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what it is
CPI Card Group makes payment cards and card services for banks, credit unions, and prepaid programs in the US and UK.
how it gets paid
Last year Cpi Card made $544M in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 13.1% last year. The $390M quarter mattered most because it was 183% above last year and showed demand came back hard.
what just happened
CPI's latest quarter put $390M of revenue on the board.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
30/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
13.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
14.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$1.64 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 18/100 — weak
What they do
CPI Card Group makes payment cards and card services for banks, credit unions, and prepaid programs in the US and UK.
CPI sits inside 4,000+ direct and indirect customers. You do not swap the company that prints your bank cards the way you swap a phone app. Reissuing cards, rerouting fulfillment, and fixing errors is a mess, and 31.2% gross margin on $544M of sales shows the stickiness pays.
How they make money
$544M
annual revenue · their business grew +13.1% last year
total revenue
$544M
+13.1%
The products that matter
physical payment card production
Debit and Credit Cards
$128.9M · +40%
This segment reached $128.9M in Q4 2025, up 40% from last year. Arroweye helped. So did demand for contactless cards. This is still the center of gravity.
core revenue engine
digital card issuance and related services
Digital Solutions
no breakout given
Management keeps pointing to digital as the better-economics piece. Fair enough. But this snapshot does not show separate revenue or margin for it yet. If you own the stock, that missing disclosure matters.
watch the mix
identity and secure issuance
Secure ID & Other
$24.2M · flat
This line was $24.2M in the latest segment view and flat from last year. It adds some diversification. It does not change the fact that the core economics still depend on payment cards.
16% of shown mix
Key numbers
$544M
annual revenue
Sales at this level tell you the business is bigger than its market value.
31.2%
gross margin
That means about 31 cents of each sales dollar stayed after direct production costs.
$308M
long-term debt
Debt at this level is 64% of capital, so leverage is not decoration.
14.9%
return on capital
The business is earning real returns, but not enough to ignore the balance sheet.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $308M (64% of capital)
C+ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for PMTS right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
CPI's latest quarter put $390M of revenue on the board.
Revenue was up 183% vs. prior year, and EPS hit $0.64. Gross margin came in at 31.2%, so the company kept about 31 cents before overhead.
$136M
revenue
$0.64
eps
31.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The $390M quarter mattered most because it was 183% above last year and showed demand came back hard.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
PMTS is trying to prove that one strong year was the start of a cleaner earnings profile, not a temporary rebound. With a 2.8% net margin and $308M of long-term debt, that is a narrow bridge.
high
margin slippage
Gross margin fell to 31.3% from 35.6%, while net margin is just 2.8%. That is a thin earnings cushion on more than $543M of reported 2025 revenue.
If costs stay sticky or pricing softens, revenue can grow while equity value goes nowhere. Welcome to low-margin manufacturing.
high
debt stays in charge
PMTS carries $308M in long-term debt, equal to 64% of capital, with net debt to EBITDA at 3.1x. That is a lot for a business with only $15M of full-year net income.
If EBITDA cools from the Q4 record, the stock stops being a recovery story and starts looking like a balance-sheet story again.
med
digital story still lacks proof
Management points to digital issuance as part of the better-mix case, but this snapshot does not provide separate revenue or margin disclosure for Digital Solutions.
If the mix stays mostly physical cards, the market keeps valuing PMTS like a cyclical manufacturer rather than a cleaner payments infrastructure story.
med
governance and communication overhang
The company has dealt with securities litigation before, including an $11M settlement tied to a 2023 filing, and it also announced leadership changes in february 2026.
Even if operations improve, investors may keep demanding a discount until reporting quality and leadership stability feel less fragile.
Put the numbers next to each other and the message is blunt: $29.4M of Q4 adjusted EBITDA says improvement, but 2.8% net margin plus $308M of long-term debt says you still need execution with very little drama.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings date
Q1 2026 earnings report
Expected on may 6, 2026. Consensus EPS is $0.29. The bigger question is whether Q4's $29.4M EBITDA strength was a one-quarter spike or a new floor.
margin metric
gross margin recovery
Gross margin fell to 31.3% from 35.6%. If that gap does not start closing, the revenue rebound will keep doing less for you than the headline suggests.
business mix
digital solutions disclosure
Management says digital is part of the answer. You want harder evidence — revenue, adoption, or margin detail — not just a nicer segment label.
balance-sheet risk
debt paydown after the rebound
Long-term debt is still $308M. If earnings are truly improving, you should see that show up in lower debt ratios next, not only in celebratory quarter-end slides.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
30 / 100
Low predictability means the quarterly numbers can swing around more than you want. In human-speak, analysts do not see this as a calm compounding story.
risk rank
5
Risk rank 5 means it is safer than only 5% of stocks in the data set. Translation: this sits near the risky end of the pool.
price stability
5 / 100
The stock has been volatile. If you own it, you are signing up for a wider range of outcomes than the average small cap.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for PMTS is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$14
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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