FCFS - FirstCash Reports Record First Quarter Earnings Results; Pawn Fee Revenues Increase 15% Coupled with Growth in AFF Originations; Stock Repurchases Total 782000 Shares and $0.33 Quarterly Cash Dividend Declared

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 27, 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, today announced operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 2023. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share, which will be paid in May 2023.

Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, “We are pleased to report outstanding operating results, highlighted by double-digit consolidated revenue growth over last year and record first quarter earnings per share. FirstCash’s core pawn operations in the U.S. and Latin America posted combined first quarter pawn fee growth of 15% with double-digit earnings growth over last year in both segments.

“The retail POS payment solutions segment (AFF) recorded strong results as well, driven by significantly improved transaction origination volumes coupled with improved net charge-off rates compared to the first quarter of last year. While the strong growth in origination activity creates short-term earnings drag due to upfront CECL credit provisioning, we now expect AFF’s revenue and earnings growth in the back half of this year to be stronger than originally forecast due to better than expected first quarter growth in lease and loan portfolios.

“We continued to invest in new pawn locations during the first quarter, opening 14 new stores in Latin America and acquiring three U.S. locations, all funded from operating cash flows. In addition to funding these investments and year-over-year growth in earning assets, we repurchased $71 million of stock while simultaneously reducing outstanding debt and our net leverage ratio during the quarter.

“Given these first quarter results, we believe that our revenue and earnings outlook for 2023 remains highly positive.”

This release contains adjusted financial measures, which exclude certain non-operating and/or non-cash expenses, which 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

• The Company posted record first quarter consolidated revenues, net income, earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA:
  • Consolidated revenues totaled $763 million in the first quarter, an increase of 16% on a GAAP basis and 13% on an adjusted basis compared to the prior-year quarter.
  • Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter increased 76% over the prior-year quarter on a GAAP basis while adjusted diluted earnings per share, which excludes certain purchase accounting and other adjustments which primarily impacted prior year results, increased 6% compared to the prior-year quarter.
  • Net income for the first quarter increased 69% over the prior-year quarter on a GAAP basis while adjusted net income, which excludes certain purchase accounting and other adjustments as described herein, increased 1% compared to the prior-year quarter.
  • Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter increased 8% compared to the prior-year quarter. For the twelve month period ended March 31, 2023, adjusted EBITDA totaled $446 million, an increase of 37% over the comparable prior-year period.
  • Operating cash flows for the twelve month period ended March 31, 2023 were $460 million and adjusted free cash flows (a non-GAAP measure) were $301 million, an increase of 68% and 111%, respectively, compared to the prior-year period.

Store Base and Platform Growth

• Pawn Stores: During the first quarter, the Company added a total of 17 new pawn locations:
  • U.S. Pawn : The Company completed the acquisitions of three stores, which included two stores in Oklahoma and one store in Alabama. The Company has an industry leading 1,102 full-service U.S. pawn locations in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
    
    Additionally, the Company purchased the underlying real estate at five of its existing pawn stores during the first quarter. This brings the total number of owned U.S. locations to 299.
  • Latin America Pawn : A total of 14 de novo locations were opened in Latin America during the first quarter of 2023. In total, the Company now has 1,775 locations in Latin America.

• Retail POS Payment Solutions Merchant Partnerships : AFF continued to grow market share with approximately 9,800 active retail and e-commerce merchant partner locations at March 31, 2023, representing a 43% increase in active merchant locations compared to March 31, 2022.

U.S. Pawn Segment Operating Results

• Segment pre-tax operating income in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 11% compared to the prior-year quarter. The resulting segment pre-tax operating margin was 24% for the first quarter of 2023, an improvement over the 23% margin for the prior-year quarter.
• Pawn fee revenue increased 14% for the first quarter of 2023 in total and 11% on a same-store basis, as compared to the prior-year quarter, reflecting continued inflationary pressures driving additional demand and increased portfolio yield driven by improved customer redemption rates during the tax refund season.
• Pawn receivables increased 6% in total at March 31, 2023 compared to the prior year, while same-store pawn receivables were up 5%.
• Retail merchandise sales in the first quarter of 2023 increased 3% compared to the prior-year quarter. On a same-store basis, retail sales decreased 1% compared to the prior-year quarter. The contraction in same-store retail sales was primarily due to lower than normal merchandise inventory levels in part due to slightly lower than normal pawn forfeiture rates.
• Retail sales margins remained strong at 42% in the first quarter of 2023, 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 March 31, 2023 and inventories remain well-positioned, with aged inventory (greater than one year) remaining low at 2%.
• Operating expenses increased 11% in total and 8% on a same-store basis in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the prior-year quarter, reflecting slightly increased staffing levels necessary to support revenue growth, the impact of higher variable compensation expense driven by increased net revenues and segment profit and inflationary 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 first quarter of 2023 was 18.7 pesos / dollar, a favorable change of 9% versus the comparable prior-year period.

