Aditya Buddhavarapu

Aditya Buddhavarapu asked about the cadence of Remitly's 2026 revenue guidance, noting Q1's faster growth, and the implied 2026 EBITDA margin being lower than Q4 2025's record high.

Answer

Vikas Mehta (CFO, Remitly) explained Q4 2025's outperformance was due to a strong holiday period, marketing efficiencies, and record low transaction losses (7.3 basis points) from a new AI model. For 2026, he noted transaction loss rates are guided to a normal historical range (9-13 basis points), and investments in new products will build throughout the year. He added that H1 vs H2 moderation is typical as the business grows, and Q1 benefits from the remittance tax and Ramadan timing shift.

Aditya Buddhavarapu asked about the quarterly revenue cadence for 2026, specifically why Q1 growth is higher than the full-year outlook, and why the implied Adjusted EBITDA margin for full-year 2026 is lower than Q4 2025's 20% margin.

Answer

CFO Vikas Mehta explained that Q4 2025's strong Adjusted EBITDA margin was due to a robust holiday period, marketing efficiencies, and record-low transaction losses (7.3 basis points). For 2026, the guidance assumes normalized transaction loss rates (9-13 basis points) and continued investment in new products, balancing profitability with growth. He noted that H1 2026 revenue growth benefits from the remittance tax and Ramadan timing, with growth rates moderating in H2, consistent with business scaling.

Aditya Buddhavarapu from Bank of America sought to understand e-commerce growth drivers, specifically the split between geographic expansion and market share gains. He also asked about the competitive landscape and the potential role of stablecoins in the digital wallet strategy.

Answer

CEO Bruce Lowthers attributed some e-commerce growth to geographic expansion, particularly cross-selling into Europe. He described the market as highly competitive but noted Paysafe's small share presents a large growth opportunity. Regarding stablecoins, he stated that Paysafe has used them for years for crypto-to-fiat conversions and does not see them as a dramatic change to the business, likening them to 'prepaid without acceptance.'

Aditya Buddhavarapu questioned the key drivers behind the low single-digit growth forecast for Digital Wallets in 2025 and its medium-term outlook. He also asked about the potential for further internal efficiencies to self-fund investments and any specific areas the new CFO had identified.

Answer

CEO Bruce Lowthers attributed Digital Wallet growth to rising transactions per account (TPA) and ARPU, driven by usability improvements, and noted the classic wallet user base surpassed 1 million. CFO John Crawford described efficiency gains as a 'redeployment' of spend from back-office functions to front-office growth drivers like sales and marketing, driven by ongoing systems migration projects.