FCFS - FirstCash Reports Third Quarter Results; Net Revenues Increase 20% Driven by Growth in Pawn and AFF Segments; 104 Pawn Stores Added in the Third Quarter through Acquisitions and Store Openings; Upsizes Credit Facility and Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstCash Holdings, Inc. ("FirstCash" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:FCFS), the leading international operator of retail pawn stores and a leading provider of retail point-of-sale ("POS") payment solutions through American First Finance ("AFF"), today announced operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2023. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share, which will be paid in November 2023.

Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, "Our third quarter results were outstanding as strong growth and profitability metrics in the core pawn segments and AFF resulted in record earning assets, revenues and combined segment earnings. U.S. pawn has especially strong momentum, with pawn receivables ending the quarter up 22% in total and 11% on a same-store basis compared to the third quarter of last year. AFF further contributed to revenue and earnings growth with continued strength in originations and improved profitability over last year.

"We added 104 pawn stores during the third quarter, including 79 acquired U.S. locations and 25 de novo stores, mostly in Latin America, and are now on pace to add more than 150 total pawn stores for the full year. Coupled with strong demand in existing locations, the significant unit growth in pawn locations is expected to drive additional revenue and earnings growth in the fourth quarter and beyond."

This release contains adjusted financial measures, which exclude certain non-operating and/or non-cash expenses, that are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the descriptions and reconciliations to GAAP of these and other non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release.

Consolidated Operating Highlights

• Consolidated gross revenues totaled $786 million in the third quarter, an increase of 17% on a GAAP basis and 16% on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date revenues totaled $2.3 billion, an increase of 16% on a GAAP basis and 14% on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year period.
• Gross margin expansion helped drive third quarter and year-to-date increases of 20% and 19%, respectively, in consolidated net revenues (gross revenues less cost of sales and loss provisions) compared to the prior-year periods. Quarter-to-date and year-to-date net revenues increased 17% and 14% on an adjusted basis compared to the respective prior-year periods.
• On a GAAP basis, prior-year diluted earnings per share included a significant non-cash gain ($0.34 for the 2022 third quarter and $1.43 year-to-date for 2022, net of tax) on the revaluation of contingent consideration related to the AFF acquisition. Given the significance of the prior-year non-cash gains, GAAP-basis diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2023 were flat compared to the prior-year quarter and decreased 10% for the year-to-date period.
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 20% in the third quarter compared to the prior-year quarter, excluding the non-cash revaluation gain and certain other adjustments. Year-to-date adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 13% compared to the prior-year period.
• While GAAP net income for the third quarter decreased 4% over the prior-year quarter primarily due to the non-cash revaluation gain in 2022, adjusted net income, which excludes such non-cash revaluation gain and certain other adjustments as described herein, increased 16% compared to the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date net income decreased 14% on a GAAP basis and increased 9% on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 22% in the third quarter compared to the prior-year quarter. For the twelve month period ended September 30, 2023, adjusted EBITDA totaled $481 million, an increase of 18% over the comparable prior-year period.
• Operating cash flows for the twelve month period ended September 30, 2023 were $461 million and adjusted free cash flows (a non-GAAP measure) were $268 million, an increase of 12% and 7%, respectively, compared to the prior-year period.
  

Store Base and Platform Growth

• Pawn Stores: 104 pawn locations were added in the third quarter through a combination of acquisitions and store openings. Year-to-date, a total of 140 stores have been added, bringing the total number of locations at September 30, 2023 to 2,988 locations.
  
  By market, the Company reported the following store additions:
  • U.S. Pawn: 82 total stores were added in the third quarter through acquisitions and new store openings. A total of 79 stores were added through multiple acquisitions, which included locations in four new states for FirstCash (North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon and Iowa). Three de novo locations were opened during the quarter, including two in Texas and one in Las Vegas, Nevada.
    
    Year-to-date, the Company has added 88 locations and now has 1,181 full-service U.S. pawn locations in 29 states and the District of Columbia. This represents a 10% increase in the total number of stores compared to the same point one year ago.
    
    The Company also purchased the underlying real estate at ten of its existing pawn stores during the third quarter. This brings the total number of owned U.S. locations to 318.
  • Latin America Pawn: A total of 22 de novo locations were opened in Latin America during the third quarter of 2023, which included 20 locations in Mexico and two locations in Guatemala.
    
    Year-to-date, 52 locations have been opened in Latin America where the Company now has 1,807 total locations. The 52 de novo stores opened this year represent an 86% increase in the number of stores opened during the first nine months of 2022.