• First quarter segment pre-tax operating income increased 11%, or 6% on a constant currency basis, over the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by increased retail merchandise sales and pawn loan fees. The resulting pre-tax operating margin was 18% for the first quarter of 2023 compared to 19% in the prior-year quarter.
• Pawn receivables were at record levels as of March 31, 2023, increasing 18%, or 8% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year. On a same-store basis, pawn receivables increased 18%, or 7% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year.
• Pawn loan fees increased 18%, or 8% on a constant currency basis, in the first quarter of 2023 as compared to the prior-year quarter, both in total and on a same-store basis, reflecting growth in pawn receivables.
• Retail merchandise sales in the first quarter of 2023 increased 22%, or 12% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior-year quarter. Same-store retail merchandise sales in the first quarter of 2023 were up 21%, or 11% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior-year quarter.
• Retail margins remained within historical norms at 34% for the first quarter of 2023. Annualized inventory turnover was 4.3 times for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2023, while inventories aged greater than one year as of March 31, 2023 remained extremely low at 1%.
• Operating expenses increased 22% in total and 21% on a same-store basis compared to the prior-year quarter. On a constant currency basis, they increased 13% in total and 12% on a same-store basis, driven in part by the increased pace of new store openings, higher incentive compensation expense related to growth in net revenue and segment earnings along with general inflationary impacts and increases in the federally mandated minimum wage and other required benefit programs.

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.

• Segment revenues for the quarter, comprised of lease-to-own (“LTO”) fees and interest and fees on finance receivables, increased 24% on a GAAP basis and 14% on an adjusted basis, which excludes the non-cash impacts of fair value purchase accounting requirements in the 2022 results.
• Gross transaction volume from originated LTO and POS financing transactions totaled $250 million for the first quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 35% over the first quarter of last year. The growth was driven by a combination of an approximate 15% quarter-over-quarter increase in transaction volumes at existing merchant door locations coupled with 43% growth in the number of active merchant locations at March 31, 2023 compared to March 31, 2022.
• Combined gross leased merchandise and finance receivables outstanding at March 31, 2023, excluding the impacts of purchase accounting, increased 15% compared to the March 31, 2022 balances.
• The combined provision for lease and loan losses for the quarter increased by $14 million, or 22%, over the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by the 35% increase in quarter-over-quarter origination activity. The overall provisioning rates improved due to lower than expected charge-offs from 2022 origination vintages.
• AFF experienced steady to improved delinquency and charge-off trends in the first quarter of 2023 following the tightening in decisioning made early in 2022. The average monthly net charge-off (“NCO”) rate for leased merchandise in the first quarter was 5.0%, which was improved compared to 5.3% in the prior-year quarter. The average monthly NCO rate for finance receivable products also improved to 4.3% as compared to the prior-year rate of 4.7%.
• Operating expenses increased 16% compared to the prior-year quarter, primarily due to an increase in origination-driven variable expenses associated with the 35% quarter-over-quarter increase in gross transaction volume.
• Segment pre-tax operating income for the quarter totaled $23 million compared to prior-year first quarter earnings of $5 million on a GAAP basis and $25 million on an adjusted basis, which excludes the non-cash impacts of fair value purchase accounting requirements specific to 2022. The small decline in segment adjusted pre-tax operating income relates primarily to credit provisioning and operating expenses associated with the increased origination activity which caused net earnings drag (upfront credit provisioning net of incremental revenue) of approximately $15 million before taxes, or $0.25 per share, net of taxes.
  

Cash Flow and Liquidity

• All of the Company’s operating segments continue to generate significant operating cash flows. For the twelve month period ended March 31, 2023, consolidated operating cash flows totaled $460 million and adjusted free cash flows (a non-GAAP measure) were $301 million, increases of 68% and 111%, respectively, compared to the prior-year period.
• The Company’s strong liquidity position at March 31, 2023 includes cash balances of $101 million and ample borrowing capacity under its bank lines of credit. The majority of the Company’s long-term financing is fixed rate debt with favorable terms and maturity dates not until 2028 and 2030.
• The Company’s leverage ratio was reduced in the first quarter of 2023 as the net debt to trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA ratio improved to 2.8x as of March 31, 2023 compared to 3.5x as of March 31, 2022.
  

