The share price of UK-listed money transfer company Wise (LSE: WISE) has taken a huge hit today (13 June). As I write, it’s down a whopping 17%.
So what’s going on with the FinTech stock? And is this a great buying opportunity for growth investors like myself?
Unpacking today’s full-year results
This morning, Wise posted its preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 March. And the figures were generally pretty good.
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For the year, revenue came in at £1,052m, up 24% year on year. Meanwhile, basic earnings per share (EPS) were 33.7p, an increase of more than 200% on the year before. This EPS figure was ahead of the consensus forecast (32.1p).
However, there were a couple of things in the results that spooked investors. One was a lot of talk about investment for growth and investment always seems to scare investors off, even though it’s usually beneficial in the long run.
The other factor that rattled investors was guidance, which was weaker than expected. Looking ahead, Wise said that it expects 15-20% growth in FY2025 underlying income versus a 31% increase in the financial year just passed. That’s a significant slowdown in income growth.
It’s worth pointing out that investors are currently punishing any technology company that produces slightly disappointing guidance. I’ve experienced this first hand with stocks like Sage and Snowflake, both having been hammered this quarter due to weaker-than-expected guidance.
Time to buy?
Whether it’s a good time to consider buying this stock is really hard to know, in my view.
On one hand, the company’s still growing at a healthy rate. At the end of March, it had 12.8m customers, up 29% year on year. The group notes in its report today that right now, it’s serving less than 5% of the people who have the need for international money transfers and less than 1% of businesses.
Meanwhile, its valuation doesn’t look crazy at the current share price. Given the FY24 EPS figure of 33.7p, the trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is just 21. That’s not high considering the level of growth.
On the other hand, the stock’s in a pretty nasty downtrend right now. Today’s fall is the second large slump since April. Buying into a downtrend like this can be very risky. I’ve learnt that the hard way.
And there are still a few question marks in relation to the company’s business model and moat. At the start of FY25, the firm reduced its fees for customers further. This move – which suggests that competition from rivals is intense – isn’t ideal from an investors’ perspective. I like to invest in companies that can consistently increase their prices and boost their revenues in the process (like Sage, for example).
My move now
Personally, I’m going to pass on the shares for now and watch them from the sidelines. There are definitely reasons to be bullish on Wise. However, I’m not rushing to buy the stock today given the ugly share price trend.
All things considered, I think there are safer growth stocks to buy for my portfolio at the moment.
