparable leased merchandise balances at the beginning of the current year compared to last year. The overall lease and loan loss provisioning rate is forecast to remain stable in 2026 although total provision expense is forecast to increase consistent with the expected increase in origination activity. Despite the expected year-over-year increase in origination activity, resulting net revenue (after depreciation of leased merchandise and lease and loan loss provisioning) is expected to decrease in a range of 10% to 15% in the first half of 2026 and 5% to 10% for the full year due to the factors outlined above. Other Expenses, Tax Rates and Currency Corporate administrative expenses in 2026 are expected to remain at a run rate similar to the fourth quarter of 2025. Interest expense is expected to increase for full year 2026 in a range 5% to 10% over 2025 assuming current interest rates on the Company’s floating rate debt. The full year 2026 consolidated effective income tax rate under current tax codes in the U.S., Latin America and the U.K. is expected to range from 25% to 26% of net income. Each full point change in the exchange rate of the Mexican peso is projected to have an annual earnings impact of approximately $0.10 per share. Exchange rates for the British pound sterling are historically less volatile and less material to the Company’s overall consolidated results. Additional Commentary and Analysis Mr. Wessel further commented on FirstCash’s 2025 operating results and the outlook for 2026, “As highlighted, FirstCash’s achievements in 2025 were phenomenal, with the Company posting another year of record revenue, earnings and operating cash flows. We closed the year especially strong with fourth quarter revenues increasing 20% over last year to surpass $1 billion in a single quarter for the first time in Company history. Additionally, we added 344 pawn locations in 2025, increasing our store count by 10%, to now total more than 3,300 global locations. We believe these additions, coupled with continued growth in same-store earning assets, position us well for continued revenue and earnings growth in 2026. “The robust growth in pawn receivables and retail revenues seen across all markets continues to reflect the long-term durability and popularity of the Company’s pawn products, which represented almost 90% of fourth quarter net revenue and segment earnings. We believe that speed, transparency and affordability remain top-of-mind priorities for our customers, whether they are looking for small, safe, non-recourse loans or value-priced retail offerings, including our interest-free layaway programs. Even with the growth in demand, we continue to manage the business prudently by maintaining consistent loan-to-value ratios and intentionally lagging the market price of gold in setting our lending reference prices. “The Company’s largest segment, its U.S. pawn operations, continues to benefit from growing demand as evidenced by the tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in same-store pawn receivables. Net revenue for the fourth quarter grew 11%, and coupled with meaningful fourth quarter acquisitions of 17 stores across five states, helped drive record segment earnings for the quarter and full year. Furthermore, the fourth quarter acquisitions provide FirstCash with its first significant presence in the state of Nebraska while further expanding and optimizing its footprint in other existing markets. “The fourth quarter pawn demand metrics in Latin America were even stronger as pawn receivables grew 23% while net revenues grew 18%, both on a local currency basis. This resulted in a very impressive 36% increase in fourth quarter segment income on a U.S. dollar basis and increasing 27% on a local currency basis. We believe these strong growth metrics reflect a combination of adding 32 new locations in 2025, continued affordability pressures, and reduced foreign remittance activity from the U.S. “We remain extremely excited about the recent H&T acquisition in the U.K. that to date is generating revenue and earnings growth ahead of our expectations. Their fourth quarter operating results were outstanding and given continued growth in pawn receivables, we expect further revenue and earnings growth in 2026. From a longer term perspective, we believe there are considerable opportunities to further enhance retail sales and margins with the added expectation to realize additional efficiencies and synergies over time as H&T migrates to FirstCash’s technology platforms. “While a smaller part of our business, the AFF POS payment solutions segment continues to generate meaningful cash flows and consistently strong originations. Despite headwinds in the retail furniture industry over the last two years, 2025 marked the third consecutive year that AFF generated over $1 billion in originations, as it successfully replaced previous transaction volume from now-bankrupt furniture retailers through further diversification into other sales channels and merchant vertical categories. As we enter 2026, we have reduced our merchant concentration risk and expect a return to overall origination growth beginning in the first half of 2026, which should result in segment income growth by the fourth quarter. “On a consolidated basis, our strong overall growth expectations for 2026 reflect the continued strength of our core pawn operations coupled with the impact of full year contributions from almost 350 pawn stores added during 2025, most of which occurred in the second half last year. We expect to continue adding stores in each of our pawn segments during 2026 from a combination of new store openings and potential acquisitions, including additional opportunities provided by the H&T platform in the U.K. where three new stores have already been opened in January of this year. “The expected growth in earning assets and additional store locations will continue to be supported by our strong balance sheet and tremendous cash flows. As always, we continue to see and evaluate pawn acquisition opportunities in the U.S., Latin America and now the U.K. Additionally, we expect to make further investments in our strategic real estate portfolio to support core retail pawn operations in the U.S. while also returning cash to shareholders in the form of ongoing cash dividends and opportunistic stock repurchases,” concluded Mr. Wessel. About FirstCash FirstCash is the leading international operator of pawn stores focused on serving cash and credit-constrained consumers. FirstCash operates more than 3,300 pawn stores in the U.S., Latin America and the U.K. Most of the stores buy and sell a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, musical instruments and other merchandise, and make small non-recourse pawn loans secured by pledged personal property. FirstCash’s pawn operations currently account for almost 90% of net revenue, with the remainder provided by its wholly owned subsidiary, AFF, a leading provider of customer payment solutions at the point-of-sale for retailers of consumer goods and services. FirstCash is a component company in both the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index® and the Russell 2000 Index®. FirstCash’s common stock (ticker symbol “FCFS”) is traded on the Nasdaq, the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market. For additional information regarding FirstCash and the services it provides, visit FirstCash’s websites located at http://www.firstcash.com and http://www.americanfirstfinance.com. Forward-Looking Information This release contains forward-looking statements about the business, financial condition, outlook and prospects of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (together, the “Company”), including the Company’s outlook for 2026 and the Company’s previously announced H&T acquisition. Forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” “may,” “estimates,” “should,” “plans,” “targets,” “intends,” “could,” “would,” “anticipates,” “potential,” “confident,” “optimistic,” or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, objectives, estimates, guidance, expectations, outlook and future plans. