Conferencia de resultados del 3T de 2026 de Atlanticus (ATLC): los ingresos aumentan un 60%, BPA ajustado de 3,00 $

Aspectos clave

• Atlanticus registró un BPA diluido de 4,87 dólares en el 3T 2026, lo que incluye 1,87 dólares por acción derivados de partidas extraordinarias vinculadas a transacciones. El BPA diluido ajustado se situó en 3,00 dólares.
• Los ingresos operativos totales y otros ingresos aumentaron un 60% interanual hasta alcanzar los 776 millones de dólares, incluida una aportación de 205 millones de dólares de Mercury.
• El beneficio neto atribuible a los accionistas comunes aumentó un 300% hasta los 93 millones de dólares. La rentabilidad sobre el capital promedio ajustada fue del 30%, por encima del objetivo de rentabilidad del 20% fijado por la dirección.
• Los créditos gestionados alcanzaron los 7.100 millones de dólares, lo que supone un aumento del 8% interanual y del 3,4% intertrimestral, con crecimiento tanto en créditos de marca privada como de uso general.
• El desempeño crediticio se mantuvo estable en términos intertrimestrales: la ratio combinada de cancelaciones netas de principal cayó al 17,3% desde el 17,7% del 2T 2026.
• Atlanticus vendió sus operaciones de CAR Auto Finance por aproximadamente 71,2 millones de dólares y la marca denominativa Mercury junto con la propiedad intelectual relacionada por 27,5 millones de dólares en efectivo, lo que permite a la dirección concentrar sus recursos en negocios de crédito al consumo de mayor rentabilidad.

Datos financieros clave

Las variaciones en el valor razonable de los préstamos fueron negativas en 418 millones de dólares, frente a los 277 millones de dólares negativos del año anterior. Este efecto fue compensado en parte por cambios favorables en los supuestos, un mejor comportamiento crediticio de los clientes, la continuidad de los resultados favorables de la cartera de Mercury y una ganancia de 8 millones de dólares por la reducción del valor razonable de la contraprestación contingente.

Desempeño comercial y operativo

Atlanticus registró su tercer trimestre consecutivo de récord en originación de nuevas cuentas en nombre de sus bancos asociados. La dirección señaló que el crecimiento se mantuvo sujeto a umbrales de rentabilidad a nivel unitario y no fue fruto de una ampliación de los parámetros de riesgo.

Excluyendo a Mercury, la dirección estimó un crecimiento de los ingresos en el rango de entre la franja alta del 10% y el rango bajo del 20%. El avance del crédito minorista reflejó mayores volúmenes procedentes de socios estratégicos, mientras que el crecimiento de las tarjetas de crédito de uso general se vio impulsado por la inversión continua en canales de marketing digital, embudos específicos para cada canal y modelos de suscripción de riesgos.

Mercury continuó mostrando un desempeño superior al previsto en el modelo de adquisición de la compañía, tanto en la cartera existente como en las nuevas originaciones. Las comparaciones interanuales siguen viéndose afectadas por el momento en que se produjo la adquisición, ya que Atlanticus solo fue propietaria de Mercury durante aproximadamente la mitad de septiembre en el mismo trimestre del año anterior.

Una mayor actividad de administración y marketing, junto con una plataforma operativa de mayor tamaño, incrementó los gastos. Sin embargo, los ingresos crecieron a mayor ritmo que los gastos operativos y la ratio de gastos operativos mejoró ligeramente. Los costes de adquisición y atención al cliente también disminuyeron en términos intertrimestrales, a medida que la integración de Mercury y la escala de la plataforma generaron eficiencias.

La venta de CAR Auto Finance generó una ganancia de aproximadamente 20 millones de dólares. Dado que CAR representaba la totalidad del segmento de financiación de automóviles, Atlanticus presentará en adelante dicho negocio como operaciones discontinuadas. La transacción de propiedad intelectual de Mercury no incluyó las cuentas por cobrar de tarjetas de crédito asociadas al programa bajo la marca Mercury. Atlanticus conservó los derechos de comercialización de la marca durante 12 meses y los derechos de administración durante cinco años adicionales para facilitar el cambio de marca.

Perspectivas de la dirección

La dirección prevé que las ratios de morosidad aumenten de forma marginal a medida que la oferta de los bancos asociados se expanda a una gama más amplia de consumidores. La compañía señaló que estas cuentas por cobrar generalmente conllevan mayores rendimientos y se espera que generen retornos más atractivos a lo largo del tiempo.

Asimismo, es muy probable que los costes de adquisición de clientes en el conjunto de la cartera aumenten a medida que el negocio de tarjetas de crédito de uso general, de mayor coste, crezca más rápido que las líneas de negocio con menores costes de adquisición. Atlanticus planea seguir creciendo únicamente donde los rendimientos esperados alcancen o superen sus umbrales exigidos.

