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    Harold Goetsch • B. Riley Securities

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Oportun Financial Corp (OPRT) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Oportun Financial Corp (OPRT) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Harold Goetsch from B. Riley Securities requested further details on the whole loan sales conducted during the quarter and how they contributed to the overall origination results.

    Answer

    CEO Raul Vazquez explained that within the $469 million of total originations, two key components were the growth in secured personal loans, which drove 19% of the growth, and the sale of $32 million in loans to partners. Vazquez positioned the loan sales as a positive signal of the high quality and attractiveness of Oportun's assets to third-party investors.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Oportun Financial Corp (OPRT) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch from B. Riley Securities asked for color on the strong Q4 originations and the drivers of top-of-funnel activity, and also requested a repeat of the financial impact from the credit card portfolio sale.

    Answer

    CEO Raul Vazquez clarified that the 19% originations growth was driven by confidence in their credit performance, which allowed for increased marketing investment, rather than loosening credit standards. CFO Jonathan Coblentz and CEO Raul Vazquez reiterated the credit card sale's impact: $34 million in revenue for full-year 2024 and an expected absence of $12 million in revenue for Q1 2025 compared to the prior year.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Dave Inc (DAVE) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Dave Inc (DAVE) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Harold Goetsch asked about a potential acceleration in the re-engagement of former customers and whether larger ExtraCash origination sizes are attracting higher-income users or if it's a result of the CashAI model. He also sought clarity on the timeline for new, longer-duration products from the Coastal partnership.

    Answer

    Executive Jason Wilk reported that customer reactivation is performing as usual with no significant changes. He explained that larger origination amounts are a combination of rewarding tenured customers and offering better initial credit to new users, enabled by the new fee structure. Executive Kyle Beilman added this creates a 'win-win' flywheel. Regarding new products, Wilk stated the company would not discuss results until 2026.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Dave Inc (DAVE) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch asked about using debit card spend as a proxy for adoption, the percentage of volume previously on the freemium model, the company's capital allocation strategy given high cash generation, and potential future lending products.

    Answer

    CEO Jason Wilk clarified that debit spend is not a direct proxy for user adoption due to external funding sources and noted a 'not insignificant' number of users previously accessed credit for free. On capital allocation, Wilk highlighted a recent net settlement to reduce dilution and mentioned future buybacks, R&D, and M&A as possibilities. He also hinted at developing longer-duration credit products to complement ExtraCash, a key reason for partnering with Coastal Community Bank.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Dave Inc (DAVE) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch asked for more detail on the drivers behind the outstanding credit performance from Cash AI and the factors contributing to the continued improvement in customer acquisition costs (CAC).

    Answer

    Executive Jason Wilk attributed the strong credit performance to a new Cash AI model that uses hundreds more data points and has been fully rolled out, leading to lower loss rates, better conversion, and higher retention. Executive Kyle Beilman added that record-high member retention contributes to better credit performance, as longer-tenured customers are a durable tailwind for lower loss rates.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Sezzle Inc (SEZL) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Sezzle Inc (SEZL) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Harold Goetsch of The Analyst's Desk, LLC inquired about the characteristics of Sezzle's new merchant pipeline, including merchant size and type. He also asked about the competitive landscape, specifically whether Sezzle acts as the sole BNPL provider in new verticals, the performance uplift from the 'on-demand' product, and the reason for the sequential decline in notes receivable despite strong growth.

    Answer

    CEO Charles Youakim and President Paul Paradis explained that the merchant funnel is strong and focused on enterprise-level clients, with a push into new categories like groceries and bills. Paradis noted that merchants often start with one exclusive BNPL provider before adding more. Youakim highlighted that the 'on-demand' product shows strong monthly growth and similar gross margin per user as subscription products, serving as an effective customer acquisition tool. Regarding receivables, CFO Karen Hartje and Youakim clarified that the sequential drop is a typical seasonal pattern, as receivables peak during the Q4 holiday season and are subsequently paid down in Q1, generating significant cash flow.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Sezzle Inc (SEZL) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch inquired about the strength of the sales funnel for mid-market and enterprise merchants, the potential monetization of the new couponing feature, and the company's capital allocation plans given its increasing profitability and cash generation.

    Answer

    CEO and Executive Chairman Charles Youakim stated that the enterprise merchant pipeline is strong and improving, particularly as the On-Demand product allows Sezzle to offer more flexible, cost-effective solutions for larger merchants. Regarding couponing, he noted that while it is monetizable, the immediate focus is on using it to drive customer attraction and retention. On capital allocation, he explained that strong profitability provides many options, including buybacks, dividends, or M&A, and the company will evaluate these options without being in a rush.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Sezzle Inc (SEZL) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch of B. Riley Securities inquired about the UMS breakdown between subscribers and occasional users, and whether the pullback in marketing spend during the election season impacted new subscriber growth.

    Answer

    CFO Karen Hartje noted that specific UMS source breakdowns are not disclosed. CEO Charles Youakim suggested using relative order frequency as a proxy and confirmed that the high cost of advertising during the political season did crowd out some ROI-focused direct-to-consumer marketing spend. However, he emphasized that the company's traditional merchant-integrated acquisition channel continued to function effectively.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Harold Goetsch of B. Riley Securities asked about the long-term productivity expectations for newly hired banking teams beyond their initial year. He also inquired about the bank's direct and indirect exposure to potential economic impacts from tariffs.

