The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how diversified financial services stocks fared in Q3, starting with NCR Atleos (NYSE: NATL).

Diversified financial services encompass specialized offerings outside traditional categories. These firms benefit from identifying niche market opportunities, developing tailored financial products, and often facing less direct competition. Challenges include scale limitations, regulatory classification uncertainties, and the need to continuously innovate to maintain market differentiation against larger competitors expanding their offerings.

The 10 diversified financial services stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 1.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q3: NCR Atleos (NYSE: NATL)

Spun off from NCR Voyix in 2023 to focus exclusively on self-service banking technology, NCR Atleos (NYSE: NATL) provides self-directed banking solutions including ATM and interactive teller machine technology, software, services, and a surcharge-free ATM network for financial institutions and retailers.

NCR Atleos reported revenues of $1.12 billion, up 4.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 2.5% since reporting and currently trades at $36.89.

Is now the time to buy NCR Atleos? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Paymentus (NYSE: PAY)

Founded in 2004 to simplify the complex world of bill payments, Paymentus (NYSE: PAY) provides a cloud-based platform that helps utilities, municipalities, and service providers automate billing and payment processes.

Paymentus reported revenues of $310.7 million, up 34.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 10.7%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Paymentus achieved the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 19.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $34.27.

Is now the time to buy Paymentus? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT)

Operating a global network of over 47,000 ATMs and 821,000 point-of-sale terminals across more than 60 countries, Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT) provides electronic payment solutions including ATM services, prepaid product processing, and international money transfer services.

Euronet Worldwide reported revenues of $1.15 billion, up 4.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.5%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EFT Processing segment estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ Money Transfer segment estimates.

Euronet Worldwide delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 17.8% since the results and currently trades at $72.84.

Read our full analysis of Euronet Worldwide’s results here.

Payoneer (NASDAQ: PAYO)

Founded during the early days of global e-commerce in 2005 to solve international payment challenges, Payoneer (NASDAQ: PAYO) provides financial technology services that enable small and medium-sized businesses to send and receive payments globally across borders.

Payoneer reported revenues of $270.9 million, up 9.1% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ yield estimates but EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.

The stock is down 2% since reporting and currently trades at $5.68.

Read our full, actionable report on Payoneer here, it’s free for active Edge members.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS)

Born from founder Tim Chen's frustration with the lack of transparent credit card information when helping his sister in 2009, NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS) is a digital platform that provides financial guidance to help consumers and small businesses make smarter decisions about credit cards, loans, insurance, and other financial products.

NerdWallet reported revenues of $215.1 million, up 12.4% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 11.3%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

NerdWallet achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 23% since reporting and currently trades at $14.74.

Read our full, actionable report on NerdWallet here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

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