Se espera que los fondos procedentes de las ventas de CAR Auto Finance y de la propiedad intelectual de Mercury se inviertan en líneas de negocio de mayor rentabilidad y crecimiento.

Riesgos y factores a vigilar

La dirección destacó que la inflación sigue por encima de los objetivos, los precios de la gasolina y una incertidumbre macroeconómica más amplia. No obstante, afirmó que los clientes a los que atiende Atlanticus continuaron demostrando un comportamiento de gasto y pago resiliente, respaldado en parte por la estabilidad del mercado laboral.

La competencia en correo directo se mantiene elevada en comparación con la de hace 18 meses, aunque la dirección la calificó de racional. La empresa depende con mayor intensidad de los canales digitales, donde los costes de adquisición y la morosidad media pueden ser más altos.

Una combinación más amplia de consumidores podría elevar la morosidad, aun cuando los mayores rendimientos respalden la rentabilidad esperada. Atlanticus señaló que continuará monitorizando los datos de adquisición, cartera, atención al cliente y de terceros, y ajustará los criterios de concesión de créditos cuando la evidencia empírica lo justifique.

Puntos destacados de la sesión de preguntas y respuestas con analistas

• Crecimiento orgánico: La dirección estimó el crecimiento de los ingresos excluyendo a Mercury en un rango situado aproximadamente entre la franja alta del 10% y el rango bajo del 20%. Los socios minoristas estratégicos y los canales digitales de tarjetas de crédito de uso general fueron los principales motores.
• Costes de adquisición: La dirección no considera que los costes de adquisición actuales en el conjunto de la cartera representen un techo definitivo. La evolución del mix hacia tarjetas de crédito de uso general y canales de marketing de mayor coste podría elevar los costes.
• Perfil del consumidor: Los canales digitales permiten a Atlanticus acceder a una base de consumidores más amplia con niveles de rentabilidad que la dirección considera atractivos. Estas cuentas tienden a presentar una mayor morosidad, pero también mayores rendimientos y retornos esperados.
• Entorno competitivo: El volumen de correo directo se ha incrementado, pero Atlanticus da prioridad al desarrollo de modelos digitales y al marketing enfocado en canales específicos en lugar de asumir mayores riesgos de suscripción.

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Comentarios de la dirección

Operator

Good afternoon and welcome everyone to the Atlanticus third quarter 2026 earnings call. Today's conference is being recorded. The lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press the star key followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star 1 again. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Dan Mock, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you, Operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Atlanticus released results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, this afternoon, after market close. If you did not receive a copy of our earnings press release, you may obtain it from the investor relations section of our website at investors.atlanticus.com. We have also posted an updated investor presentation. With me on today's call are Jeff Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Bill McCamey, Chief Financial Officer. This call is being webcast and will be archived on the investor relations section of our website. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to, among other things, earnings growth, returns on equity, portfolio performance, the sufficiency of available capital, underwriting, delinquency and charge-off rates, the use of proceeds from the sales of the company, and the use of the company's current views. car auto finance operations and the Mercury Intellectual Property, the rebranding of the Mercury Program, and future financial and operating results.

These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Please review our earnings release and the risk factors discussed in our SEC filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and except to the extent required by federal securities laws. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. In addition, during the call, we may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our earnings release for important disclosures regarding such measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Jeff.

Jeffrey Howard

Thanks, Dan. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We are pleased to report another very strong quarter reflecting the strength of our core business and continued progress in executing our strategy. Diluted EPS was $4.87, including $1.87 from one-time items associated with two transactions completed during the quarter, which we will address later in our comments. Excluding these one-time items, adjusted diluted EPS was $3, and adjusted return on average equity was 30%, well exceeding our 20% return goals and reaffirming the earnings power of our platform. During the quarter, we achieved record performance across almost every operating metric. We achieved records for managed receivables, account originations on behalf of our bank partners, customers served, purchase activity, revenue, and most importantly, profitability. This success was derived from sustained organic growth, the ongoing and successful integration of the Mercury acquisition, and the continued resiliency of the customers we serve.

Our sustained organic growth is being driven by our third consecutive quarter of record new account originations on behalf of our bank partners. While I talk about growth, it's important to reiterate that a tight focus on unit-level profitability remains our guide for account origination levels. We lean into growth as we see attractive returns. We have over 40 models in production at any given time and are continuously updating and refining those models for better outcomes within the sub-segments across our business. Growth is a byproduct of that process. Accordingly, the increases in originations are not the result of risk expansion. Our growth stems from ongoing investment in newer marketing channels and model development within those channels, along with continued growth with strategic clients in our retail credit business.

