World Acceptance Corp (WRLD)
NASDAQ:WRLD
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World Acceptance
(NASDAQ:WRLD)
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Rating:59Neutral
Price Target:
$159.00
▲(14.43% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:04/16/26
The score is driven primarily by improving but uneven fundamentals (profitability rebound and strong annual cash conversion offset by leverage and weaker TTM margins), with neutral-to-mixed technicals. Positives from the earnings call (portfolio growth, better early credit metrics, yield gains, and buybacks) help offset weak valuation signals from a negative P/E and added uncertainty from the CEO transition.
Positive Factors
Profitability Rebound
The company materially improved operating and net margins across FY2024–FY2025 versus FY2023, translating into higher reported returns on equity (~18%–20%). This demonstrates the business can restore profitability through underwriting, pricing and cost actions, a durable improvement that supports reinvestment and capital returns.
Negative Factors
Material Leverage
The company's capital structure has materially elevated leverage historically, which magnifies credit-cycle risk for a consumer lender. High debt limits financial flexibility, raises refinancing and covenant sensitivity, and can strain cash flow during stress, making sustained growth and loss absorption riskier.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Profitability Rebound
The company materially improved operating and net margins across FY2024–FY2025 versus FY2023, translating into higher reported returns on equity (~18%–20%). This demonstrates the business can restore profitability through underwriting, pricing and cost actions, a durable improvement that supports reinvestment and capital returns.
Read all positive factors
World Acceptance (WRLD) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$736.04M
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)67.38K
Price to Earnings (P/E)4.4
Beta (1Y)1.18
Revenue Growth3.70%
EPS GrowthN/A
CountryUS
Employees2,872
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryFinancial - Credit Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)7.94
Shares Outstanding4,936,879
10 Day Avg. Volume68,204
30 Day Avg. Volume67,381
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.34
Price to Book (P/B)1.59
Price to Sales (P/S)1.23
P/FCF Ratio2.78
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.89
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.43
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit3.94
Enterprise Value/Ebitda22.67
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)10.73
Revenue Forecast (FY)$616.30M
World Acceptance Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
World Acceptance Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in small-loan consumer finance business. The company offers short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary pro...
How the Company Makes Money
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World Acceptance Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jan 27, 2026
(Q3-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 23, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed meaningful portfolio and business improvements—strong new-customer acquisition (16% higher origination), 25% higher new-customer outstanding ledger, 5.4% organic customer growth, 2.4% organic ledger growth, and an 84 bps increase in yields—supported by better early credit performance (first-pay defaults ~19% lower). Near-term profitability is pressured by an incremental ~$8M provision for new customers and elevated compensation and personnel expenses associated with strategic investments and temporary overstaffing. Management outlined corrective actions (expected reduction in incentive comp starting Q4 and planned 3–5% branch headcount reductions) and reported robust early tax-season trends and significant share repurchases. On balance, the positive growth, improving credit metrics, yield expansion, and capital return actions outweigh the identifiable near-term headwinds.Positive Updates
New Customer Origination and Outstanding Ledger Growth
Originated 16% more new customer volume in the quarter and ended the quarter with ~25% more outstanding new-customer ledger versus the same quarter last year. The quarter had the highest new-customer acquisition since Q3 2021, and early performance indicates these are performing in line with expectations.
Negative Updates
Higher Provision for Loan Losses Related to New Customers
The 25% increase in the new-customer outstanding portfolio required an incremental provision of approximately $8.0 million versus the same quarter last year, pressuring near-term earnings.
