Wise Group PLC (LSE:WISE, NASDAQ:WSE) delivered stronger-than-expected annual profits, analysts said, although its growth guidance for the year ahead came in slightly below market expectations.
The shares were up 6.5% at 883p on Friday afternoon.
Jefferies said the payments group's results were "messy" because of its recent US listing and changes to accounting standards, but the underlying picture was one of strong cash generation and healthy customer growth.
The broker estimated that Wise generated around $700 million of underlying cash during the year, even after spending $470 million buying back shares to offset historic stock-based compensation dilution. The new programme, worth more than $500 million, is expected to reduce the share count by about 3%.
New active customers rose 20% to 7.1 million, taking Wise's total customer base to 35 million, while headcount increased 35% as the company continued to invest in servicing and product development.
For the 2027 financial year, Wise gave guidance for constant-currency revenue growth around the middle of its long-term 15-20% target range, implying growth of roughly 18%.
Jefferies said this was below its forecasts for 22% growth and the City consensus of 21%.
Despite the softer-than-expected outlook, the analysts said the combination of robust cash generation, continued customer growth and further price reductions should keep Wise's growth "flywheel" turning.
