World Acceptance earnings beat by $1.13, revenue fell short of estimates

World Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker WRLD, reported robust second quarter fiscal 2027 results for the week of publication. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.92, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $1.13. Although revenue tallied $139.2 million, it fell short of the analyst estimate of $140.7 million on a year-over-year basis.

The company managed to turn a profit for the quarter, recording $8.8 million in net income, representing $1.92 per diluted share, a marked improvement from the $1.7 million loss, or -$0.33 per share, the prior year's quarter had seen. The provision for credit losses saw a decline of $3.8 million to $46.0 million from $49.8 million in the preceding quarter.

Notably, net charge-offs as a percentage of average net loans receivable increased to 17.6% from 17.1% YoY. The company's past-due accounts decreased to 5.4% as of September 30, 2026, down from 5.8% a year earlier. In response to these results, the company announced a loosening of underwriting standards and plans to incrementally increase new customer lending in the upcoming quarters.

General and administrative expenses decreased by $2.1 million, or 2.9%, to $69.9 million. Interest expenses fell by $2.7 million, or 18.8%, driven by a $3.0 million early call penalty and a $0.7 million write-off of debt issuance costs that were not recurring in the prior year. During the same period, World Acceptance repurchased 133,199 shares, or 3.0% of outstanding stock, for about $25.0 million.

The company's gross loans outstanding were $1.319 billion as of September 30, 2026, marking a slight increase of 0.3% from $1.315 billion the year before.