The Mercury acquisition continues to deliver better than model performance on both the back book and new origination volumes. The Mercury acquisition was a significant contributor to both revenue and earnings growth, compounded by the fact that we only owned the business for approximately half of September in the prior year period. As for the consumer, we are still mindful of inflation levels being above target. of gas prices and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. The headlines regarding the state of the consumer are not new, but our data continues to show that the consumers we serve remain resilient and rational, making appropriate changes to spending while exhibiting consistent payment behaviors. Much of the negative headwinds appear to be offset by a very stable employment market. That being said, we will continue to monitor metrics across numerous acquisition, portfolio, customer service, and third-party data attributes and lean heavily on our dynamic infrastructure to quickly enact empirically derived changes in underwriting when necessary. Now let me briefly cover the one-time items this quarter.

First, we completed the sale of our car auto finance operations to an unaffiliated buyer for approximately $71.2 million in total consideration, which resulted in a gain of approximately $20 million. While car had been a contributor to our business for over 20 years, this is the first time we've had a sale of our car auto finance operations to an unaffiliated buyer for approximately 71.2 million. sale represented an opportunity to concentrate our capital and management resources on the consumer credit products where we see the strongest opportunities for long-term value creation. Second, we completed the sale of the Mercury wordmark and related intellectual property for $27.5 million in cash. The transaction did not include any credit card receivables associated with a Mercury branded program. Under the agreement, we have the right to use the brand for marketing purposes for 12 months and for servicing for an additional five years, giving us ample time for the necessary rebranding. We view these transactions as a continued refinement of our strategic focus, and the proceeds will be invested in our higher return, higher growth lines of business. We are pleased with another record-breaking quarter for Atlanticus and a period of important strategic progress.

We are making deliberate decisions to direct capital towards opportunities with the greatest growth and return potential. This reflects our long-term focus on building the capabilities and reach to become the preferred financial partner for everyday Americans. We're proud of the progress our team has made and are committed to carrying that work forward. Now I'll turn it over to Bill to walk through our financial results in more detail.

William McCamey

Fantastic. Thanks, Jeff. It really was a great quarter. Let me start by addressing a few reporting notes. First, on CAR Auto Finance, CAR comprised our entire auto finance segment, so that will be reported as discontinued operations going forward. Second, because we acquired Mercury near the end of Q3 last year, the year-over-year comparisons vary by metric. Period end measures such as managed receivables reflect the full Mercury portfolio at both quarter ends. Quarter-long measures, such as revenue and charge-offs, reflect Mercury's results only for the portion of the prior-year quarter that we owned it. Now let me turn to the income statement.

Total operating revenue and other income was $776 million, up 60% from a year ago. The increase reflected growth in both general purpose and private label receivables, along with a $205 million contribution from Mercury. Net margin reached $238 million, up 80% versus the prior year period, as revenue offset increased funding costs and fair value. Changes in fair value of loans were negative $418 million compared with negative $277 million a year ago. Changes in fair value of loans were partially offset by favorable assumption changes, improvements in customer served, continued favorable performance of the Mercury portfolio, as well as an $8 million gain related to a reduction in the fair value of contingent consideration. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $93 million, or $4.87 per share, up 300 percent from last year's third quarter. Adjusted diluted EPS, excluding the transactions-related gains Jeff described earlier, was $3.

At quarter end, managed receivables totaled $7.1 billion, up 8% year-over-year, and 3.4% sequentially. Growth was broad-based across both private label and general purpose receivables. We'll continue to grow where we meet or exceed our return thresholds relying on our 30 years of data aggregation to drive decisions. Credit remains stable quarter-on-quarter. The combined principal net charge-off ratio declined to 17.3% from 17.7% last quarter. We expect delinquency ratios to increase marginally as our bank partners' offerings mix shift to a broader range of consumers. These receivables carry higher yields, which we expect to result in a more profitable asset over time. overall. Interest expense was $118 million compared with $75 million in the prior year quarter.

The increase reflected the larger receivable base and the financing used to support it. Total operating expenses were $162 million compared with $103 million. Higher servicing and marketing activity along with the larger operating platform contributed to the increase. We continue to see customer service CPAs lower sequentially as we integrate the Mercury portfolio and realize benefits of scale on the combined platform. As well, revenue growth outpaced expense growth during the quarter, and our operating expense ratio improved modestly as the platform continues to scale. Turning to the balance sheet, total assets were $7.8 billion and total equity was $808 million. Cash and restricted cash totaled $736 million.

Along with cash generated by the portfolio, availability under our financing facilities, and access to the capital markets, these resources support our operating and financing needs for future growth. We appreciate the continued engagement from our investors and the increased interest in Atlanticus. Our focus remains on executing our strategy and managing the business with our long-term perspective on unit profitability and earnings growth. With that, I'll turn the call back over to the operator.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you have dialed in and would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad to raise your hand and join the queue. If you would like to withdraw your question, simply press star 1 again. We'll go first to Randy Benner at Texas Capitol.

