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what it is
World Acceptance lends small-dollar money and sells loan-linked add-ons to people with limited access to bank credit.
how it gets paid
Last year World Acceptance made $565M in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 241.8% last year. The $408M revenue figure mattered because it was the only clean proof the business still moves a lot of money even when earnings sag.
what just happened
WRLD posted $408M in revenue, while EPS came in at -$0.30.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
40/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
11.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
12.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$16.30 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 41/100 — below average
What they do
World Acceptance lends small-dollar money and sells loan-linked add-ons to people with limited access to bank credit.
It runs 1,000 offices across 16 states plus Mexico. That scale gives you local reach in a business where walking in still matters. The mix is sticky. Loans drive the volume, and insurance plus add-ons ride the same customer. Leaving is painful when the next lender is a credit card with no interest-free fairy tale. This is not a wide moat. It is a dense, unpleasant one. The proof is $565M in revenue with a 29.4% operating margin.
How they make money
$565M
annual revenue · their business grew +241.8% last year
total revenue
$565M
+241.8%
The products that matter
originates installment loans
Small Installment Loans
$540M · 95.6% of revenue
This is the business. It generated $540M last year, and the model only works if high-yield loans outrun charge-offs, funding costs, and the bad decisions every credit cycle exposes.
95.6% of revenue
adds fee income to originations
Credit Insurance
$25M · 4.4% of revenue
This $25M stream matters, but it rides on top of the lending book. If originations slow or regulators squeeze add-on products, this does not save the story.
ancillary only
Key numbers
$565M
revenue
That is the size of the business. It is big enough to matter and small enough to get knocked around.
29.4%
operating margin
For every $1 of sales, $0.29 is left after operating costs. That is decent for a lender with heavy credit risk.
$648M
long-term debt
Debt is bigger than revenue. That is a clean way to measure how much the balance sheet leans on the business.
11.9x
trailing p/e
You are paying 11.9 times trailing earnings. That is cheap only if the credit book stays calm.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 15 / 100
- long-term debt $648M (50% 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 WRLD right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
WRLD posted $408M in revenue, while EPS came in at -$0.30.
Revenue was up 189% vs. prior year, but the quarter still showed a loss. That is what happens when loan economics and credit stress move in opposite directions.
$408M
revenue
$0.30
eps
n/a
n/a
the number that mattered
The $408M revenue figure mattered because it was the only clean proof the business still moves a lot of money even when earnings sag.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
The main risk is simple: WRLD is growing new borrowers faster than the public data proves those borrowers can repay. In a subprime book, time is part of the underwriting process. You do not really know the quality of fast growth until the loans age.
med
credit quality deterioration
New customer volume rose 16%. In a subprime loan book, newer vintages have not yet had time to prove themselves. If delinquencies rise, the 29.4% operating margin is the cushion that gets used up first.
At 29.4% on $565M of revenue, operating profit is roughly $166M. Credit losses do not need to get absurd to make that number look very mortal.
med
funding pressure
WRLD carries $648M in long-term debt, equal to 50% of capital. For a lender, funding cost is not background noise. It is one side of the spread that determines whether the loan book is actually profitable.
If borrowing costs stay elevated while loan performance softens, the spread between what WRLD earns and what it pays gets tighter. That's an earnings problem and a balance-sheet problem at the same time.
med
revenue concentration
Interest and loan fees make up 95.6% of revenue. Credit insurance is only 4.4%. There is no second engine waiting if originations slow, collections weaken, or loan rules change.
When one revenue line drives almost the whole business, a problem in underwriting becomes a company-wide problem fast. Same business. Same weak point.
Almost the whole business depends on one thing: a high-risk loan book earning enough to cover future losses while carrying $648M of debt.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
Q4 FY2026 earnings
Expected April 29, 2026. Watch provisions for loan losses and any change in delinquency language. Fast growth is easy. Clean collections are the proof beat.
margin
29.4% operating margin
This is the number that makes WRLD look cheap. If it slips while revenue is already down 1.5% from a year ago, the valuation argument gets thinner fast.
credit
new customer quality
Volume rose 16%. That sounds good until you remember who the borrowers are. The seasoning of those loans matters more than the growth rate that launched them.
capital
$50M buyback pace
On a $661M market cap, the authorization matters. If management buys aggressively, that signals confidence. If it stays mostly unused, the signal gets quieter.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
40 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a steady lender. Credit businesses often look fine right up until provisions arrive.
risk rank
3
That reads roughly middle of the pack on overall stock risk, but the 15 / 100 price stability score tells you the ride itself is rougher than that label suggests.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for WRLD is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$147
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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