• Retail POS Payment Solutions Merchant Partnerships: AFF continued to grow market share with approximately 10,800 active retail and e-commerce merchant partner locations at September 30, 2023, representing a 26% increase in active merchant locations compared to September 30, 2022.
  

U.S. Pawn Segment Operating Results

• Segment pre-tax operating income in the third quarter of 2023 increased $14 million, or 20%, compared to the prior-year quarter. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin increased to 25% for the third quarter of 2023, an improvement over the 23% margin for the prior-year quarter.
• Year-to-date segment pre-tax operating income increased by $30 million, or 15%, compared to the prior-year period. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin increased to 24% for the year-to-date period, an improvement over the 23% margin for the comparable prior-year period.
• Pawn fee revenue increased 18% in total and 11% on a same-store basis for the third quarter of 2023 as compared to the prior-year quarter, reflecting store growth, continued inflationary pressures driving additional pawn loan demand and increased portfolio yield driven by improved customer redemption rates.
• Pawn receivables were at a record-level, increasing 22% in total at September 30, 2023 compared to the prior year. Same-store pawn receivables accelerated sequentially to an 11% quarter-over-quarter increase over the 6% quarter-over-quarter growth in the second quarter of 2023. The increase in total pawn receivables was driven by a 10% increase in total store count coupled with the strong same-store increase. The same-store increase was driven by a 7% increase in average loan size and a 4% increase in the number of loans outstanding.
• Retail merchandise sales in the third quarter of 2023 increased 4% compared to the prior-year quarter and increased 2% for the year-to-date period. Same-store retail sales decreased 3% compared to the prior-year quarter, as inventory levels remain relatively constrained due to strong turn rates and lower than normal pawn forfeiture rates.
• Gross profit from retail sales increased 9% in the third quarter compared to a year ago, driven by robust retail sales margins of 43% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 41% in the prior-year quarter, reflecting continued demand for value-priced, pre-owned merchandise and low levels of aged inventory.
• Annualized inventory turnover was 2.8 times for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2023, which was an improvement over the prior-year annualized inventory turnover of 2.7 times. Inventories aged greater than one year at September 30, 2023 remained extremely low at 1%.
• Operating expenses increased 11% in total and 3% on a same-store basis in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the prior-year quarter, primarily reflecting higher store counts coupled with slight increases in wages and certain other operating costs.

Latin America Pawn Segment Operating Results

Note: Certain growth rates below are calculated on a constant currency basis, a non-GAAP financial measure defined at the end of this release. The average Mexican peso to U.S. dollar exchange rate for the third quarter of 2023 was 17.1 pesos / dollar, a favorable change of 15% versus the comparable prior-year period, and for the nine month period ended September 30, 2023 was 17.8 pesos / dollar, a favorable change of 12% versus the prior-year period.

• Segment pre-tax operating income was a record $41 million in the third quarter and year-to-date was $112 million, both representing increases of 12% over the comparable prior-year periods. The earnings growth in 2023 reflects meaningful tailwind from the strength of the Mexican peso so far this year. On a currency adjusted basis, segment income declined 3% for the quarter, which was due primarily to an increased pace of store openings resulting in higher costs, along with higher year-over-year labor and other inflationary-related operating costs.
• Pawn loan fees increased 22%, or 4% on a constant currency basis, in the third quarter of 2023 as compared to the prior-year quarter, both in total and on a same-store basis, reflecting improved yields on pawn receivables.
• Pawn receivables at September 30, 2023 increased 15% while remaining flat on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year. On a same-store basis, pawn receivables increased 14%, or flat on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year. The Company believes the flattening in local currency pawn receivable growth reflects the typically short-term impact of government-mandated minimum wage and benefit increases in 2023 in Mexico which have benefited many cash-constrained consumers.
• Retail merchandise sales in the third quarter of 2023 increased 23%, or 5% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior-year quarter and increased 23% and 9%, respectively, for the year-to-date period. Same-store retail merchandise sales in the third quarter of 2023 were also up 23%, or 5% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior-year quarter, reflective of greater liquidity for cash-constrained customers.
• Retail margins were 36% for the third quarter of 2023 which was consistent with last year while representing a slight increase over the previous sequential quarter. Annualized inventory turnover was 4.3 times for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2023, while inventories aged greater than one year at September 30, 2023 remained extremely low at 1%.
• Operating expenses increased 33% in total and 31% on a same-store basis compared to the prior-year quarter. On a constant currency basis, they increased 14% in total and 13% on a same-store basis, primarily driven by general inflationary impacts and increases in the federally mandated minimum wage and other required benefit programs and increased store openings.

Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment - American First Finance (AFF) Operating Results

Note: The reconciliations of GAAP revenues and earnings for this segment to adjusted revenues and earnings are provided and described in more detail in the Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment Results section of this release.

• Third quarter segment pre-tax operating income totaled $39 million, an increase of 96% on a GAAP basis and 41% on an adjusted basis, which excludes the non-cash impacts of fair value purchase accounting requirements in the 2022 results, over the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date segment pre-tax operating income was $88 million, an increase of 141% on a GAAP basis and 13% on an adjusted basis over the prior-year period.
• Segment revenues for the quarter, comprised of lease-to-own ("LTO") fees and interest and fees on finance receivables, increased 21% on a GAAP basis and 17% on an adjusted basis, which excludes the non-cash impacts of fair value purchase accounting requirements in the 2022 results. Revenues for the year-to-date period increased 25% on a GAAP basis and 18% on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year period.
• Gross transaction volume from originated LTO and POS financing transactions totaled $251 million for the third quarter and $756 million year-to-date, representing an increase of 14% over the third quarter of last year despite a slight decline of 4.9% in same-door originations. Year-to-date gross transaction volumes were up 24% in total over the prior-year period.
• Combined gross leased merchandise and finance receivables outstanding at September 30, 2023, excluding the impacts of purchase accounting, increased 15% compared to the September 30, 2022 balances.
• AFF continues to provide significant up front expected lifetime loss provisioning on leased merchandise and finance receivable originations. The resulting combined loss provision on leased merchandise and finance receivables increased 13% for the quarter and 20% year-to-date, reflecting strong origination growth coupled with slightly increased provisioning rates on most products given ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.
• The average monthly net charge-off ("NCO") rate for combined leased merchandise and finance receivable products was 5.4% in the third quarter, which was slightly above the prior-year of 5.1%, but in line with the Company's targeted range for NCO's which are seasonally higher in the third quarter compared to other quarters. The combined NCO rate for the year-to-date period was 4.9% compared to the prior-year rate of 4.7%.
• Operating expenses decreased 4% compared to the prior-year quarter, primarily due to lower receivable acquisition costs and the realization of information technology cost synergies from the Company's acquisition of AFF.
  

Cash Flow and Liquidity

• All of the Company's business segments continue to generate significant operating cash flows. For the twelve month period ended September 30, 2023, consolidated operating cash flows totaled $461 million and adjusted free cash flows (a non-GAAP measure) were $268 million, increases of 12% and 7%, respectively, compared to the prior-year period.
• In October 2023, the Company obtained a $50 million increase in lender commitments under its U.S. revolving commercial bank credit facility, increasing the size of the facility from $590 million to $640 million. The August 2027 maturity date and all financial covenants remained unchanged under the expanded U.S. facility. Coupled with its Mexico bank line of credit, which was recently renewed and extended into 2027, the Company has total lender commitments under its bank credit facilities of approximately $675 million, providing ample funding for continued growth investments and shareholder returns.
• The majority (over $1 billion) of the Company's long-term financing remains fixed rate debt with favorable interest rates ranging from 4.625% to 5.625% and maturity dates not until 2028 and 2030.
• The Company's net debt to trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA ratio was 3.2x at September 30, 2023, which increased slightly compared to 3.1x at September 30, 2022, as increased borrowings as a result of the third quarter pawn acquisition activity was mostly offset by the 18% increase in trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.

Shareholder Returns

• The Company repurchased 95,000 shares of common stock during the third quarter at an aggregate cost of $9 million and an average cost per share of $92.79. For the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company repurchased 1,248,000 shares of common stock at an aggregate cost of $114 million and an average cost per share of $91.58. The Company has $200 million available under the share repurchase program authorized in July 2023. Future share repurchases are subject to expected liquidity, acquisitions and other investment opportunities, debt covenant restrictions, market conditions and other relevant factors.
• The Board of Directors declared a $0.35 per share fourth quarter cash dividend, which will be paid on November 30, 2023 to stockholders of record as of November 15, 2023. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.40 per share. Any future dividends are subject to approval by the Company's Board of Directors.
• The Company generated a 12% return on equity over the twelve months ended September 30, 2023 while the return on assets for the twelve months ended September 30, 2023 was 6%.
  

