Atlanticus Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Atlanticus (NASDAQ: ATLC) reported strong first quarter 2026 results: total operating revenue and other income rose 97.0% to $679.5 million, managed receivables increased 148.5% to $6.7 billion, and net income attributable to common shareholders was $41.9 million ($2.23 diluted).
Return on average equity was 26.8%; growth was driven by the Mercury acquisition, increased account counts and higher purchase volume.
Positive
- Total operating revenue +97.0% to $679.5 million
- Managed receivables +148.5% to $6.7 billion
- Net income attributable to common shareholders +49.8% to $41.9 million
- Diluted EPS of $2.23 and return on average equity of 26.8%
Negative
- Interest expense increased 158.3% to $122.8 million
- Changes in fair value of loans loss widened to $(365.5) million
- Total operating expenses rose 69.2% year-over-year
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
ATLC was up 0.3% while peers were mixed: LX up 2.86%, WRLD up 3.72%, but ECPG and EZPW down 9.23% and 11.09%, indicating a stock-specific reaction.
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30 | Earnings call notice | Positive | -1.7% | Announcement of upcoming Q1 2026 earnings call and webcast scheduling. |
| Mar 12 | Q4 2025 earnings | Positive | -9.1% | Q4 2025 revenue more than doubled with record receivables and higher net income. |
| Mar 06 | Earnings call notice | Positive | -6.4% | Scheduling of Q4 and full-year 2025 results call and webcast details. |
| Nov 10 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | -5.6% | Q3 2025 results with Mercury acquisition, large receivable growth, and record volume. |
| Aug 07 | Q2 2025 earnings | Positive | +14.5% | Strong Q2 growth in receivables, revenue, ROE, and accounts served, plus buybacks. |
Earnings-related news has often seen negative next-day moves despite growth-focused announcements, with one notable positive reaction in Q2 2025.
Over the past year, Atlanticus has repeatedly reported strong growth across earnings releases, highlighted by rising managed receivables, higher total operating revenue, and robust returns on equity. The acquisition and integration of Mercury, first detailed around Q3 2025, added several billion dollars of receivables and millions of accounts, materially scaling the platform. Despite these fundamentals, prior earnings and call announcements on Aug 7, 2025, Nov 10, 2025, Mar 6, 2026, and Mar 12, 2026 often coincided with negative 24-hour price moves, showing a pattern of cautious market reactions.
Historical Comparison
In the last five earnings-tagged events, ATLC’s average next-day move was -1.66%, showing a tendency toward modest post-earnings pullbacks despite growth-focused updates.
Earnings releases from Q2 2025 through Q4 2025 and into Q1 2026 show rising revenue, expanding managed receivables, and increasing ROE, with the Mercury acquisition driving a step-change in scale and subsequent integration updates.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights strong Q1 2026 performance, with total operating revenue of $679.5M, managed receivables of $6.7B, diluted EPS of $2.23, and ROE of 26.8%, supported by the Mercury acquisition and organic growth. Recent history shows repeated scale expansion but also higher interest expense and fair value loan impacts. Investors may watch future quarters for continued integration progress, receivable quality trends, and how funding costs evolve relative to asset growth.
Key Terms
managed receivables financial
non-GAAP financial
provision for credit losses financial
return on average equity financial
changes in fair value of loans financial
contingent consideration financial
securitization financial
Senior Notes financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
First Quarter Earnings of
ATLANTA, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: ATLC) (Atlanticus, the Company, we, our or us), a financial technology company that enables its bank, retail and healthcare partners to offer more inclusive financial services to millions of Everyday Americans, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. An accompanying earnings presentation is available in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.atlanticus.com or by clicking here.