    Answer

    President and CEO Sam Sidhu explained that the bank expects new teams to rebuild their books of business over a three-year period to match the scale they managed at prior institutions, ensuring a long runway for growth beyond initial client transfers. He noted that new team hires are underwritten with a breakeven target of one year or less. Regarding tariffs, Sidhu stated that the bank's direct exposure is 'de minimis' due to its focus on specialized verticals like venture banking, fund finance, and healthcare. He acknowledged potential indirect macroeconomic effects but expressed confidence in the portfolio's positioning.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch asked for an update on the progress made in addressing the issues outlined by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He also inquired about the expected pace and cadence of the elevated professional services costs associated with these efforts.

    Answer

    President and CEO Samvir Sidhu summarized the progress as enhancements across people, process, and technology. He highlighted the hiring of senior risk executives and the successful migration of all real-time payments clients to the proprietary in-house cubiX platform. Regarding expenses, Sidhu described the costs as following a 'bell curve,' having peaked in December-January. He expects these costs to taper off and return to normalized levels by the middle of 2025.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch from B. Riley Securities asked for more detail on the competitive advantage of the bank's low commercial real estate (CRE) exposure and how selectively adding CRE volume might impact the stated 10-15% annual loan growth target.

    Answer

    President and CEO Sam Sidhu explained that competitors' CRE concentration issues create an opportunity for Customers Bank to selectively add high-quality, conservatively underwritten CRE loans for top-tier clients. This strategy is viewed as an opportunistic way to enhance the franchise within the existing growth framework, rather than a change to the overall 10-15% loan growth guidance for the year.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to CPI Card Group Inc (PMTS) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to CPI Card Group Inc (PMTS) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch sought clarification on the drivers of the prepaid segment's 26% full-year revenue growth, asking about the trade-off between volume and higher pricing from value-added packaging. He also asked if the retail market's shift to more secure packaging is largely complete.

    Answer

    President and CEO John Lowe clarified the 26% growth was for the full year and resulted from a mix of volume-driven growth in the healthcare vertical and value-driven growth from higher-priced solutions for other customers. He explained that while the transition to secure packaging continues, it's difficult to quantify the total market penetration and that some 2024 strength may have been from one-time replacements, leading to a flatter outlook for the segment in 2025.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to CPI Card Group Inc (PMTS) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch from B. Riley Securities questioned the composition of the 25% product sales growth, asking if it was primarily normalization from existing customers or driven by new programs.

    Answer

    CEO John Lowe explained that unlike the record 2022, recent growth is more broad-based, with strong performance from Instant Issuance, Personalization, and Prepaid, while card inventory rebalancing continues. He explicitly confirmed that the company is winning new customers across its portfolio. CFO Jeff Hochstadt highlighted the strong sequential growth from Q1 to Q3 as evidence of momentum.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Triumph Financial Inc (TFIN) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Triumph Financial Inc (TFIN) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch asked about the potential key performance indicators (KPIs) for LoadPay, specifically inquiring about what 'good, better, best' spend levels per user might look like over the long term.

    Answer

    Executive Todd Ritterbusch explained that LoadPay is designed to capture a carrier's total spend, including fuel and other business expenses via its debit card. He provided an early metric, noting the average interchange rate on debit card transactions was about 1.9% in January, which is lucrative for business-to-business spending. CEO Aaron Graft and Ritterbusch clarified that a single LoadPay account for a small fleet could have multiple active cards, and the company plans to report on active users to provide clarity to investors.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Triumph Financial Inc (TFIN) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch of B. Riley Financial asked if the LoadPay revenue model would expand beyond interchange fees to include products like small-dollar advances. He also requested commentary on the bank's strong quarterly deposit growth, particularly in noninterest-bearing accounts.

    Answer

    CEO Aaron Graft confirmed the LoadPay roadmap includes additional revenue streams like fuel advances, leveraging their data to manage risk, with a rollout expected in 2025. CFO Todd Ritterbusch explained that the strong deposit growth was driven by mortgage warehouse servicing deposits and organic growth in the community bank. He also noted that the bank is already lowering rates on interest-bearing accounts, which is helping the overall cost of funds.

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    Harold Goetsch's questions to Pagaya Technologies Ltd (PGY) leadership

    Harold Goetsch's questions to Pagaya Technologies Ltd (PGY) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Harold Goetsch sought to confirm his understanding that the recent fair value marks were primarily a result of less favorable ABS structures from the uniquely difficult 2023 funding environment, and that current and future structures are significantly less sensitive to credit changes, improving the 2025 outlook.

    Answer

    CEO Gal Krubiner confirmed this interpretation. He explained that Pagaya made a strategic investment in 2023 to maintain network flow, which required using less favorable deal structures. He emphasized that structural changes and funding diversification have since reduced risk retention by 40% and created a much higher cushion against future impairments. This structural improvement is a key reason for the company's confidence in achieving GAAP net income profitability during 2025.

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