Balance Amid Gainers and Losers in Realm of Payments Stocks

Payments stocks showed similar movement on both the positive and negative sides of the portfolio in terms of performance, with some outsized gains and losses on heels, as has been seen in recent weeks, of earnings reports. The relatively smaller market caps of some of these companies means that small gains or losses, in terms of dollars and cents, tend to have outsized impacts on percentage changes.

The most notable movements came from Everi Holdings and Planet Payment, which gained and lost more than 12 percent, respectively.  In the first case, Everi Holdings stated that quarterly revenues of $237 million were at the upper range of guidance, with the payments business (at $182 million and up 16 percent year over year), according to management, benefitting from positive macro trends, and with continued expansion of ATM business seen in North America.  Compliance revenue, the company said, was at record highs.

On the negative side of the ledger, Planet Payment said that earnings per share came in at three cents a share, versus the four cents a share that had been expected by the Street and which helped to send the stock down significantly.  The total number of merchant locations gained ground year over year but settled transactions were down over the same period.  The Street had expected $13.5 million in sales, and yet the actual top line was $12.7 million and management said that various agreements in the EMEA region had been repriced and extended, which impacted revenues.

Showing less impact to stock prices, but still spurred by earnings reports, Green Dot shares were up 5.7 percent on the week, where the quarter got a boost from its tax refund related businesses and prepaid cards saw growth as well.  The earnings per share at $1 was 16 cents better than had been expected, with $253 million in revenues up 11 percent year over year, about $15 million better than projections.  Guidance got a boost in line with that beat.

At similar magnitude in terms of percentage changes, Diebold Nixdorf shares slipped in the wake of results that had been posted earlier in the month.  The headline numbers showed net income beat estimates while revenues missed.  On an unadjusted basis, earnings of eight cents a share, seven cents better than the Street.  But revenues were nudged down slightly for the full year, at $5 billion, when the range given previously had been $5 billion to $5.1 billion amid what management termed a “long term transformation” following the merger last year of the ATM companies that bear each half of its name (that would be, of course, Diebold and Nixdorf).