World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLD) today reported financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2026. Following the pandemic, the Company made the strategic decision to tighten underwriting standards dramatically in an effort to manage conservatively through the uncertainty and improve the credit quality of our portfolio. One consequence of this decision was that our outstanding balances decreased each year from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025. During fiscal 2025, we made the decision to resume a strategy of targeted growth in the portfolio.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, World Acceptance reported a net loss of $0.19 per share, totaling a loss of approximately $912,000. This result significantly missed Wall Street’s consensus estimate, which had projected a profit ranging from $0.58 to $0.80 per share.
In contrast, total revenue grew to $141.25 million, a 1.9% increase over the $138.6 million reported in the same quarter last year. This exceeded analyst forecasts of roughly $133.5 million, fueled by a 2.9% rise in interest and fee income to $126.0 million.
“We are pleased to report that for the second quarter in a row, we grew our outstanding loans year over year,” the company stated. “While these new customers carry a substantially higher reserve, we expect these investments will begin to pay off towards the next fiscal year.”
Strategic Insight: The Cost of New Customers
The quarterly loss was primarily driven by a surge in the provision for credit losses, which jumped to $51.4 million, up $7.3 million from the prior year. Management explained that this is a deliberate byproduct of their “targeted growth strategy.”
Portfolio Growth: Gross loans outstanding reached $1.40 billion, a 1.5% year-over-year increase.
Expanding Base: The company’s unique customer base grew 4.1%, marking its highest level since fiscal 2022.
The Reserve Burden: New customers now represent 9.9% of the portfolio, up from 6.4% a year ago. Under current accounting methodologies, new customers require substantially higher initial reserves for loan losses than tenured ones, creating a short-term drag on earnings.
Market Reaction and Outlook
Investors reacted sharply to the earnings miss. Shares of WRLD fell roughly 13.9% in early Tuesday trading as the market weighed the long-term benefits of portfolio growth against the immediate impact of increased credit provisions and a slight uptick in net charge-offs (18.7% vs. 17.2% YoY).
Despite the immediate hit to the stock, management remains optimistic, noting that organic growth, excluding acquisitions, was up 2.5% and that the quality of new customers targeted remains high. The company also continued its capital return program, repurchasing 102,559 shares during the quarter.
Looking ahead, World Acceptance expects lower reserve rates and improved profitability in fiscal 2027 as this current “class” of new customers matures and stabilizes within the portfolio.
Investor Outlook
The “Front-Loaded” Growth Strategy
The core tension for WRLD is the CECL accounting impact. Under current accounting standards, the company must reserve for the entire expected life-of-loan loss the moment a new loan is booked.
The Risk: With new customers now comprising nearly 10% of the portfolio, the company is effectively being “punished” on the income statement for its successful customer acquisition.
The Reward: If these new customers follow the historical maturation curve, the heavy provisioning should taper off by late 2026, leading to a significant “earnings spring-back” in fiscal 2027.
Quality of the “New Class”
Investors should keep a laser focus on the 18.7% net charge-off rate. Management claims they are targeting “higher credit quality” new customers to reverse years of declining balances.
Interest and insurance yields rose 84 basis points this quarter. If the company can maintain these yields while stabilizing charge-offs below 19%, the margins on the enlarged portfolio will be significantly higher than in previous years.