2023 Outlook

Based on strong third quarter results coupled with the recent pawn acquisitions and continued growth in earning assets, the Company's outlook for the remainder of 2023 remains highly positive which should result in further growth in revenue and earnings across all segments for the fourth quarter and full-year. Pawn operations are expected to remain the primary earnings driver in 2023 as the Company expects segment income from the combined U.S. and Latin America pawn segments to be approximately 80% of total segment level pre-tax income for the full year.

Anticipated conditions and trends for the remainder of 2023 include the following:

Pawn Operations:

• Expected fourth quarter results in the U.S. should benefit in particular from the addition of 88 U.S. locations year-to-date, of which 82 were added in the third quarter and provided limited contribution to the reported third quarter results.
• Pawn receivables at September 30, 2023 were up 22% in the U.S. and 15% in Latin America. U.S. pawn receivables continue to trend even higher thus far in October, and are now up by over 24% in total and over 12% on a same-store basis compared to the same point a year ago. The growth in pawn receivables would imply similarly expected growth in pawn fee revenue during the fourth quarter.
• Given the strong growth in store counts year-to-date, fourth quarter and full year retail sales are expected to grow in both markets as well. Retail margins are anticipated to remain strong at 42% to 43% in the U.S. and 35% to 36% in Latin America.
• While operating expenses are expected to rise in both the U.S. and Latin America in 2023 due to increased store counts along with continued inflationary impacts (primarily in Latin America), the Company anticipates continued operating leverage from the expected revenue growth from its pawn segments.
• In addition to the acquired U.S. stores, the Company expects to add approximately 65 total new locations in 2023. Management continues to see a solid pipeline of further new store openings and potential acquisition opportunities in both the U.S. and Latin America.
  

POS Payment Solutions (AFF) Operations:

• Transaction volumes, or originations, are now expected to increase 8% to 10% in the fourth quarter and 18% to 20% for the full year as compared to the respective prior-year periods. Resulting adjusted revenues are now forecast to grow in a range of 11% to 13% in the fourth quarter and 15% to 17% for the full year as compared to the respective prior-year periods.
• The Company expects AFF's estimated lease and loan loss provisioning rates for the remainder of 2023 will continue to reflect a conservative approach with provisioning above historical pre-pandemic loss rates for most vintages. Full year provision expense is expected to increase consistently with the expected increase in originations. Operating expenses for the full year are expected to increase in the 10% to 12% range in 2023 as well, primarily due to the expected increase in origination activity.

Additional Commentary and Analysis 

Mr. Wessel provided additional insights on the Company's third quarter results, "The strong operating performance in the third quarter, highlighted by the continued acceleration of revenue growth this year, reflected outstanding performance across all business segments and the continued execution of our long-term growth strategies.

"The pawn business remains especially resilient as we continue to see increasing demand, especially in our U.S. markets, that we believe to be driven by continued inflationary pressure and signs of increased credit tightening at the subprime level. To put this in context, during 2023 same-store U.S. pawn receivables were up 5% at March 31, up 6% at June 30, and were up 11% at September 30. Of note, the pawn receivable growth in the U.S. is being driven by both the size and number of pawn loans. Furthermore, our retail inventory turns remain high with sales margins at or near record levels as our deep value pricing model and interest-free layaway programs allow us to effectively serve cash-constrained consumers in uncertain economic environments.

"We continue to invest significantly in growing our core pawn operations in both the U.S. and Latin America through both acquisitions, at reasonable purchase multiples, and new store openings. We believe both markets remain attractive for continued long-term growth based on the large addressable markets and favorable consumer demographic trends.

"Year-to-date for 2023 we have added 140 pawn locations, and in the third quarter alone grew our store base by 104 units, which included locations in four new U.S. states which should provide further opportunities for growth in those markets through additional tuck-in openings and acquisitions. The stores acquired in the third quarter should be immediately accretive to earnings and are expected to produce over $20 million in annualized store-level EBITDA. Latin America expansion continues to re-accelerate as well, with the opening of 22 stores in the third quarter, 52 stores year-to-date and projected full year openings of 60 stores or more.

"We believe the robust store growth thus far in 2023 will provide further revenue and earnings momentum for the fourth quarter of this year and all of 2024. In addition, we continue to see meaningful opportunities to add additional locations through continued new store openings and acquisition opportunities. We also continue to strategically acquire the underlying real estate at many of our U.S. pawn locations. Year-to-date, we have acquired 24 locations and now own 318 of our U.S. locations which is EBITDA accretive and provides surety to protect from future rent increases and provides us greater strategic control of our store base.