Shareholder Returns

• The Company repurchased 782,000 shares of common stock during the first quarter of 2023 at an aggregate cost of $71 million and an average cost per share of $90.37. During the first quarter of 2023, the Company completed the share repurchase program authorized in April 2022 and has approximately $44 million remaining under the share repurchase program authorized in October 2022. 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 $0.33 per share second quarter cash dividend on common shares outstanding which will be paid on May 31, 2023 to stockholders of record as of May 15, 2023. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.32 per share. Any future dividends are subject to approval by the Company’s Board of Directors.
• The Company generated a 15% return on equity during the twelve months ended March 31, 2023, compared to an 8% return for the comparable prior-year period, while the return on assets for the twelve months ended March 31, 2023 was 7% compared to 4% in the comparable prior-year period.
  

2023 Outlook

Based on first quarter results and current trends, the Company’s outlook for 2023 remains highly positive, with expected year-over-year growth in revenue and earnings in all segments driven by the continued growth in earning asset balances coupled with recent store additions. Anticipated conditions and trends for the remainder of 2023 include the following:

Pawn Operations:

• 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.
• Inflationary economic environments have historically driven increased customer demand for both pawn loans and value-priced merchandise offered in pawn stores. In addition, credit tightening by competing unsecured lenders has historically driven additional demand for pawn products.
  • Pawn receivables at March 31, 2023 were up 6% in the U.S. while Latin American balances were up 18%, or 8% on a currency adjusted basis. U.S. pawn receivables are trending higher thus far in April compared to last year, now up nearly 8% over the same point a year ago and reflecting a strong post tax season recovery. The Company continues to expect mid-single digit or better growth in total pawn receivables in both markets over the full year.
  • Full year retail sales are expected to grow in both markets as well, with margins anticipated to remain above 40% in the U.S. and in the mid-thirty percent range in Latin America.
  • While operating expenses are expected to rise moderately in both the U.S. and Latin America in 2022 due to increased store counts along with continued inflationary impacts, the Company continues to project robust full year earnings growth from its pawn segments.
• The Company expects approximately 60 de novo store additions in Latin America in 2023 along with four U.S. de novo locations expected to be opened this year as well. Additionally, three U.S. locations have been acquired year-to-date and management continues to evaluate additional opportunities for acquisitions in both the U.S. and Latin America.

POS Payment Solutions (AFF) Operations:

• With the significant growth in transaction origination volumes in the first quarter of 2023 and early April trends, management expects second quarter 2023 originations to increase in a range of 18% to 22% over the second quarter of 2022 and has increased the expected growth in full year 2023 transaction volumes and revenues to now be in a range of 12% to 18%. As a reminder, AFF had significant transaction volume growth in the second half of 2022 which is expected to compress 2023 transaction growth rates in the third and fourth quarter this year.
• Second quarter 2023 segment earnings for AFF are expected to be roughly equal to the second quarter of last year, with forecast increases in revenue expected to be offset by increases in the lease and loan loss provisioning and other variable operating expenses tied to the growth in transaction volume. The Company continues to expect full year-over-year segment earnings growth for AFF, almost all of which is expected to occur in the second half of 2023, based on the increased earning asset portfolio.
• The Company expects AFF's estimated lease and loan loss provisioning rates for the remainder of 2023 to reflect a conservative approach similar to 2022, with provisioning above historical pre-pandemic loss rates for most vintages. Operating expenses for the full year are expected to increase in 2023 as well, primarily due to the expected increase in origination activity.
  

Interest Expense, Tax Rates and Currency:

• While the Company expects some level of net de-leveraging by the end of 2023, net interest expense is expected to increase in 2023 compared to 2022 by approximately $12 million to $15 million due to higher floating interest rates on the borrowings under the revolving credit facilities.
• For the full year of 2023, the effective income tax rate under current tax codes in the U.S. and Latin America is expected to range from 24.5% to 25.5%. This compares to the 2022 adjusted effective tax rate of 23.4%.
• Each full point change in the exchange rate of the Mexican peso represents an approximate $0.08 to $0.10 annual impact on earnings per share.
  

Additional Commentary and Analysis

Mr. Wessel provided additional insights on the Company’s first quarter operating performance, “The operating environment for FirstCash remains highly positive across all of its business segments, and we believe that the ongoing tightening of consumer credit could drive further demand for the Company’s pawn and retail POS payment solutions products.

“Pawn results in both the U.S. and Latin America saw continued year-over-year growth in pawn receivables and resulting pawn fees. Pawn retail sales remained especially strong in Latin America, and while U.S. retail sales were slightly constrained by inventory levels, the domestic retail margins remained above historical averages. Pawn operations further benefited by strong gold prices, which propelled increased scrap proceeds and margins during the first quarter and could benefit collateral values going forward in 2023.

