CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.42), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $158.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.67 million. CPI Card Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 145.74%.

Here are the key takeaways from CPI Card Group’s conference call:

• CPI reported record third-quarter revenue of $158 million, up 15%, with double-digit growth across all three segments. Gross profit rose 23% and Adjusted EBITDA increased 17%, alongside gross-margin expansion of about 200 basis points.
• The company raised its 2026 revenue-growth outlook to low double digits and its Free Cash Flow forecast to $50 million–$55 million, while reaffirming low-to-mid-single-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth. Management expects year-end net leverage toward the low end of its 2.5x–3.0x range.
• Year-to-date Free Cash Flow reached a record $46 million, up from $6 million a year earlier, and quarter-end net leverage improved to 2.6x from 3.6x. Management said strong cash generation supports both debt reduction and strategic investment.
• Management cited momentum in growth initiatives, including more than 30 Arroweye customer wins and the addition of Navy Federal Credit Union. Integrated Paytech revenue grew 20% in Q3, and the company expects its Q4 growth rate to more than double Q3’s, supported by Card@Once, TRISM and digital solutions.
• Management expects Prepaid Solutions revenue to moderate to about $20 million in Q4 as seasonal holiday ordering normalizes. Higher spending on technology, digital capabilities and personnel is also expected to continue weighing on expenses, while the company maintained—not raised—its Adjusted EBITDA growth outlook.

CPI Card Group Trading Up 9.7%

PMTS stock traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 167,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,394. The company has a market cap of $314.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.57. CPI Card Group has a 12 month low of $10.81 and a 12 month high of $31.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PMTS shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on CPI Card Group from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CPI Card Group in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CPI Card Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of CPI Card Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CPI Card Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.25.

Insider Activity at CPI Card Group

In related news, Chairman H. Riley acquired 13,953 shares of CPI Card Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.50 per share, with a total value of $299,989.50. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 277,232 shares in the company, valued at $5,960,488. This represents a 5.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Equity Ulc Parallel49 sold 2,687,921 shares of CPI Card Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $54,914,226.03. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 31,232 shares of company stock worth $671,488. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

CPI Card Group Company Profile

CPI Card Group Inc is a payment technology company that designs, manufactures and distributes payment cards and related services in North America. Its customers include banks, credit unions, fintech companies and other financial institutions that issue credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment cards.

The company’s products and services include EMV chip cards, contactless and dual-interface cards, prepaid cards, card personalization, fulfillment and packaging. CPI Card Group also provides instant-issuance solutions that allow financial institutions to produce payment cards at branch locations, along with digital and physical card programs designed to support modern payment experiences.

Founded in 1995, CPI Card Group serves customers across the United States and Canada through manufacturing, personalization and service operations.