Read all updates
Q3-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
New Customer Origination and Outstanding Ledger Growth
Originated 16% more new customer volume in the quarter and ended the quarter with ~25% more outstanding new-customer ledger versus the same quarter last year. The quarter had the highest new-customer acquisition since Q3 2021, and early performance indicates these are performing in line with expectations.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management's guidance emphasized continued portfolio momentum and yield improvement, noting new-customer originations were up 16% in the quarter and new-customer outstanding ledger was up 25% (which in the comparable quarter required roughly an $8 million incremental provision), first-pay defaults on the recent vintage are ~19% lower versus the prior high-volume year, and yields improved about 84 basis points year-over-year; organic customer growth was ~5.4% YoY (versus 2.2% last year and 5.6% in FY2022), organic ledger growth was 2.4% YoY (vs. −2.4% last year), average outstanding loan balances fell ~2.5% YoY, and management expects continued yield gains from higher state rates, tighter underwriting/credit limits, and better retention—additionally, they have repurchased nearly 600,000 shares (reducing share count ~11% in the first nine months), have over $60 million repurchase capacity remaining (~9% of shares at yesterday’s close, targeting roughly 20% this year), anticipate incentive and share‑based comp to ease starting in Q4, plan 3–5% headcount reductions, and expect a stronger tax‑filing season despite weather impacts in about 10 states.World Acceptance Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
68
Positive
Balance Sheet
55
Neutral
Cash Flow
60
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2022 | Mar 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 573.44M | 564.84M | 573.21M | 616.55M | 585.19M | 527.99M |
| Gross Profit | 353.48M | 395.63M | 368.01M | 306.62M | 365.55M | 416.05M |
| EBITDA | 61.41M | 164.97M | 110.30M | 38.06M | 77.25M | 123.82M |
| Net Income | 42.76M | 89.74M | 77.35M | 21.23M | 53.92M | 88.28M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 1.14B | 1.01B | 1.06B | 1.12B | 1.22B | 954.27M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 9.45M | 9.73M | 11.84M | 16.51M | 19.24M | 15.75M |
| Total Debt | 751.93M | 525.56M | 577.95M | 679.00M | 779.85M | 496.73M |
| Total Liabilities | 790.78M | 568.15M | 631.92M | 732.09M | 845.27M | 549.34M |
| Stockholders Equity | 351.60M | 439.48M | 424.43M | 385.23M | 373.02M | 404.93M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 252.08M | 250.48M | 259.85M | 285.73M | 266.38M | 215.27M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 255.71M | 254.16M | 265.78M | 291.55M | 272.45M | 226.95M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -206.14M | -152.75M | -135.14M | -180.58M | -451.89M | -82.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -22.94M | -103.52M | -135.31M | -113.70M | 182.93M | -140.83M |
World Acceptance Technical Analysis
Positive
138.95
Price Trends
135.36
Positive
138.80
Positive
150.63
Negative
Market Momentum
1.12
Positive
52.57
Neutral
29.02
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For WRLD, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 138.95 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 138.56, above the 50-day MA of 135.36, and below the 200-day MA of 150.63, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 1.12 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 52.57 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 29.02 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for WRLD.
World Acceptance Risk Analysis
World Acceptance disclosed 46 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. World Acceptance reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
World Acceptance Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 Outperform | $2.06B | 7.97 | 12.48% | ― | 13.06% | 32.78% | |
71 Outperform | $224.43M | 9.96 | 9.85% | 4.44% | 9.67% | -6.40% | |
69 Neutral | $322.01M | 6.48 | 13.16% | 2.99% | 10.51% | 53.17% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
64 Neutral | $1.16B | 7.20 | 20.94% | ― | 50.09% | 25.14% | |
59 Neutral | $736.04M | 4.39 | 6.37% | ― | 3.70% | ― | |
51 Neutral | $711.67M | -3.80 | -10.77% | ― | 20.69% | -256.48% |
* Financial Sector Average
WRLD
World Acceptance
149.09
16.47
12.42%
EZPW
EZCORP
33.44
18.78
128.10%
GDOT
Green Dot
12.56
4.01
46.90%
MFIN
Medallion Financial
9.41
0.59
6.64%
RM
Regional Management
34.97
7.05
25.25%
ATLC
Atlanticus Holdings
77.82
24.00
44.59%
World Acceptance Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
World Acceptance Highlights Q4 2026 Results and Growth Shift
Neutral
Apr 30, 2026
World Acceptance reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results on April 30, 2026, highlighting a strategic shift from aggressive tightening to targeted growth that has produced three consecutive quarters of year-over-year loan expansion. Gross loans...
Executive/Board Changes
World Acceptance Names Interim CEO After Leadership Resignation
Negative
Apr 15, 2026
On April 10, 2026, World Acceptance Corporation announced that President and CEO R. Chad Prashad resigned from his executive roles and board seat, with the departure characterized as a resignation to pursue other opportunities and treated as a ter...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
World Acceptance Names Turner Executive Vice President and COO
Positive
Feb 17, 2026
On February 17, 2026, World Acceptance Corporation announced that J. Tobin Turner had been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective February 13, 2026, after previously serving as Senior Vice President of Strategy a...
Business Operations and StrategyStock Buyback
World Acceptance Authorizes New $50 Million Share Buyback
Positive
Feb 11, 2026
On February 11, 2026, World Acceptance Corporation’s board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $50 million of its outstanding common stock, inclusive of any remaining capacity from prior buyback authorizations. The scale and t...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.