Financial and Operating Highlights
First Quarter 2026 Highlights (all comparisons to the First Quarter 2025)
- Total operating revenue and other income increased
97.0% to$679.5 million - Managed receivables1 increased
148.5% to$6.7 billion - Net income attributable to common shareholders of
$41.9 million , an increase of49.8% , or$2.23 per Diluted common share - Return on average equity of
26.8% 2 - Purchase volume of
$1,351.0 million - We serve over 5.9 million total accounts3
- Over 600,000 new customers served during the quarter
1) Managed receivables is a non-GAAP financial measure and excludes the results of our Auto Finance receivables. See Calculation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures for important additional information.
2) Return on average equity is calculated using Net income attributable to common shareholders as the numerator and the average of Total equity as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025 as the denominator, annualized.
3 ) In our calculation of total accounts served, we include all accounts with account activity and accounts that have open lines of credit at the end of the referenced period.
Management Commentary
Jeff Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanticus, stated, “First and foremost, I want to congratulate and thank the entire Atlanticus team. Their efforts over the last six months have enabled us to be well ahead of plan in the integration of the Mercury acquisition, while providing exceptional service for the millions of customers we serve and generating positive results for our shareholders. For the quarter, we earned
As mentioned, we are well ahead of both our financial and operational integration plans for Mercury. Our initial pricing, product and policy changes on the acquired portfolio have been executed and are showing better than modeled results and credit performance remains in line with expectations. As a result, this quarter’s earnings include the benefit of a release of some reserves associated with the Mercury portfolio acquisition. Originations through the Mercury platform, using our historical focus on unit level economics, are also ahead of plan. And most importantly, the entire team is truly coming together as one Atlanticus. As a result, we are a more scaled, better resourced, more talented and capable company than we were this time last year.”
| Financial Results | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | 2026 | 2025 | % Change | |||
| Total operating revenue and other income | ||||||
| Other non-operating income | 55 | 293 | nm | |||
| Total revenue and other income | 679,589 | 345,166 | ||||
| Interest expense | (122,761) | (47,530) | ||||
| Provision for credit losses | (1,600) | (1,068) | nm | |||
| Changes in fair value of loans | (365,524) | (178,345) | ||||
| Net margin | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | ( | ( | ||||
| Net income | ||||||
| Net income attributable to controlling interests | ||||||
| Preferred stock and preferred unit dividends and discount accretion | (2,308) | (3,574) | nm | |||
| Net income attributable to common shareholders | ||||||
| Net income attributable to common shareholders per common share—basic | ||||||
| Net income attributable to common shareholders per common share—diluted | ||||||
*nm = not meaningful
Managed Receivables
Managed receivables increased
Total Operating Revenue and Other Income
Total operating revenue and other income consists of: 1) interest income, finance charges and late fees on consumer loans, 2) other fees on credit products including annual and merchant fees and 3) interchange and servicing income on loan portfolios and other customer related fees.
We are currently experiencing continued period-over-period increases in private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables. Growth in these receivables includes general purpose credit card receivables associated with our acquisition, and subsequent growth of Mercury, which added
During the quarter ended March 31, 2026, total operating revenue and other income increased
Interest Expense
Interest expense was
Outstanding notes payable, net of unamortized debt issuance costs and discounts, associated with our private label credit and general purpose credit card platform (including those associated with the Mercury acquisition) increased to
Changes in Fair Value of Loans
Changes in fair value of loans increased to
We include asset performance degradation in our forecasts to reflect both changes in assumed asset level economics and the possibility of delinquency rates increasing in the near term (and the corresponding increase in charge-offs and decrease in payments) above the level that current trends would suggest. Based on observed asset stabilization, and general improvements in U.S. economic expectations due to the improved inflation environment, some expected degradation has been removed in recent periods.
Total Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses increased
We expect some continued increase in year over year salaries and benefits in 2026 compared to corresponding periods in 2025 resulting from the acquisition of Mercury and its associated employee base.
As many of our expenses associated with our card and loan servicing efforts are now variable based on the amount of underlying receivables, we would expect certain expenses to continue to grow in 2026 commensurate with planned growth in our receivables balances. These expenses will primarily relate to the variable costs card and loan servicing expenses associated with new receivable acquisitions.
