Shares surged as Remitly delivered a record second quarter that beat Wall Street on every major metric and lifted its full-year outlook — but investors should parse what's organic and what's a one-time boost before declaring a new earnings trajectory.
A Revenue Beat Powered by New Customers and Shifting Habits
Revenue hit $495.2 million, up 20% year over year, while send volume reached $23.5 billion, up 27%.
That was $11 million above the midpoint of management's own guidance.
Regulatory changes in the U.S. continued to push immigrants toward digital remittances, driving a record quarter of new customer sign-ups.
Quarterly active customers crossed 10.2 million, a 20% increase — a psychological milestone suggesting Remitly is pulling away from smaller rivals in digital money transfers.
The Profit Headline Needs an Asterisk
Net income reached $205.9 million, but it was boosted by a $140.6 million one-time tax benefit. Strip that out and the underlying profit, while still a beat, is far more modest. Reported EPS came in at $1.07, dwarfing the consensus estimate of $0.29 — an earnings surprise of roughly 269% — yet most of that gap traces to the tax item, not operating performance. What is genuinely impressive: adjusted EBITDA (operating profit before certain non-cash charges) expanded to $115 million at a 23% margin, up from $64 million and a 16% margin a year ago.
Free cash flow nearly tripled year over year to $130 million.
Raised Guidance Signals Confidence — and a Bigger Business
For full-year 2026, Remitly now expects revenue of $1.978–$1.988 billion (21–22% growth) and adjusted EBITDA of $410–$415 million, a 21% margin.
Third-quarter revenue is guided at roughly $505–$507 million. Combined with a new Visa debit card product launched days before earnings — designed to let cross-border workers get paid, spend, and send money from one account, deepening customer loyalty and reducing reliance on traditional banks — Remitly is signaling a shift from a pure money-transfer app into a broader financial platform.
What Shareholders Should Watch The stock's 7–9% after-hours jump pushed it past its prior 52-week high. Transaction margins improved to 67.4% of revenue, up 2.35 percentage points year over year , showing the business gets more profitable as it scales. The risk: once the tax benefit fades, investors will need sustained EBITDA margin expansion and proof that the new card product adds revenue — not just engagement — to justify paying up from here.