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the fact these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. While the Company believes the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurances such expectations will prove to be accurate. Security holders are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements made in this release. Such factors and risks may include, without limitation, risks related to the extensive regulatory environment in which the Company operates, including uncertainty involving the present regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; risks associated with the legal and regulatory proceedings that the Company is a party to or may become a party to in the future; risks related to the Company’s acquisitions, including the failure of the Company’s acquisitions to deliver the estimated value and benefits expected by the Company and the ability of the Company to continue to identify and consummate acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all; risks that the Company may not realize the anticipated benefits of the H&T Group plc (“H&T”) acquisition and risks related to operating in a new jurisdiction; potential changes in consumer behavior and shopping patterns which could impact demand for the Company’s pawn loan, retail, lease-to-own (“LTO”) and retail finance products, labor shortages and increased labor costs; a deterioration in the economic conditions in the United States, Latin America and the United Kingdom, including as a result of inflation, elevated interest rates and trade policy, which potentially could have an impact on discretionary consumer spending and demand for the Company’s products; currency fluctuations, primarily involving the Mexican peso and British pound sterling; competition the Company faces from other retailers and providers of retail payment solutions; the ability of the Company to successfully execute on its business strategies; risks related to the Company’s ability to prevent cyber attacks, other cybersecurity incidents, security breaches or other disruptions to its information technology systems; risks related to the Company’s ability to develop, operate and adapt its information technology infrastructure suitable for the nature of its business and to successfully transition acquired businesses to its information technology platforms; contraction in sales activity or store closures at merchant partners of the Company’s retail point-of-sale (“POS”) payment solutions business; the ability of the Company’s retail POS payment solutions business to continue to grow its base of merchant partners; and other risks discussed and described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the risks described in Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” thereof, and other reports filed with the SEC. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the ability of the Company to control, nor can the Company predict, in many cases, all of the risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. Certain amounts in the consolidated statement of income for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024 have been reclassified in order to conform to the 2025 presentation. The Company organizes its operations into four reportable segments as follows: United States pawn (“U.S. pawn”) Latin America pawn (“LatAm pawn”) United Kingdom pawn (“U.K. pawn”) Retail POS payment solutions (American First Finance or “AFF”) Corporate expenses and income, which include administrative expenses, corporate depreciation and amortization, interest expense, interest income, (gain) loss on foreign exchange, merger and acquisition expenses, and other income, net, are presented on a consolidated basis and are not allocated between the segments. Intersegment transactions related to AFF’s LTO payment solution product offered in U.S. pawn stores are eliminated from consolidated totals. The Company completed the acquisition of H&T, the leading pawn operator in the United Kingdom with 286 store locations, on August 14, 2025, the date which the balance sheet and operating results of H&T were included in the Company’s consolidated financial results. (1) For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025, includes $22 million and $33 million, respectively, related to an off-balance sheet bank-originated finance product AFF'’s bank partner began offering during the third quarter of 2025 in which AFF is responsible for reimbursing the bank partner for certain charge-offs. (1) Calculated as provision for lease or loan losses as a percentage of the respective gross transaction volume originated. (2) Calculated as charge-offs, net of recoveries, as a percentage of the respective average earning asset balance before allowance for lease or loan losses. (3) Calculated as the percentage of the respective contractual earning asset balance owed that is 1 to 89 days past due (the Company charges off leases and finance receivables when they are 90 days or more contractually past due). Pawn Operations As of December 31, 2025, the Company operated 3,330 pawn store locations composed of 1,207 stores in 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, 1,732 stores in 32 states in Mexico, 75 stores in Guatemala, 18 stores in El Salvador, 12 stores in Colombia and 286 stores in the U.K. The following tables detail pawn store count activity: (1) Store consolidations, which include certain acquired locations that have been combined with overlapping stores, represent closings for which the Company expects to maintain a significant portion of the customer base in the consolidated location. Retail POS Payment Solutions As of December 31, 2025, AFF provided LTO and retail POS payment solutions for consumer goods and services through a network of approximately 16,400 active retail merchant partner locations. This compares to the active door count of approximately 13,600 locations at December 31, 2024. The Company uses certain financial calculations such as adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted return on equity, adjusted return on assets and constant currency results as factors in the measurement and evaluation of the Company’s operating performance and period-over-period growth. The Company derives these financial calculations on the basis of methodologies other than generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), primarily by excluding from a comparable GAAP measure certain items the Company does not consider to be representative of its actual operating performance. These financial calculations are “non-GAAP financial measures” as defined under the SEC rules. