Wise (WSE) Stock Surges 8% on Record Margins and $500M Share Buyback Program

Key Highlights

• Wise shares advanced 8% following FY26 results that exceeded the firm’s profit margin guidance
• Pre-tax income reached $660.4 million with a 26.4% margin — surpassing the 20–25% target corridor
• Net revenue expanded 19% annually to $2.50 billion
• The company unveiled a $500 million share buyback initiative for FY27
• Customer base expanded 21% to 19 million users; cross-border transaction volume surged 31% to $243.5 billion

Shares of Wise (WSE) climbed approximately 8% on Friday following the fintech firm’s release of annual financial results that exceeded profit margin projections, complemented by the announcement of a $500 million share repurchase initiative.

Wise Group plc Class A Ordinary Shares, WSE

The shares were changing hands at approximately 894p on the London Stock Exchange during morning trading, representing a gain of 64 points.

The payment platform reported net revenue reaching $2.50 billion for the fiscal year concluding March 31, 2026, marking a 19% year-over-year increase. Pre-tax income totaled $660.4 million, translating to a margin of 26.4%.

This profitability metric exceeded the company’s medium-term guidance corridor of 20–25%, capturing investor attention.

BofA analysts, maintaining a buy rating with a $16.40 price objective, noted that pre-tax profit exceeded their projection by 6.6% and consensus estimates by 1.3%.

The analysts identified a $70 million non-recurring U.S. GAAP foreign exchange adjustment linked to specific government bonds as the primary factor impacting operating income, which settled at $590.7 million.

The platform’s active user base expanded 21% to 19 million. Cross-border transaction volume increased 31% to $243.5 billion, while the cross-border take rate remained at 0.52%, declining six basis points year-over-year.

Card expenditure grew 37% to $43.6 billion. Customer balances increased 40% to $39.0 billion — indicating that more clients are maintaining funds on the platform for regular usage rather than solely for transfers.

Transaction-based revenue totaled $1.89 billion. Net interest income added $609.2 million to overall net revenue after distributing $196.9 million in interest payments to account holders.

CEO Kristo Käärmann emphasized that 75% of transactions in Q4 were processed in under 20 seconds worldwide — a metric the company prominently features in its competitive positioning.

Share Repurchase and Shareholder Returns

Wise announced plans to allocate over $500 million toward share buybacks during FY27. Approximately 40% of this amount will support its ongoing Employee Share Trust initiative to counterbalance dilution from equity-based compensation.

The firm separately deployed $470 million to repurchase 35.9 million shares throughout FY26.

BofA increased its FY27 diluted earnings per share forecast by 5.7% to 54.34 cents, citing improved gross profit margins and the buyback program as key contributors.

Fiscal Year 2027 Guidance

Looking ahead, Wise projected net revenue growth near the midpoint of its 15–20% medium-term target range, calculated on a constant currency basis.

This forecast assumes no significant changes in interest distributed to customers and no substantial movements in central bank policy rates.

Pre-tax income margin is anticipated to land near the upper boundary of the 20–25% range for FY27.

Wise finalized its transition to a Nasdaq primary listing on May 8, maintaining a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The firm disclosed that it established new direct payment connections in Brazil and Japan during FY26 and secured fresh regulatory approvals in South Africa, the UAE, and Thailand.

New Wise Platform collaborations launched during the period include UniCredit, Raiffeisen Bank, and MBSB Bank, with Capitec coming onboard in April 2026.

The post Wise (WSE) Stock Surges 8% on Record Margins and $500M Share Buyback Program appeared first on Blockonomi.