Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (EEFT – Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $1.58, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11%. The bottom line rose 40% year over year.

Total revenues improved 11% year over year and 4% on a constant-currency basis to $1 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 5.1%.

The strong quarterly results were aided by strategic buyouts, digital initiatives and Dandelion products. However, an increased expense level partially offset the positives.

EEFT’s Q1 Update

EEFT’s net income totaled $37.5 million, which fell 2.3% year over year. Operating income declined 4% year over year and 10% on a constant-currency basis to $72 million.

Total operating expenses of $939.8 million increased 11.8% year over year due to higher direct operating costs, salaries and benefits, and selling, general and administrative expenses.

Adjusted EBITDA improved 7% year over year and 1% on a constant-currency basis at $126.7 million.

EEFT’s Segmental Performances

The EFT Processing segment’s revenues rose 27% year over year and 19% on a constant-currency basis to $295.4 million in the first quarter. The metric beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $257.2 million.

Adjusted EBITDA was $55.2 million, which advanced 16% year over year and 12% on a constant-currency basis.

Operating income remained stable year over year but grew 1% on a constant-currency basis to $23.4 million. Installed ATMs rose 2% year over year to 56,347, while active ATMs increased 1% to 52,579.

The segment’s quarterly results benefited from continued growth in acquiring, infrastructure sales tied to the REN platform and contributions from the CoreCard acquisition completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The epay segment recorded revenues of $293.5 million, which rose 10% year over year and 2% on a constant-currency basis. The metric beat the consensus mark of $274 million.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 19% from the year-ago figure and 12% on a constant-currency basis to $33.9 million.

Operating income was $32.4 million, which rose 21% year over year and 13% on a constant-currency basis. Transactions in the unit totaled 1.1 billion, which decreased 5% year over year.

The segment’s quarterly results benefited from the absence of a $4.5 million one-time operating tax impact recognized in the prior-year period.

The Money Transfer segment posted revenues of $425.2 million, which rose 2% year over year but fell 4% on a constant-currency basis. The metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $433 million.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 6% year over year and 12% on a constant-currency basis to $48.3 million.

Operating income of $41.9 million declined 7% year over year and 14% on a constant-currency basis. Total digital transactions increased to 7.1 million from 5.3 million in the year-ago period. Total transactions of 43.9 million fell from 44.6 million a year ago due to immigration reform impacting transfers from the United States to Mexico, along with reduced volume in the Middle East.

Corporate and Other expenses rose to $25.7 million year over year from $20 million.

EEFT’s Financial Update (As of March 31, 2026)

Euronet exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion, which increased 18.2% as of Dec. 31, 2025.

Total assets of $6.3 billion decreased from $6.5 billion at 2025-end.

Debt obligations, net of the current portion, amounted to $1.6 billion and rose 52.8% from Dec. 31, 2025. Short-term debt was $971.1 million.

Equity decreased to $1.2 billion from the 2025-end figure of $1.3 billion.

There was roughly $1.2 billion left under EEFT’s revolving credit facilities at the fourth-quarter end.

EEFT’s Capital Deployment

EEFT bought back shares worth $100 million in the first quarter.

EEFT’s 2026 Bottom-Line View

Management still estimates achieving adjusted EPS growth in the 10-15% range in 2026.

EEFT’s Zacks Rank

EEFT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

How Did Peers Perform?

Several companies in the business services space, including Mastercard Incorporated (MA – Free Report) , Visa Inc. (V – Free Report) and Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MRSH – Free Report) , have also reported their financial results for the March quarter of 2026. Here’s how they had performed:

Mastercard reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $4.60 per share, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.6%. The bottom line improved 23.3% year over year. Net revenues advanced 15.8% year over year to $8.4 billion. MA’s quarterly results benefited from growing cross-border volumes and solid growth in value-added services revenues. However, the upside was partly offset by elevated operating expenses and higher payment network rebates from new and renewed deals.

Visa delivered second-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.31 per share, up 20% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.1%. Net revenues came in at $11.23 billion, rising 17% year over year. V’s quarterly results reflected resilient spending trends, higher cross-border volumes and solid network activity, including a 9% year-over-year increase in payments volume on a constant-dollar basis. However, the upside was partly offset by increased operating expenses.

Marsh reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $3.29, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.5%. The bottom line advanced 8% year over year. Consolidated revenues of $7.6 billion improved 8% year over year. MRSH’s quarterly results benefited from solid growth in the Risk and Insurance Services and Consulting unit, particularly from the Marsh Risk, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Marsh Management Consulting businesses. The upside was partially offset by elevated operating expenses, primarily due to increased compensation and benefits.