Enova International NYSE: ENVA reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said reflected strong origination growth, stable-to-improving credit performance, and continued operating leverage, while also raising its outlook for the year. The quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Originations and portfolio growth drove record revenue
Chief Executive Officer Steve Cunningham said Enova’s first quarter “marked a great start to the year,” pointing to “strong originations growth and solid credit across our portfolio” that produced results “in line or better than our expectations.”
Total originations rose 33% year-over-year to nearly $2.3 billion, Cunningham said, helping lift Enova’s portfolio 28% year-over-year to nearly $5.3 billion. At quarter-end, small business products made up 70% of the portfolio, with consumer products representing 30%.
Revenue increased 17% year-over-year to a first-quarter record of $875 million. Cunningham said both major segments posted quarterly record revenue: small business revenue rose 37% to $418 million, while consumer revenue increased 3% to $446 million. Adjusted earnings per share increased 30% from the first quarter of 2025, which Cunningham attributed to “strong credit and our significant operating leverage.”
Small business growth outpaced consumer, but management expects the gap to narrow
Management emphasized continued momentum in small business lending. Cunningham said small business originations increased 42% year-over-year to a record $1.7 billion, and the small business portfolio grew 37% over the past year. He also noted the portfolio remained “intentionally well-diversified across geographies and industries.”
On the consumer side, originations grew 10% year-over-year, which Cunningham described as a re-acceleration after Enova “purposely slowed down” part of the consumer book in mid-2025 to ensure credit was where it needed to be. In the Q&A session, Cunningham said he expects consumer growth to continue accelerating as comparisons ease and the company continues to “lean into the strong demand and stable credit.”
Asked about the differing growth rates between small business and consumer, Cunningham said the company’s unit economics framework makes it “pretty agnostic to the mix.” He acknowledged differences in yields, charge-off rates, net revenue margins, and financing intensity between the portfolios, but said Enova ultimately sees “a pretty similar ROA across the two portfolios.”
Credit metrics improved; management discussed fuel price sensitivity
Chief Financial Officer Scott Cornelis said consolidated credit performance in the first quarter was “solid,” with year-over-year improvement in the net charge-off rate and the 30-plus day delinquency rate, alongside a “stable Fair Value Premium.” Cornelis said the consolidated net revenue margin was 60% for the quarter, at “the higher end of our expected range.”
Enova’s consolidated net charge-off ratio declined to 7.6% in the first quarter, down 100 basis points from a year earlier. Cornelis said the consumer net charge-off ratio decreased to 14.3% (down 90 basis points year-over-year) while the small business net charge-off ratio was stable at 4.6%.
Cornelis also pointed to stability in other indicators, saying the consolidated fair value premium was 115%, “at levels we have seen over the past two years.” Looking ahead, he said Enova expects second-quarter 2026 net revenue margin in a 55% to 60% range, depending on payment performance and origination mix and timing.
Cunningham addressed questions about the potential impact of higher gasoline prices following the Iran war, citing Enova’s bank statement data. He said consumer borrowers were spending roughly 2% of income on gas before the conflict and that since then the company has seen only “a small increase” in gas spending relative to income. In response to an analyst question, Cunningham said overall spending compared to income is “about where it has been,” and that the increase in gas spending was “not materially crowding out other categories of spending.”
He also said Enova did not observe material impacts to originations or credit during the 2022 energy price spike and added that demand for Enova’s products can increase when customers seek to bridge temporary cash flow gaps.
Marketing spend rose; operating expenses reflected growth and deal costs
Cornelis said total operating expenses, including marketing, were 36% of revenue in the first quarter, compared with 33% a year earlier. Marketing costs increased to 22% of revenue, or $189 million, versus 19% of revenue, or $139 million, in the first quarter of 2025. He said Enova expects marketing expenses to be around 20% of revenue in the second quarter, depending on origination growth and mix.
Operations and technology expenses were 8.7% of revenue, or $76 million, compared with 8.4% of revenue, or $62 million, a year earlier. Cornelis said O&T costs should be around 8% to 8.5% of revenue going forward in an environment of growth.
General and administrative expenses were $48 million, or 5.5% of revenue, and included $2.7 million of one-time deal-related expenses tied to the pending Grasshopper acquisition. Excluding those items, G&A was $45 million, or 5.2% of revenue. Cornelis said Enova expects G&A to be around 5% of revenue in the near term, excluding one-time costs.
Liquidity, funding, repurchases, and updated outlook
Cornelis said Enova ended the quarter with about $1.1 billion of liquidity, including $436 million of cash and marketable securities and $654 million of available capacity on debt facilities. He added that the company upsized four secured warehouse facilities by $377 million “at existing terms,” which he said reflected confidence from funding partners. Enova’s cost of funds was 8.2% in the first quarter, down slightly from 8.3% in the fourth quarter.
During the quarter, Enova repurchased about 110,000 shares for roughly $16 million. Cornelis said the company plans to continue repurchases opportunistically while preparing to close the Grasshopper Bank acquisition and transition to a bank holding company.
On the planned Grasshopper combination, Cunningham said Enova remained in “constructive dialogue” with the OCC and Federal Reserve as part of the application process, and that integration planning was underway. Management reiterated it expects to close the transaction in the second half of 2026. Cunningham also reiterated the company’s expectation that net synergies would drive adjusted EPS accretion of more than 25% once fully realized in the first two years after closing, though Cornelis noted Enova’s 2026 financial expectations do not assume any contribution from the transaction.
For guidance, Cornelis outlined the company’s near-term and full-year expectations:
- Second quarter 2026: revenue expected to be 15% to 20% higher year-over-year; net revenue margin expected at 55% to 60%; marketing around 20% of revenue; O&T around 8% to 8.5% of revenue; G&A around 5% of revenue.
- Second quarter adjusted EPS: expected to be 20% to 25% higher than the second quarter of 2025, assuming a more normalized tax rate.
- Full year 2026: originations growth of around 20% versus 2025; revenue growth “similar to originations growth”; adjusted EPS growth of at least 25%.
Cunningham said the company was “raising our outlook for the year” based on what it is seeing, and reiterated confidence in Enova’s “diversified product offerings, nimble machine learning-powered credit risk management capabilities, talented team, and solid balance sheet.”
About Enova International NYSE: ENVA
Enova International, Inc NYSE: ENVA is a Chicago-based financial services company specializing in online lending solutions. Since its founding in 2004, Enova has leveraged proprietary data analytics and technology platforms to underwrite and deliver short-term consumer loans, lines of credit and installment loans. Through its flagship consumer brand NetCredit, Enova provides flexible credit options designed to serve a wide range of borrowers, including those with limited or non-traditional credit histories.
In addition to its U.S.
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