Unknown Speaker

Hey, yes, thanks for that. That was a good quarter for sure. So I'll ask a few on the top line and kind of revenue and production if I can. I guess the first is, And I apologize if I missed if you broke this out, but did you break out kind of organic growth X mercury, or is that getting harder to do? How would you kind of parse out growth of kind of, Atlanticus before Mercury and then with Mercury?.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, we did not break that out, but I'm happy to share it. And I'm giving you an estimation. It's probably in the high teens, low 20% growth rate, top line without Mercury.

Unknown Speaker

So near 20x mercury. Yes, okay. Well, that's high. So I guess is it growth or part of the growth? I mean, I feel like in previous calls, there's been, you know, competition is a concern. There's always, you know, this kind of perpetual worry about the consumer, which seemingly is delayed here. But what, you know, what... What is it? Are you having less competition? Are you just winning because your analytics are better? Are there particular partners that are delivering more, just kind of love to understand how that velocity of your organic growth is so strong.

Jeffrey Howard

Yes, no, great question and thank you for asking. I would say it really boils down to two things. One, in a retail credit business we just continue to grow with some of our strategic partners on a year-over-year basis. Again, that's top line and AR growth. And it's just due to us continuing to deliver for those partners, to find ways to add more value to those partners. And they lean on us for more of their volume over time. So, you know, we're winning share there in that market.

On the general purpose side, it's a continuation of what we talked about in previous quarters. We are seeing, you know, I would say heightened competition on the direct mail channel, although it's rational. There's just more volume in that channel than we experienced 18 months ago. But we continue to invest in our digital marketing channels, and we've talked about us continuing to get smarter on those channels, to add more funnels across those channels, to build models that are specific to those channels, get better results, therefore, and then continue to invest more in marketing dollars in those channels. So that's what's really driving the growth on our GPCC side.

Unknown Speaker

All right, that's helpful. I'll drop back in the queue. Thank you.

Operator

And as a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 1. We'll go next to David Sharf at JMP Securities.

Preguntas y respuestas

David Scharf

All right. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Congrats on the results. Jeff, maybe one follow-up a little bit on the last question. You know, you had been noting... as you said, heightened competition in direct mail for quite a while. I think last quarter you may have said... overall CAC was up about five percent. As you think about just the trends in direct mail as well as just the marketing channel mix. Do you feel like kind of CAC has reached a high watermark as we think about kind of modeling overall OPEX as well as just marketing efficiencies near term?.

Jeffrey Howard

Yes, look, some of it comes down to mix shift across our lines of business as well. We are spending more on marketing because we do see good stable credit performance and some of the channels that we're leaning into do have higher acquisition costs. And again, with GPCC, that's our general purpose credit card portfolio, outgrowing the other parts of our business, which have lower acquisition costs, I would say, you know, it's more likely than not that our CPAs at the portfolio-wide level will continue to go up.

David Scharf

Got it. That's helpful. And I guess as a follow-up, it may be a related question. you know, the mix has not changed at all. You did reference a comment about kind of expect a little bit higher delinquencies in lieu of kind of a, I think in your words, a broader range of consumers. Can you just expand on that a little bit?.

Jeffrey Howard

Yes, look, we're currently looking at our models and looking for opportunities where we at or above target level returns. Our digital channel is a great example of that. We're seeing a broader swath of the consumer.

David Scharf

Yes, look, I, you know, we're constantly tweaking our models and looking for opportunities where we see, you know, at above our returns. You know, our digital channel is a great example of that, right? We're seeing a broader consumer in.

Jeffrey Howard

those channels. We're able to, at very attractive returns, bring in, you know, what I consider a broader range of consumers at prices and returns that we find attractive. They tend to have, on average, higher delinquencies and and higher yields and therefore higher returns. That's just where we're seeing the investment opportunity right now. Got it. Understood. Thank you.

Operator

And that concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Jeff Howard for closing remarks.

Jeffrey Howard

Yeah, thank you all for your participation. In closing, we continue to see really strong performance across our core general purpose and retail credit lines of business, and we obviously remain very pleased with the performance of our Mercury acquisition. Our team continues to deliver, and this quarter delivered record-breaking results, which we're also very, very proud of. You know, this reflects our continued progress and our commitment to expand access to financial services for everyday Americans, and we're proud to now serve and help almost 7 million of those Americans meet their day-to-day financial needs. It's our belief that we at Atlanticus are better positioned now than at any point in our 30-year history, and we look forward to building on that progress in the quarters ahead. So we appreciate your support and look forward to our next call.

Operator

And this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

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