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures in operating its business because management believes they are less susceptible to variances in actual operating performance that can result from the excluded items, other infrequent charges and currency fluctuations. The Company presents these financial measures to investors because management believes they are useful to investors in evaluating the primary factors that drive the Company’s core operating performance and provide greater transparency into the Company’s results of operations. However, items that are excluded and other adjustments and assumptions that are made in calculating these non-GAAP financial measures are significant components in understanding and assessing the Company’s financial performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, the Company’s GAAP financial measures. Further, because these non-GAAP financial measures are not determined in accordance with GAAP, and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, the non-GAAP financial measures, as presented, may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures of other companies. The Company has adjusted the applicable financial calculations to exclude merger and acquisition expenses and amortization of acquired intangible assets, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) litigation settlement and certain other income and expenses. The Company does not consider these items to be related to the organic operations of the Company’s businesses or its continuing operations and are generally not relevant to assessing or estimating the long-term performance of the Company. In addition, excluding these items allows for more accurate comparisons of the financial results to prior periods. Merger and acquisition expenses include incremental costs directly associated with merger and acquisition activities, including professional fees, legal expenses, severance, retention and other employee-related costs, contract breakage costs and costs related to the consolidation of technology systems and corporate facilities, among others. Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Management believes the presentation of adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance and prospects for the future by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and are not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. In addition, management believes the adjustments shown below are useful to investors in order to allow them to compare the Company’s financial results for the current periods presented with the prior periods presented. The following table provides a reconciliation between net income and diluted earnings per share calculated in accordance with GAAP to adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, which are shown net of tax (in thousands, except per share amounts): Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) and Adjusted EBITDA The Company defines EBITDA as net income before income taxes, depreciation and amortization, interest expense and interest income and adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted for certain items, as listed below, that management considers to be non-operating in nature and not representative of its actual operating performance. The Company believes EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are commonly used by investors to assess a company’s financial performance, and adjusted EBITDA is used as a starting point in the calculation of the consolidated total debt ratio as defined in the Company’s senior unsecured notes. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA (in thousands): Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow For purposes of its internal liquidity assessments, the Company considers free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow. The Company defines free cash flow as cash flow from operating activities less purchases of furniture, fixtures, equipment and improvements and net fundings/repayments of pawn loan and finance receivables, which are considered to be operating in nature by the Company but are included in cash flow from investing activities. Adjusted free cash flow is defined as free cash flow adjusted for merger and acquisition expenses paid that management considers to be non-operating in nature. Free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow are commonly used by investors as additional measures of cash, generated by business operations, that may be used to repay scheduled debt maturities and debt service or, following payment of such debt obligations and other non-discretionary items, that may be available to invest in future growth through new business development activities or acquisitions, repurchase stock, pay cash dividends or repay debt obligations prior to their maturities. These metrics can also be used to evaluate the Company’s ability to generate cash flow from business operations and the impact that this cash flow has on the Company’s liquidity. However, free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash flow from operating activities or other income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following table reconciles cash flow from operating activities to free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow (in thousands): Adjusted Return on Equity and Adjusted Return on Assets Management believes the presentation of adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on assets provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. Annualized adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on assets is calculated as follows (dollars in thousands): (1) See detail of adjustments to net income in the “Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share” section above. Constant Currency Results The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, however, certain performance metrics discussed in this release are presented on a “constant currency” basis, which is considered a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company’s management uses constant currency results to evaluate operating results of business operations in Latin America and the U.K., which are transacted in local currencies in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and the U.K. The Company also has operations in El Salvador, where the reporting and functional currency is the U.S. dollar. The Company believes constant currency results provide valuable supplemental information regarding the underlying performance of its business operations in Latin America and the U.K., consistent with how the Company’s management evaluates such performance and operating results. Constant currency results reported herein are calculated by translating certain balance sheet and income statement items denominated in local currencies using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period, as opposed to the current comparable period, in order to exclude the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations for purposes of evaluating period-over-period comparisons. Latin America Pawn Segment Constant Currency Results The following table presents operating results for the Latin America pawn segment using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable periods (in thousands): The following table presents earning assets for the Latin America pawn segment using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period (in thousands): For further information, please contact: Gar Jackson Global IR Group Phone: (817) 886-6998 Email: [email protected] Doug Orr, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Phone: (817) 258-2650 Email: [email protected] Website: investors.firstcash.com