“The Company continues to focus on the long-term growth of its core pawn operations. First quarter acquisitions and store openings added 17 new locations and we remain on track to add 60 or more de novo stores this year. We continue to see additional pawn acquisition opportunities in both the U.S. and Latin America as well. Furthermore, we continue to seek additional operating efficiencies through store footprint optimization and technology initiatives.

“For AFF, the growth in year-over-year originations in the first quarter was especially strong, driven by improved merchant transaction volumes compared to a year ago coupled with 43% growth in merchant partner locations served by AFF. Credit performance remains consistent as AFF continues to strategically adjust decisioning, especially at the lower end of its credit spectrum. As a result, we have increased expectations for AFF’s full year origination and revenue growth while continuing to be disciplined in customer decisioning. While the increased origination volumes create short-term profitability headwinds as a function of the upfront CECL accounting reserve methodology, we believe the resulting growth in the lease and loan portfolio should drive further profitability in the back half of 2023.

“Consolidated first quarter operating cash flows were robust with significant contributions across all operating segments. In addition to the investments in new locations and growth in earning assets, we are providing further shareholder returns through our dividend program and ongoing stock repurchase programs under which we repurchased 782,000 shares during the first quarter alone and a total of 2,986,000 shares since the acquisition of AFF.

“In summary, although there continues to be significant macro-economic uncertainties, we are off to a solid start in 2023 and believe that FirstCash is well positioned to thrive in the current environment,” 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 2,800 pawn stores 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 9,800 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 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 and the shareholder class action and derivative lawsuits filed against the Company; risks related to the AFF transaction and the Company’s other acquisitions, including the failure of any acquisition, including the AFF acquisition, to deliver the estimated value and benefits expected by the Company; 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.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(unaudited, in thousands)

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited, in thousands)

⁽¹⁾ As a result of purchase accounting, AFF’s March 31, 2022 as reported earning asset balances contain significant fair value adjustments, which were fully amortized during 2022. See reconciliation of reported AFF earning asset balances to AFF earning asset balances adjusted to exclude the impacts of purchase accounting in the “Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment Results” section elsewhere in this release.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION
(UNAUDITED)

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.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

U.S. Pawn Segment Results

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

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

U.S. Pawn Earning Assets and Portfolio Metrics (dollars in thousands, except as otherwise noted)

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

Latin America Pawn Segment Results

Constant currency results are non-GAAP financial measures, which exclude the effects of foreign currency translation and are calculated by translating current-year results at prior-year average exchange rates. See the “Constant Currency Results” section below for additional discussion of constant currency operating results.

Latin America Pawn Operating Results and Margins (dollars in thousands)

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

Latin America Pawn Earning Assets and Portfolio Metrics (dollars in thousands, except as otherwise noted)

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

Retail POS Payment Solutions Segment Results

Retail POS Payment Solutions Operating Results (dollars in thousands)

⁽¹⁾ As a result of purchase accounting, AFF’s as reported amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2022 contain significant fair value adjustments. The adjusted amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2022 exclude these fair value purchase accounting adjustments.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

Retail POS Payment Solutions Gross Transaction Volumes (dollars in thousands)

Retail POS Payment Solutions Earning Assets (dollars in thousands)

⁽¹⁾ Includes $1.2 million of intersegment transactions as of March 31, 2023 related to the Company offering AFF’s LTO payment solution as a payment option in its U.S. pawn stores that are eliminated upon consolidation.

⁽²⁾ As a result of purchase accounting, AFF’s March 31, 2022 as reported earnings assets contain significant fair value adjustments, which were fully amortized during 2022. The adjusted amounts as of March 31, 2022 exclude these fair value purchase accounting adjustments.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
OPERATING INFORMATION (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

Allowance for Lease and Loan Losses and Other Portfolio Metrics (dollars in thousands)

⁽¹⁾ Calculated as provision for lease or loan losses as a percentage of the respective gross transaction volume originated.

⁽²⁾ Calculated as charge-offs, net of recoveries, as a percentage of the respective average earning asset balance before allowance for lease or loan losses (adjusted to exclude any fair value purchase accounting adjustments, as applicable).

⁽³⁾ Calculated as the percentage of the respective contractual earning asset balance owed that is 1 to 90 days past due (the Company charges off leases and finance receivables when they are 90 days or more contractually past due).

