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The Western Union Company WU reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 47 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.3%. The bottom line grew 2.2% year over year.
Total revenues remained flat on a reported basis at $1 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 1.2%.
The quarterly results benefited on the back of a declining expense level and strong performance of the Consumer Services (CS) segment. The Branded Digital business posted transaction growth. However, the upside was partly offset by a revenue drop in the Consumer Money Transfer (CMT) segment, impacted by weaker transactions.
The Western Union Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Western Union Company Quote
The adjusted operating margin of 20% improved 100 basis points (bps) year over year on the back of cost efficiencies achieved.
Total expenses came in at $830.7 million, which declined 5% year over year in the quarter under review and came lower than our estimate of $833.7 million. The year-over-year decline resulted from a fall in the cost of services and selling, general and administrative expenses.
Operating income advanced 22% year over year to $201.9 million, which beat our estimate of $191.3 million.
The CMT segment recorded revenues of $878 million in the third quarter, which slipped 6% year over year. The metric fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $891 million and our estimate of $903.7 million.
Operating income declined 9% year over year to $172.2 million. Nevertheless, the metric beat the consensus mark of $171 million and our estimate of $170.7 million. The operating income margin remained flat year over year at 20%.
Transactions within the CMT segment on an adjusted basis, excluding Iraq, dipped 2% year over year. However, there was 12% transaction growth in the Branded Digital business. Branded Digital revenues, which accounted for 38% of CMT’s third-quarter revenues, rose 7% on a reported basis and 6% on an adjusted basis.
The CS segment’s revenues climbed 49% year over year on a reported and an adjusted basis to $154.6 million in the quarter under review. The metric outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $128 million and our estimate of $121.3 million.
Operating income totaled $34 million, which increased nearly fourfold year over year. The metric beat the consensus mark and our estimate of $27.2 million. The operating income margin improved 1,300 bps year over year to 22%.
Western Union exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $947.8 million, which plunged 35.7% from the 2024-end level. Total assets of $7.8 billion declined 7% from the figure at 2024-end.
Borrowings were $2.6 billion, down 11.9% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Total stockholders' equity of $925.4 million slid 4.5% from the 2024-end level.
WU generated net cash from operations of $408.3 million in the first nine months of 2025, which soared 49.9% from the prior-year comparable period.
Western Union rewarded its shareholders with $230 million in the form of dividends and $200 million in share buybacks in the first nine months of 2025.
Management reiterates adjusted revenues to lie between $4.035 billion and $4.135 billion.
Adjusted EPS continues to be forecasted in the range of $1.65-$1.75, the midpoint of which indicates a 2.3% decline from the 2024 reported figure.
GAAP EPS continues to be forecasted in the band of $1.45-$1.55, the midpoint of which implies a 45.3% decline from the 2024 figure.
The adjusted operating margin is still expected to be between 19% and 21%. The metric was 19% in 2024.
Western Union currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Of the Business Services sector players that have reported third-quarter results so far, the bottom line of ManpowerGroup Inc. MAN beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
ManpowerGroup reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 83 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2% but decreased 35.7% year over year. Total revenues of $4.63 billion beat the consensus estimate by 0.6% and rose 2.3% year over year. Revenues from America of $1.1 billion increased 4.6% year over year on a reported basis and increased 5.5% at cc. In the United States, revenues reached $690.8 million, declining 0.9% year over year.
Revenues from Southern Europe of $2.21 billion rose 5.2% on a reported basis but declined 1.3% at cc. Revenues from France were up 1.4% on a reported basis but down 4.7% at cc. Revenues from Italy amounted to $462.5 million and increased 10.3% on a reported basis and 3.7% at cc. Northern Europe revenues declined 1.4% on a reported basis and 6.7% at cc to $816.8 million. The company registered an operating profit of $66.6 million, down 6.1% year over year on a reported basis and 3.5% at cc.
Here are some companies from the Business Services space, which according to our model, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around:
FirstCash Holdings, Inc. FCFS has an Earnings ESP of +3.67% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FCFS’ third-quarter 2025 earnings is $1.91 per share, indicating 14.4% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
FirstCash earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.19%.
Global Payments Inc. GPN has an Earnings ESP of +0.62% and a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GPN’s third-quarter 2025 earnings is $3.23 per share, implying 4.9% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Global Payments’ earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark twice, the average surprise being 1.46%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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