Fact based stock research
FirstCash (NasdaqGS:FCFS)

US33768G1076

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

FirstCash stock research in summary

ir.firstcash.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with investment alternatives), FirstCash (Consumer Finance, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of FirstCash are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 61 (better than 61% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 61), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 58), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 84, is a strong buy recommendation based on FirstCash's financial characteristics. As the company FirstCash's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 61), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 61), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 58), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of FirstCash. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	61
Growth Rank	61
Safety Rank	58
Combined Rank	84

Country	USA
Industry	Consumer Finance
Index	NASDAQ, S&P MIDCAP
Size class	X-Large

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: FirstCash

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	67	71	38	61
GROWTH
GROWTH	30	71	77	61
SAFETY
SAFETY	3	48	43	58
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	40	76	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	72	64	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better FirstCash is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	67	71	38	61
GROWTH
GROWTH	30	71	77	61
SAFETY
SAFETY	3	48	43	58
COMBINED
COMBINED	20	77	50	84

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of FirstCash the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 61 (better than 61% compared with alternatives), FirstCash shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for FirstCash. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 58 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 58% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning FirstCash's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 36, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 36% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 63% of alternatives (only 37% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 18% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 61, is a buy recommendation based on FirstCash's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	70	38	27	37
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	51	31	42	58
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	49	62	31	36
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	65	76	76	82
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	67	71	38	61

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of FirstCash; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 61 (better than 61% compared with alternatives), FirstCash shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for FirstCash. Only Capital Growth has a good rank of 74, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 45% of its competitors. The other three indicators are pointing South: Sales Growth has a rank of 48 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 52% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a rank of 45 and Stock Returns with a rank of 45 are also low (below 55% of alternative investments). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 61, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. The good news from the invested capital side is surprising. A company with disappointing revenues, profits, and disappointed shareholders typically doesn't invest above average. Overall, the growth momentum for FirstCash is thus negative. As it is intriguing to see that company executives are optimistic about their investment policy, it is worthwhile looking into the details of the capital investment projects. They may indicate future growth and profits and thus if accompanied by a good value, a sign of good timing to invest in the stock. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is limited here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	11	77	76	48
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	89	40	59	45
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	55	54	74
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	76	69	69	45
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	30	71	77	61

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of FirstCash.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), the company FirstCash has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of FirstCash is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for FirstCash. Leverage is at a rank of 53, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 53% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 81, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 81% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 13, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 87% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), FirstCash has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for FirstCash. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with FirstCash and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	16	53	45	53
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	18	7	7	13
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	24	81	79	81
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	3	48	43	58

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of FirstCash and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	20	62	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	82	78	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	27	55	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	40	76	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for FirstCash.
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