U.S. stock markets were closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday, but Remitly Global Inc (NASDAQ:RELY) ended Thursday's regular session at $23.75, up 3.49%. The stock traded at $24.22 in after-hours activity, just 2.8% below its 52-week high of $24.92.
Shares have surged 72.1% year-to-date, driven by investor optimism that cost discipline and operational leverage can offset a shrinking take rate. The company's Q1 2026 earnings revealed send volume growth of 37% year-over-year to $22.1 billion, outpacing revenue growth of 25% to $452.8 million. This resulted in revenue per dollar sent declining 18 basis points to 2.05%.
Despite the revenue yield compression, adjusted EBITDA margin expanded sharply to 22.4% from 16.2% in the prior year, a gain of 6.3 percentage points. Chief Executive Sebastian Gunningham attributed the performance to "record revenue and Adjusted EBITDA" driven by "AI-driven efficiencies."
Remitly's active customer base grew 20% to 9.6 million, while the company maintained a strong balance sheet with $649.1 million in cash and minimal short-term debt of $2.8 million. Enterprise value, calculated at approximately $4.51 billion, represents 2.3 times the midpoint of 2026 revenue guidance and 11.9 times adjusted EBITDA.
The company's 2026 outlook projects revenue between $1.960 billion and $1.975 billion, with adjusted EBITDA ranging from $370 million to $385 million. For the second quarter, Remitly expects revenue of $483 million to $485 million and adjusted EBITDA of $86 million to $88 million, implying sequential growth of about 7% but a decline from Q1's $101.6 million in adjusted EBITDA.
MarketWatch lists 13 analyst ratings for Remitly, with an average Buy recommendation and a price target of $28.25. Short interest stood at 15.75 million shares, or 8.9% of float, as of mid-June. Thursday's trading volume of 2.99 million shares was approximately 63% of the 65-day average, suggesting caution as the stock approaches resistance near $24.
Among peers, Western Union (NYSE:WU) rose 2.10% to $8.01, Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) gained 2.63% to $77.18, and PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) advanced 3.13% to $45.47. Remitly's market capitalization of $5.15 billion gives it a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.5, reflecting its growth premium.
The digital remittance provider enables cross-border money transfers through mobile and web platforms across over 5,100 corridors. The stock's near-term trajectory hinges on whether management can sustain margin expansion as revenue yield continues to compress, with the $24 level serving as a key technical threshold.