⁽⁴⁾ As a result of purchase accounting, AFF’s as reported allowance for lease losses for the three months ended March 31, 2022 contain significant fair value adjustments. The adjusted amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2022 exclude these fair value purchase accounting adjustments. As a result of the significance of these accounting adjustments, the Company does not believe that the unadjusted leased merchandise portfolio metrics for the three months ended March 31, 2022 provide a useful comparison against the March 31, 2023 amounts.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
PAWN STORE LOCATIONS AND MERCHANT PARTNER LOCATIONS

Pawn Operations

As of March 31, 2023, the Company operated 2,877 pawn store locations comprised of 1,102 stores in 25 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, 1,686 stores in 32 states in Mexico, 61 stores in Guatemala, 14 stores in Colombia and 14 stores in El Salvador.

The following table details pawn store count activity for the three months ended March 31, 2023:

⁽¹⁾ In addition to new store openings, the Company strategically relocated one store in the U.S. and one store in Latin America during the three months ended March 31, 2023.

⁽²⁾ Store consolidations were primarily acquired locations over the past six years which have been combined with overlapping stores and for which the Company expects to maintain a significant portion of the acquired customer base in the consolidated location.

POS Payment Solutions

As of March 31, 2023, AFF provided LTO and retail POS payment solutions for consumer goods and services through a network of approximately 9,800 active retail merchant partner locations located in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)

The Company uses certain financial calculations such as adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted retail POS payment solutions segment metrics and constant currency results as factors in the measurement and evaluation of the Company’s operating performance and period-over-period growth. The Company derives these financial calculations on the basis of methodologies other than generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), primarily by excluding from a comparable GAAP measure certain items the Company does not consider to be representative of its actual operating performance. These financial calculations are “non-GAAP financial measures” as defined under the SEC rules. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures in operating its business because management believes they are less susceptible to variances in actual operating performance that can result from the excluded items, other infrequent charges and currency fluctuations. The Company presents these financial measures to investors because management believes they are useful to investors in evaluating the primary factors that drive the Company’s core operating performance and provide greater transparency into the Company’s results of operations. However, items that are excluded and other adjustments and assumptions that are made in calculating these non-GAAP financial measures are significant components in understanding and assessing the Company’s financial performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, the Company’s GAAP financial measures. Further, because these non-GAAP financial measures are not determined in accordance with GAAP and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, the non-GAAP financial measures, as presented, may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures of other companies.

While acquisitions are an important part of the Company’s overall strategy, the Company has adjusted the applicable financial calculations to exclude merger and acquisition expenses, including the Company’s transaction expenses incurred in connection with its acquisition of AFF and the impacts of purchase accounting with respect to the AFF acquisition, in order to allow more accurate comparisons of the financial results to prior periods. In addition, the Company does not consider these merger and acquisition expenses to be related to the organic operations of the acquired businesses or its continuing operations, and such expenses are generally not relevant to assessing or estimating the long-term performance of the acquired businesses. Merger and acquisition expenses include incremental costs directly associated with merger and acquisition activities, including professional fees, legal expenses, severance, retention and other employee-related costs, contract breakage costs and costs related to the consolidation of technology systems and corporate facilities, among others.

The Company has certain leases in Mexico which are denominated in U.S. dollars. The lease liability of these U.S.-dollar-denominated leases, which is considered a monetary liability, is remeasured into Mexican pesos using current period exchange rates, resulting in the recognition of foreign currency exchange gains or losses. The Company has adjusted the applicable financial measures to exclude these remeasurement gains or losses (i) because they are non-cash, non-operating items that could create volatility in the Company’s consolidated results of operations due to the magnitude of the end of period lease liability being remeasured and (ii) to improve comparability of current periods presented with prior periods.

In conjunction with the Cash America merger in 2016, the Company recorded certain lease intangibles related to above- or below-market lease liabilities of Cash America, which are included in the operating lease right of use asset on the consolidated balance sheets. As the Company continues to opportunistically purchase real estate from landlords at certain Cash America stores, the associated lease intangible, if any, is written off and gain or loss is recognized. The Company has adjusted the applicable financial measures to exclude these gains or losses given the variability in size and timing of these transactions and because they are non-cash, non-operating gains or losses. The Company believes this improves comparability of operating results for current periods presented with prior periods.

FIRSTCASH HOLDINGS, INC.
RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (CONTINUED)
(UNAUDITED)

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share

Management believes the presentation of adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share provides investors with greater transparency and provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial performance and prospects for the future by excluding items that management believes are non-operating in nature and not representative of the Company’s core operating performance. In addition, management believes the adjustments shown below are useful to investors in order to allow them to compare the Company’s financial results for the current periods presented with the prior periods presented.

The following table provides a reconciliation between net income and diluted earnings per share calculated in accordance with GAAP to adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, which are shown net of tax (in thousands, except per share amounts):