Wise PLC (LSE:WISE, FRA:6WS) shares bounced from a year's low after the money transfer group reported a slight acceleration in customer growth in the past quarter, as it remains on track to complete its dual listing in the US in the first half of 2026.
The group now expects full-year profit margins to be at the upper end of its medium-term target range of 13% to 16%, despite the added cost of the planned dual listing.
In its third-quarter trading update, the money transfer group said cross-border volumes rose 26% year-on-year to £47.4 billion, up from 24% in the first half of its financial year.
This came as active customer numbers reached 10.9 million, up 20% on the same period last year, which was also an improvement from 18% in the first half.
The company said it has also seen strong growth in customers using its Wise account and debit card, not just to send money abroad, but to hold and spend across currencies, with customer holdings rose 34% to £27.5 billion, while card and other revenue grew 30%.
Business customers also played a growing role, with 542,000 firms now using Wise, up 25% from a year earlier. Business payment volumes were up 37%.
Overall income rose 21% to £424.4 million for the quarter, with the company expecting full-year growth to land in the middle of its guidance range of 15% to 20%.
The take rate – how much Wise earns from each transaction – was stable on the previous quarter at 0.52%, though that’s slightly down from 0.56% a year ago. Wise said this reflects its long-term strategy to keep fees low while scaling the business.
Co-founder and chief executive Kristo Käärmann said: “We served nearly 11 million active customers this quarter, helping more people and businesses around the world with more of their financial needs.”
He pointed to several milestones during the quarter, including the launch of Wise’s travel card in India, a new Google Pay integration in the Philippines, and progress on licensing in South Africa and Japan.
“We delivered 74% of payments instantly, up nine percentage points year-on-year,” he said. “This is a clear benefit of our continued focus on infrastructure.”
The shares jumped 12.6% to 937.5p, having earlier in the month sunk to below 800p for the first time since November 2024.
Analysts at UBS said it was a "strong print" across the board, with margins of 16% comparing with consensus forecasts of 13.5%, driven by lower than expected costs and expected to persist into the final quarter.
Active customer numbers, volumes ands the take rate were all better than expected, the analysts said.
"It does not appear as if additional broad price cuts are planned today, but the company could action intermittently during the quarter."
Business active accounts around were also above trend and volume per customer of £26k above the typical small business (around £21-23k) "indicates Wise Platform is the delta, and ramping nicely.
"We see the stock trading up given recent weakness, and a solid result."
** UPDATE: Adds share price details and analyst comment **