Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) is strategically transforming into a digital-first global payments leader, leveraging its extensive physical and digital network and proprietary technology to capture high-value transaction opportunities.
• The company delivered robust financial performance in Q3 2025, with expanded consolidated operating margins, despite facing macroeconomic and immigration-related headwinds, and reaffirmed its 12% to 16% adjusted EPS growth guidance for 2025.
• Recent strategic moves, including the acquisition of CoreCard and partnerships with Citigroup and Fireblocks, significantly expand EEFT's capabilities in credit processing, real-time cross-border payments, and stablecoin integration, reinforcing its technological leadership.
• EEFT's competitive moat is built on its omnichannel approach, vast global network infrastructure, and advanced proprietary technology platforms like Ren, Dandelion, and Skylight, which create substantial barriers to entry.
• The company is well-positioned for sustained double-digit earnings growth, driven by continued digital expansion, new market penetration, and the strategic monetization of its unique asset base in a growing global payments market.

Euronet's Evolving Payments Empire: A Digital Transformation Story

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. is a global financial technology solutions and payments provider, operating at the intersection of payment processing, cross-border transactions, and foreign exchange. The company's journey began in 1994 with a focus on Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) through ATM deployment, evolving into a diversified enterprise with three complementary segments: EFT Processing, epay, and Money Transfer. This strategic evolution has seen Euronet proactively shift its business mix towards digital offerings, recognizing the changing landscape of global payments.

The global payments industry is a colossal market, handling 3.4 trillion transactions and generating a revenue pool of $2.4 trillion in 2024, with McKinsey projecting a 5% annual growth rate. Euronet has strategically targeted more profitable subsegments, achieving a revenue per dollar processed that is more than 20 times the market average. This focus, coupled with its strategic initiatives, allowed Euronet to grow its revenue by 10% in 2024, outpacing the predicted market growth rate by twofold. While Euronet-owned ATMs constituted 25% of total revenue in 2019, this figure decreased to 19% by 2024, even as total revenue surged by an impressive 45% to $4 billion over the same period. This demonstrates the accelerating growth of its digital and diversified revenue streams.

The company's overarching strategy is to capitalize on the increasing globalization, digitization, and flexibility of payments. This involves facilitating high-volume transactions for banks, merchants, and brand partners, while also powering FX-related use cases and distributing FX services through both physical and digital channels. This dual-pillar approach—payment and transaction processing, and cross-border and foreign exchange—forms the bedrock of Euronet's market positioning. The competitive landscape is fragmented, but Euronet's extensive network of networks, global licenses, robust compliance framework, and omnichannel presence provide foundational strengths that differentiate it from rivals.

Technological Edge: The Engine of Digital Transformation

Euronet's strategic pivot to digital is underpinned by a suite of proprietary and acquired technologies that form a significant competitive moat. These platforms are designed to address the evolving demands of the global payments ecosystem, offering tangible benefits and quantifiable advantages.

The Ren Payments Platform, launched in 2019, is a versatile, real-time POS and ATM switching system. It stands out as the first modern platform that is database-independent, platform-independent, and microservices-architected, enabling banks and fintechs to modernize their payment infrastructures. For instance, Ren will power IDFC First Bank's ATMs, debit cards, and transaction switching in India through a unique AWS architecture, marking a first for the country. A significant deal was also secured with one of the top three U.S. banks to drive thousands of ATMs, highlighting Ren's capabilities in a highly competitive market.

The Dandelion cross-border real-time payments network, launched in 2021, is positioned as the world's largest. It facilitates payments into 4.1 billion bank accounts, 3.4 billion digital wallet accounts, and 4 billion Visa debit cards via Visa Direct. This extensive reach enables faster and more efficient cross-border payments, tapping into a $15 trillion industry that is nearly 20 times the size of the traditional remittance market. Recent partnerships include Citigroup (C), enabling near-instant, full-value payments into digital wallets globally for Citi's institutional clients. Dandelion has also expanded its services with Union Bank in the Philippines and is set to launch with Commonwealth Bank in Australia.

A pivotal strategic move in 2025 was the acquisition of CoreCard, a leading provider of credit card processing platforms. This acquisition significantly extends Euronet's digital payments processing strategy, complementing the Ren platform with modern revolving credit technology proven at scale. CoreCard operates in a $10 billion-plus total addressable market (TAM) with attractive operating margins approaching 50% and elevated growth rates. It is one of only three platforms in the U.S. proven at scale for revolving credit, boasting an API-first architecture and trusted by marquee clients like Apple , Cardless, and Gemini. Euronet plans to leverage CoreCard's capabilities globally, particularly in emerging markets like India, where the number of credit cards is expected to double by 2029.