In addition, as we continue to adjust our underwriting standards to reflect changes in fee and finance assumptions on new receivables, and allow for overall increases in the cost to successfully market to consumers, we expect period over period marketing costs for 2026 to increase relative to those experienced in 2025. The frequency and timing of increased marketing efforts could vary and are dependent on macroeconomic factors such as national unemployment rates and federal funds rates.
Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders
Net income attributable to common shareholders increased
Share Repurchases
We repurchased and retired 72,008 shares of our common stock in the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
About Atlanticus Holdings Corporation
Empowering Better Financial Outcomes for Everyday Americans
Atlanticus Holdings Corporation empowers better financial outcomes for Everyday Americans by enabling bank, retail, healthcare, and automotive partners to offer more inclusive financial solutions to consumers. Leveraging proprietary technology and advanced analytics, Atlanticus applies more than 30 years of operating experience, servicing over 20 million customers and more than
Atlanticus is guided by the principles of responsible lending, smart innovation, and expanding access to credit for consumers working toward a stronger financial future.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current views with respect to, among other things, expectations for the benefits of the acquisition of Mercury, including expected synergies and future financial and operating results; the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions for Mercury including the product, policy and pricing changes to the acquired portfolio and the timing and results related thereto; long-term growth plans and opportunities; operations; financial performance; amount and pace of growth of managed receivables; mix of receivables; fair value of receivables; debt financing; interest expense; operating expense; and marketing efforts. You generally can identify these statements by the use of words such as outlook, potential, continue, may, seek, approximately, predict, believe, expect, plan, intend, estimate or anticipate and similar expressions or the negative versions of these words or comparable words, as well as future or conditional verbs such as will, should, would, likely and could. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include, but are not limited to, risks related to the integration of the Mercury business and the management of the Mercury portfolio; bank partners; merchant partners; consumers; loan demand; the capital markets; labor availability; supply chains and the economy in general; the Company's ability to retain existing, and attract new, merchant partners and funding sources; changes in market interest rates; increases in loan delinquencies; its ability to operate successfully in a highly regulated industry; the outcome of litigation and regulatory matters; the effect of management changes; cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities in its products and services; and the Company's ability to compete successfully in highly competitive markets. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and, except to the extent required by federal securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there is no assurance that the events or results suggested by the forward-looking statements will in fact occur, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Investor Relations
investors@atlanticus.com
Dan Mauch, dan.mauch@atlanticus.com
Sara Savarino, sara.savarino@atlanticus.com
| Atlanticus Holdings Corporation and Subsidiaries | |||||||
| Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) | |||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||
| March 31, | December 31, | ||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents (including | $ | 651,128 | $ | 621,093 | |||
| Restricted cash and cash equivalents (including | 152,931 | 146,314 | |||||
| Loans at fair value (including | 6,452,121 | 6,647,882 | |||||
| Loans at amortized cost, net (including | 80,719 | 82,884 | |||||
| Property at cost, net of depreciation | 11,823 | 12,589 | |||||
| Intangible assets | 27,699 | 30,268 | |||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 14,515 | 15,104 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | 74,098 | 66,954 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 7,465,034 | $ | 7,623,088 | |||
| Liabilities | |||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 258,338 | $ | 284,514 | |||
| Operating lease liabilities | 24,453 | 25,283 | |||||
| Notes payable, net (including | 5,637,437 | 5,818,761 | |||||
| Senior notes, net | 692,373 | 698,562 | |||||
| Income tax liability | 168,463 | 152,138 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 6,781,064 | 6,979,258 | |||||
| Commitments and contingencies | |||||||
| Preferred stock, no par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized: | |||||||
| Series A preferred stock, 400,000 shares issued and outstanding (liquidation preference - | 40,000 | 40,000 | |||||
| Commitments and contingencies | – | – | |||||
| Shareholders' Equity | |||||||
| Series B preferred stock, no par value, 3,584,646 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2026 (liquidation preference - | – | – | |||||
| Common stock, no par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized: 15,086,414 and 14,922,462 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively | – | – | |||||
| Paid-in capital | 100,144 | 102,276 | |||||
| Retained earnings | 548,291 | 506,424 | |||||
| Total shareholders’ equity attributable to Atlanticus Holdings Corporation | 648,435 | 608,700 | |||||
| Noncontrolling interests | (4,465 | ) | (4,870 | ) | |||
| Total equity | 643,970 | 603,830 | |||||
| Total liabilities, shareholders' equity and temporary equity | $ | 7,465,034 | $ | 7,623,088 | |||
(1) Both the Series A preferred stock and the Series B preferred stock have no par value and are part of the same aggregate 10,000,000 shares authorized.
