Wen Hong's questions to Upbound Group Inc (UPBD) leadership • Q2 2025
Question
Wen Hong questioned the decelerating trend in Bridget's cash advance volume and the strategy to reaccelerate growth. She also asked how the dynamics between Rent-A-Center's headwinds and Acima's growth affect the company's deleveraging timeline.
Answer
CEO & CFO Fahmi Karam emphasized that Bridget's growth is strong, pointing to nearly 40% revenue growth and 24% subscriber growth, with ARPU up over 12% YoY. On leverage, Karam highlighted strong year-to-date free cash flow ($117M vs. $34M prior year) and stated the goal is to reach the two-times target over the next couple of years, after first getting leverage down to pre-acquisition levels by year-end.