Euronet also launched Skylight in 2023, a proprietary compliance solution that strengthens risk and compliance functions, a testament to the company's "pristine compliance record." This solution is now being offered as a service, with Evolve Bank as a recent client.

Looking ahead, Euronet is actively integrating stablecoin technology. The Ren platform is already blockchain-ready, having processed native transactions. A partnership with Fireblocks, a leading digital asset infrastructure provider, will enable interoperability with blockchain systems for faster and more efficient money movement. Euronet plans to launch stablecoin-enabled use cases in Q1 2026, focusing on treasury settlement, cross-border transfers, and consumer cash-out functionality, leveraging its global on- and off-ramp assets. The company is also harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance customer experience and drive operational efficiencies in areas like contract generation and regulatory compliance.

Financial Performance: Resilience Amidst Headwinds

Euronet's financial performance in the third quarter of 2025 demonstrated resilience and strategic execution, even as the company navigated a complex global economic environment. Consolidated revenue reached $1.15 billion, operating income stood at $195 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $245 million. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter was $3.62. Notably, consolidated operating margins expanded by approximately 40 basis points over the prior year quarter. For the full year 2024, Euronet reported record consolidated revenue of $4 billion, operating income of $500 million, and adjusted EBITDA of nearly $700 million, with adjusted EPS growth of 15%.

The EFT Processing Segment reported Q3 2025 revenue of $409.4 million, a 10% year-over-year increase, and operating income of $128.1 million, up 9%. This growth was fueled by market expansion into regions like Morocco, Egypt, and the Philippines, the addition of access and interchange fees, and increased tourism volumes. However, the segment's gross margin slightly decreased to 52.5% from 53.3% in Q3 2024, primarily due to expansion into lower-priced markets. The merchant services business in Greece, a key component, saw its operating income rise by 33% year-over-year, driven by robust transaction volumes and merchant expansion.

The epay Segment recorded Q3 2025 revenue of $286.5 million, a 1% year-over-year decrease, but operating income increased by 7% to $31 million. The revenue decline was largely attributed to the discontinuation of a high-volume, low-value mobile activation product in the U.S., which had a minimal impact on earnings. Excluding this, constant currency revenue would have grown at a rate similar to operating income. The segment's gross margin improved to 24.5% from 23% in Q3 2024, reflecting a favorable shift in transaction mix. Revenue from payment services within epay grew 27% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

The Money Transfer Segment generated Q3 2025 revenue of $452.4 million, a 3% year-over-year increase, with operating income growing 2% to $59.3 million. Direct-to-consumer digital transactions were a significant driver, growing 32% year-over-year and now accounting for 16% of total money transfer transactions. Gross margin for the segment expanded to 47.9% from 45.6% in Q3 2024, primarily due to increased international-originated money transfers and digital transactions. This growth occurred despite macroeconomic uncertainty and immigration policy changes, which impacted remittance activity. For example, the U.S. to Mexico corridor, representing about 10% of global transfers, remained flat year-over-year, outperforming a Reuters-estimated market decline of 12%.

Euronet maintains a strong liquidity position. As of September 30, 2025, the company held $1.2 billion in unrestricted cash and had total debt of $2.3 billion. A $1 billion convertible bond offering at an attractive 0.625% interest rate, maturing in 2030, was completed in Q3 2025, with proceeds used to pay down the majority of its revolving credit facility. The company's credit facility was expanded to $1.9 billion in December 2024 and extended to 2029, enhancing capital flexibility. Euronet has also actively engaged in share repurchases, buying back approximately $130 million of its shares in Q3 2025, and on average, repurchasing 85% of its annual earnings over the past four years. Capital expenditures for 2025 are estimated to range from $120 million to $130 million.

Competitive Positioning: Outpacing the Market

Euronet operates in a highly competitive and fragmented global payments industry, yet it has carved out a significant position, particularly in niche segments. The company's diversified networks and strategic adaptability allow it to consistently outpace the global payments market growth. While the overall market grew at 5% in 2024, Euronet's revenue expanded by 10%. In the Money Transfer segment, the core business is growing at 2.5 times the market rate.

Compared to large financial technology providers like Fiserv , Euronet's extensive physical and digital networks offer superior accessibility in underserved and emerging markets. While Fiserv (FISV) is known for its comprehensive technological ecosystems and strong integration capabilities, Euronet's tailored solutions for agents and retailers provide greater agility. Euronet's TTM Gross Profit Margin of 39.87% and Operating Profit Margin of 13.18% are competitive within the sector.