| Atlanticus Holdings Corporation and Subsidiaries | ||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) | ||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||
| For the Three Months Ended | ||||||||
| March 31, | ||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | |||||||
| Revenue and other income: | ||||||||
| Consumer loans, including past due fees | $ | 529,445 | $ | 247,655 | ||||
| Fees and related income on earning assets | 110,429 | 78,341 | ||||||
| Other revenue | 39,660 | 18,877 | ||||||
| Total operating revenue and other income | 679,534 | 344,873 | ||||||
| Other non-operating income | 55 | 293 | ||||||
| Total revenue and other income | 679,589 | 345,166 | ||||||
| Interest expense | (122,761 | ) | (47,530 | ) | ||||
| Provision for credit losses | (1,600 | ) | (1,068 | ) | ||||
| Changes in fair value of loans | (365,524 | ) | (178,345 | ) | ||||
| Net margin | 189,704 | 118,223 | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||
| Salaries and benefits | (28,646 | ) | (15,503 | ) | ||||
| Card and loan servicing | (44,918 | ) | (32,152 | ) | ||||
| Marketing and solicitation | (36,473 | ) | (20,334 | ) | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization | (3,586 | ) | (797 | ) | ||||
| Other | (17,233 | ) | (8,569 | ) | ||||
| Total operating expenses | (130,856 | ) | (77,355 | ) | ||||
| Income before income taxes | 58,848 | 40,868 | ||||||
| Income tax expense | (14,271 | ) | (9,746 | ) | ||||
| Net income | 44,577 | 31,122 | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests | (402 | ) | 398 | |||||
| Net income attributable to controlling interests | 44,175 | 31,520 | ||||||
| Preferred stock and preferred unit dividends and discount accretion | (2,308 | ) | (3,574 | ) | ||||
| Net income attributable to common shareholders | $ | 41,867 | $ | 27,946 | ||||
| Net income attributable to common shareholders per common share—basic | $ | 2.80 | $ | 1.85 | ||||
| Net income attributable to common shareholders per common share—diluted | $ | 2.23 | $ | 1.49 | ||||
Additional Information
Additional trends and data with respect to our private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables can be found in our latest Form 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission under Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Calculation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release presents information about managed receivables, which is a non-GAAP financial measure provided as a supplement to the results provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). In addition to financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, we present managed receivables, total managed yield, combined principal net charge-offs, and fair value to total managed receivables ratio, all of which are non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures aid in the evaluation of the performance of our credit portfolios, including our risk management, servicing and collection activities and our valuation of purchased receivables. The credit performance of our managed receivables provides information concerning the quality of loan originations and the related credit risks inherent with the portfolios. Management relies heavily upon financial data and results prepared on the managed basis in order to manage our business, make planning decisions, evaluate our performance and allocate resources.
These non-GAAP financial measures are presented for supplemental informational purposes only. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures or the calculation of the non-GAAP financial measures are provided below for each of the fiscal periods indicated.
Additionally, we calculate average managed receivables based on the quarter-end balances.
The comparison of non-GAAP managed receivables to our GAAP financial statements requires an understanding that managed receivables reflect the face value of loans, interest and fees receivable without any consideration for potential loan losses or other adjustments to reflect fair value.