"AFF's third quarter results were also outstanding, driven by continued growth in new merchant doors and origination activity which drove increased revenue and profitability. While combined lease and loan charge-offs are running below internal expectations, we continue to reserve for lease and loan losses using upfront provisioning based on historical pre-pandemic loss curves coupled with overlays reflecting the current macro environment. We remain highly optimistic on AFF's runway for long-term growth in what we believe is still an under-penetrated retail POS payment solutions market.

"With the strong operating performance to date from all segments, cash flows continue to be robust as evidenced by the $461 million of operating cash flows and $268 million of consolidated free cash flows generated over the trailing twelve months. Enabled by our dependable and growing cash flows, we recently increased the size of our U.S. bank credit facility and extended the term of the Mexico credit facility which provides further long-term capacity for strategic investments to drive shareholder returns.

"Our commitment to shareholder returns remains a key focus. Over the last twelve months, we have bought back 1,417,000 shares of common stock at a price of $128 million or $89.94 per share. In addition, we continue to pay a cash dividend which has increased every year for the past eight years.

"In summary, we believe our strong operating performance coupled with growth investments and shareholder returns will continue to drive long-term shareholder value," concluded Mr. Wessel.

About FirstCash

FirstCash is the leading international operator of pawn stores and a leading provider of technology-driven point-of-sale payment solutions, both focused on serving cash and credit-constrained consumers. FirstCash's more than 2,900 pawn stores in the U.S. and Latin America buy and sell a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, musical instruments and other merchandise, and make small non-recourse pawn loans secured by pledged personal property. FirstCash, through its wholly owned subsidiary, AFF, also provides lease-to-own and retail finance payment solutions for consumer goods and services through a nationwide network of approximately 10,800 active retail merchant partner locations. As one of the largest omni-channel providers of "no credit required" payment options, AFF's technology provides its merchant partners with seamless leasing and financing experiences in-store, online, in-cart and on mobile devices.

FirstCash is a component company in both the Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index® and the Russell 2000 Index®. FirstCash's common stock (ticker symbol "FCFS") is traded on the Nasdaq, the creator of the world's first electronic stock market. For additional information regarding FirstCash and the services it provides, visit FirstCash's websites located at http://www.firstcash.com and http://www.americanfirstfinance.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This release contains forward-looking statements about the business, financial condition, outlook and prospects of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (together, the "Company"). Forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "projects," "expects," "may," "estimates," "should," "plans," "targets," "intends," "could," "would," "anticipates," "potential," "confident," "optimistic," or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, objectives, estimates, guidance, expectations, outlook and future plans. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties.

While the Company believes the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurances such expectations will prove to be accurate. Security holders are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements made in this release. Such factors may include, without limitation, risks related to the extensive regulatory environment in which the Company operates; risks associated with the legal and regulatory proceedings that the Company is a party to, or may become a party to in the future, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") lawsuit filed against the Company; risks related to the Company's acquisitions, including the failure of the Company's acquisitions, to deliver the estimated value and benefits expected by the Company and the ability of the Company to continue to identify and consummate acquisitions on favorable terms; potential changes in consumer behavior and shopping patterns which could impact demand for the Company's pawn loan, retail, lease-to-own and retail finance products, including, as a result to, changes in the general economic conditions; labor shortages and increased labor costs; a deterioration in the economic conditions in the United States and Latin America, including as a result of inflation and rising interest rates, which potentially could have an impact on discretionary consumer spending and demand for the Company's products; currency fluctuations, primarily involving the Mexican peso; competition the Company faces from other retailers and providers of retail payment solutions; the ability of the Company to successfully execute on its business strategies; and other risks discussed and described in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the risks described in Part 1, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" thereof, and other reports filed with the SEC. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the ability of the Company to control, nor can the Company predict, in many cases, all of the risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

The Company's reportable segments are as follows:

• U.S. pawn
• Latin America pawn
• Retail POS payment solutions (AFF)
  

The Company provides revenues, cost of revenues, operating expenses, pre-tax operating income and earning assets by segment. Operating expenses include salary and benefit expenses of pawn store-level employees, occupancy costs, bank charges, security, insurance, utilities, supplies and other costs incurred by the pawn stores. Additionally, costs incurred in operating AFF have been classified as operating expenses, which include salary and benefit expenses of certain operations-focused departments, merchant partner incentives, bank and other payment processing charges, credit reporting costs, information technology costs, advertising costs and other operational costs incurred by AFF. Administrative expenses and amortization expense of intangible assets related to the purchase of AFF are not included in the segment pre-tax operating income.

U.S. Pawn Segment Results

U.S. Pawn Operating Results and Margins (dollars in thousands)

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