Against Global Payments (GPN), which primarily focuses on merchant services, Euronet's diversification across money transfers, prepaid services, and ATM/POS solutions provides a broader value proposition. Euronet's networks are a unique asset for cross-border transactions, enabling deep market penetration among individual consumers and small businesses.

In the direct money transfer arena, Western Union is a key competitor. Euronet's integrated ecosystem, particularly its robust digital payout capabilities (comprising 55% of total volume), offers a versatile and efficient alternative. While Western Union benefits from established brand recognition, Euronet's omnichannel strategy and rapid digital growth are key differentiators, allowing it to outperform market declines in challenging corridors. Western Union's (WU) significantly lower P/E ratio (3.89) compared to Euronet's (10.63) reflects the market's perception of its challenges in adapting to evolving digital preferences.

ACI Worldwide , a software-focused payment provider, competes with Euronet in transaction processing software. Euronet's global distribution networks are more expansive, and its end-to-end services offer integrated operational efficiency. While ACI Worldwide (ACIW) may excel in specialized security features, Euronet's comprehensive offerings and ability to serve diverse payment methods provide a strong competitive stance. ACIW's higher P/E ratio (20.03) suggests a premium for its software specialization.

Euronet's competitive advantages, or moats, include its vast global networks (56,431 ATMs, 712,000 epay POS terminals, 600,000 Money Transfer locations), proprietary technology platforms (Ren, Dandelion, Skylight), an omnichannel strategy that caters to diverse customer preferences, and deep compliance expertise. These assets create high barriers to entry for new players, as establishing such infrastructure and regulatory adherence globally is capital-intensive and time-consuming.

Despite these strengths, Euronet faces vulnerabilities, including susceptibility to macroeconomic shifts, adverse immigration policy changes, and foreign currency volatility. Inflationary pressures can also impact its cost structure. The potential client concentration, such as CoreCard's relationship with Apple , is a factor, though management has explicitly stated that the CoreCard acquisition was undertaken without dependency on a positive outcome related to the Goldman Sachs (GS) sales process for the Apple (AAPL) portfolio.

Outlook & Risks: Sustained Growth with Vigilance

Euronet's management has consistently reaffirmed its adjusted EPS growth guidance of 12% to 16% for 2025, signaling confidence in the company's strategic direction and operational capabilities. This outlook is predicated on the belief that current macroeconomic uncertainties and immigration policy impacts, which have caused some revenue softness, are "transitory headwinds, not long-term obstacles." Management anticipates a rebound in transaction volumes as global economic conditions stabilize and expects foreign exchange rates to remain flat, which could offer additional tailwinds if the U.S. dollar weakens.

Key growth drivers for this outlook include the continued expansion of its digital offerings through the Dandelion network, the integration of CoreCard's credit processing capabilities, and new deals for the Ren platform. New market penetration in regions like Latin America and Asia-Pacific, along with the "ATM as a service" model, are also expected to contribute significantly. The planned launch of stablecoin use cases in Q1 2026, starting with treasury settlement and cross-border transfers, represents a forward-looking initiative to drive new efficiencies and revenue streams. Total capital expenditures for 2025 are estimated to be between $120 million and $130 million, supporting these growth initiatives.

However, investors should remain vigilant regarding several risks. Persistent global economic uncertainty could continue to impact discretionary spending and remittance volumes. Further adverse shifts in immigration policies could pressure the Money Transfer segment, although Euronet has demonstrated its ability to outperform market declines in such scenarios. Foreign currency volatility remains a constant exposure, with a 10% fluctuation in key currencies estimated to impact net income and working capital by $30 million to $40 million annually. Intense competition across all segments, integration risks associated with acquisitions like CoreCard, and evolving regulatory landscapes (such as the 1% remittance tax, which is expected to have a minimal impact on consolidated revenue) also pose challenges. Inflationary pressures on operating costs are also a factor to monitor.

Conclusion

Euronet Worldwide is executing a compelling digital transformation, strategically leveraging its deep history in payments to build a resilient, diversified global enterprise. The company's proprietary technology platforms—Ren, Dandelion, and the newly acquired CoreCard—are not merely incremental additions but foundational pillars driving its expansion into high-growth, high-margin digital payment and credit processing markets. Despite facing macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, Euronet's ability to deliver consistent double-digit earnings growth and expand operating margins underscores the strength of its omnichannel strategy and extensive global network. This technological leadership, coupled with a proactive approach to market expansion and a robust balance sheet, positions Euronet as a formidable player in the evolving global payments landscape. While vigilance against external economic and regulatory shifts is warranted, Euronet's strategic vision and proven execution capabilities suggest a clear path for continued value creation for investors.