A reconciliation of Loans at fair value to Total managed receivables is as follows:
| At or for the Three Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in Millions) | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| Loans at fair value | $ | 6,452.1 | $ | 6,647.9 | $ | 6,350.0 | $ | 3,004.7 | $ | 2,668.5 | $ | 2,630.3 | $ | 2,511.6 | $ | 2,277.4 | |||||||||
| Fair value mark against receivable (1) | 272.8 | 305.5 | 250.1 | 41.8 | 37.8 | 94.5 | 142.5 | 137.7 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total managed receivables (2) | $ | 6,724.9 | $ | 6,953.4 | $ | 6,600.1 | $ | 3,046.5 | $ | 2,706.3 | $ | 2,724.8 | $ | 2,654.1 | $ | 2,415.1 | |||||||||
| Fair value to Total managed receivables ratio (3) | 95.9 | % | 95.6 | % | 96.2 | % | 98.6 | % | 98.6 | % | 96.5 | % | 94.6 | % | 94.3 | % | |||||||||
(1) The fair value mark against receivables reflects the difference between the face value of a receivable and the net present value of the expected cash flows associated with that receivable.
(2) Total managed receivables are equal to the aggregate unpaid gross balance of loans at fair value.
(3) The Fair value to Total managed receivable ratio is calculated using Loans at fair value as the numerator, and Total managed receivables, as the denominator.
A reconciliation of our operating revenues and other income, net of finance and fee charge-offs, to comparable amounts used in our calculation of Total managed yield is as follows:
| At or for the Three Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in Millions) | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| Consumer loans, including past due fees | $ | 519.9 | $ | 528.7 | $ | 331.7 | $ | 267.2 | $ | 238.5 | $ | 242.1 | $ | 245.3 | $ | 232.1 | |||||||||
| Fees and related income on earning assets | 110.1 | 155.8 | 122.5 | 94.3 | 78.3 | 83.8 | 78.5 | 59.5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other revenue | 39.4 | 39.5 | 30.4 | 23.0 | 18.7 | 17.5 | 16.8 | 13.6 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total operating revenue and other income - CaaS Segment | 669.4 | 724.0 | 484.6 | 384.5 | 335.5 | 343.4 | 340.6 | 305.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Adjustments due to acceleration of merchant fee discount amortization under fair value accounting | 9.6 | (6.1 | ) | (16.0 | ) | (26.6 | ) | 0.1 | 0.7 | (15.1 | ) | (12.6 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Adjustments due to acceleration of annual fees recognition under fair value accounting | 9.6 | (8.3 | ) | (24.4 | ) | (8.8 | ) | (4.2 | ) | (10.5 | ) | (8.0 | ) | 1.1 | |||||||||||
| Removal of finance charge-offs | (114.7 | ) | (114.1 | ) | (78.8 | ) | (68.2 | ) | (70.0 | ) | (64.9 | ) | (60.6 | ) | (62.9 | ) | |||||||||
| Total managed yield | $ | 573.9 | $ | 595.5 | $ | 365.4 | $ | 280.9 | $ | 261.4 | $ | 268.7 | $ | 256.9 | $ | 230.8 | |||||||||
The calculation of Combined principal net charge-offs is as
| At or for the Three Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in Millions) | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| Charge-offs on loans at fair value | $ | 406.4 | $ | 377.9 | $ | 231.8 | $ | 211.8 | $ | 233.5 | $ | 213.1 | $ | 201.5 | $ | 217.0 | |||||||||
| Finance charge-offs (1) | (114.7 | ) | (114.1 | ) | (78.8 | ) | (68.2 | ) | (70.0 | ) | (64.9 | ) | (60.6 | ) | (62.9 | ) | |||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-offs | $ | 291.7 | $ | 263.8 | $ | 153.0 | $ | 143.6 | $ | 163.5 | $ | 148.2 | $ | 140.9 | $ | 154.1 | |||||||||
(1) Finance charge-offs are included as a component of our Changes in fair value of loans in the consolidated statements of income.
