FirstCash Posts Record Quarter And Raises Dividend 10%, Yet Shares Slide 13%
Pawn revenue rose 28% and the dividend went up 10% to $0.46, but a shrinking payments unit and a lower share price complicate the picture.
FirstCash, the pawn-store operator, reported record third-quarter results Thursday, with revenue of $1.1 billion, up 18% from a year earlier, net income of $101 million and diluted earnings of $2.33 per share, up 25%. The stock still fell about 13% to $189.19 in Thursday trading from a prior close of $216.75.
Pawn drives the record
Revenue and segment income from the company's pawn segments combined both rose 28% in the quarter, according to the earnings release. Pawn receivables, the loans outstanding to customers, hit a record $908 million against $788 million a year earlier.
U.S. pawn revenue rose 18%, Latin America 35% in dollars (27% at constant currency), and the U.K. segment brought in $99 million. The U.K. comparison is flattered because the H&T purchase closed August 14, 2025, so last year's quarter was only partly included.
For the first nine months, net income was $302 million, up 34%. Over the trailing twelve months, revenue was $4.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA $835 million. CEO Rick Wessel said pawn demand "remains exceptionally strong."
FirstCash runs pawn stores, where customers take small short-term loans against items like jewelry and electronics or sell goods outright, and it resells merchandise. It operated 3,352 locations at September 30: 1,215 in the U.S., 1,839 in Latin America and 298 in the U.K.
The payments unit keeps shrinking
American First Finance, which offers lease-to-own and other payment options through merchants, is moving the other way. Third-quarter net revenue fell 20% and origination volume fell 15%, which the company tied mainly to weakness in the furniture industry and a stricter focus on merchant quality.
Segment pre-tax income was $33 million, up from the second quarter but below the year-earlier quarter, mainly because of merchant bankruptcies reported earlier. The company guides to a fourth-quarter net revenue decline of 15% to 20% at AFF.
Dividend, buybacks and Ramsdens
The board raised the quarterly dividend 10% to $0.46 per share, payable November 24 to holders of record November 13. FirstCash bought back $123 million of stock in the quarter and $250 million year to date, leaving $50 million on its July 2026 authorization.
Shareholders of Ramsdens and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority have approved FirstCash's planned purchase of the U.K. pawn chain. The company targets closing by the end of 2026, pending antitrust approval; the deal would add over 175 U.K. locations.
The Ramsdens deal would lift the store base to more than 3,500 locations if it closes by the end of 2026 as targeted.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (FCFS) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit fcfs10222026exhibit991.htm — FirstCash Holdings, Inc. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- FirstCash Reports Record Third Quarter Operating Results; — globenewswire.com
