Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz NASDAQ: KSPI reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said were broadly in line with expectations, with strong e-commerce growth offset by pressure from higher funding costs, investment in Türkiye and a changing mix in its payments business.
Co-Founder and CEO Mikheil Lomtadze said the company began the year with “good growth” and highlighted e-commerce as a key driver. On a constant currency and pro forma basis, e-commerce gross merchandise value, or GMV, grew 41% year over year, while transactions rose 43%. Quarterly purchase frequency reached 15 purchases per consumer, up 44% from a year earlier.
“We are creating a much larger, bigger, more diversified business,” Lomtadze said, pointing to Kaspi.kz’s leading position in Kazakhstan and its expansion in Türkiye through Hepsiburada. He also said the company remains profitable and noted that the board recommended a dividend of KZT 850 per ADS, representing a payout ratio of about 64%.
Revenue Rises, Net Income Flat
David Ferguson, Kaspi.kz’s Head of Investor Relations, said consolidated revenue rose 31% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA increased 9%. Net income was down 1%, which he described as broadly flat.
Ferguson said two main factors weighed on net income: higher interest expense and the cost of goods sold associated with Hepsiburada’s first-party business. He said funding costs increased in both Kazakhstan and Türkiye, with Kazakhstan funding costs up about 220 basis points year over year following interest rate increases last year.
At the group level, Kaspi.kz maintained its full-year guidance for about 20% GMV growth, about 15% total payment volume, or TPV, growth, and about 5% EBITDA growth. Ferguson said the company is currently trending below its roughly 5% total finance volume, or TFV, growth guidance, but emphasized that management is focused on driving revenue growth rather than TFV itself.
E-Commerce Engagement Drives Marketplace Growth
Ferguson said marketplace GMV grew 19% year over year on a constant currency and pro forma basis. E-commerce accounted for roughly 60% of marketplace GMV, while the remaining 40% came primarily from m-commerce and, to a lesser extent, travel in Kazakhstan.
Kaspi.kz’s e-commerce take rate increased 90 basis points year over year to 15.8%, supported by higher value-added services revenue. Ferguson said advertising and delivery revenue rose 73% year over year, outpacing e-commerce revenue growth of 58% on a reported basis.
“As we scale an engaged consumer base, it drives more opportunities for monetization around advertising, delivery, Fintech, and so on,” Ferguson said.
Management said Türkiye and Kazakhstan are now broadly equal in size and importance within e-commerce GMV. The bulk of the marketplace business remains third-party, while the first-party component is mainly from Hepsiburada, where about one-third of GMV is first-party, along with e-grocery in Kazakhstan.
Türkiye Strategy Focuses on Engagement and Delivery
During the question-and-answer session, analysts asked about Kaspi.kz’s priorities for Hepsiburada. Lomtadze said the company is working to bring the Türkiye business closer to Kaspi.kz’s operating standards in Kazakhstan, with a focus on purchase frequency, delivery speed and financial options on the marketplace.
Lomtadze said the company is investing in technology, data organization, delivery, payment options, advertising products, personalization, risk management and marketing. He said Kaspi.kz’s benchmark is its home market, where e-commerce purchase frequency was about 27 purchases per consumer, compared with about seven in Türkiye.
“Our focus is engaged consumer base,” Lomtadze said. “An engaged consumer base comes with a frequency.”
Ferguson said the goal for Hepsiburada is to keep the business at least around EBITDA breakeven and free cash flow positive, while continuing to invest to drive engagement. He said the company’s first-quarter EBITDA growth should not be extrapolated for the full year because subsequent quarters will include additional investment timing effects.
Payments Remain Profitable Despite Take Rate Pressure
Kaspi.kz’s payments TPV rose 14% year over year, compared with guidance of around 15%. Payments revenue increased 7%, while adjusted EBITDA was broadly flat.
Ferguson said the slower revenue growth reflected take rate compression driven by product mix, especially growth in Kaspi QR and Kaspi B2B payments. Lomtadze said Kaspi QR carries an acquiring fee of about 0.95%, while B2B payments have a take rate of roughly 0.5% and are growing faster within the mix.
Management described payments as a large, mature, highly profitable and cash-generative business. Lomtadze said the payments business also supports engagement across Kaspi.kz’s ecosystem and provides valuable data for future innovation, including artificial intelligence-related initiatives. He noted that Kaspi Alaqan has close to 1 million registered users.
Fintech Portfolio Shifts Toward Longer-Duration Loans
In Fintech, average net loan portfolio growth was 23% year over year, while TFV declined 2%. Ferguson said Kaspi.kz is deliberately prioritizing longer-duration loans that generate more revenue, rather than maximizing origination volume.
The duration of the loan portfolio increased to 9.3 months from 7.9 months. Ferguson said buy-now-pay-later loans, which are smaller-ticket and shorter-duration, are becoming a smaller part of the portfolio, while merchant financing and general-purpose loans are becoming larger.
Fintech revenue rose 25%, and adjusted EBITDA increased 12%. Ferguson said higher funding costs continued to pressure profitability growth. He added that potential interest rate cuts in Kazakhstan were not included in guidance, but could help profitability growth next year if rates decline.
Management also addressed credit quality. Ferguson said first and second payment default rates were 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively, and delinquency was 2.2%, which he described as low and broadly stable over the past couple of years. Cost of risk was 0.7%, up from 0.6% a year earlier.
In response to questions, Ferguson said Tencent’s recent investment in Kaspi.kz is primarily a financial investment. Lomtadze said Kaspi.kz admires Tencent as a pioneer of the super app model and views the shareholder relationship positively, though he did not identify specific initiatives tied to Tencent.
Ferguson also said proceeds from Kaspi.kz’s recent $600 million capital raise at a 5.9% rate are intended for general corporate purposes and to provide flexibility for growth initiatives in Kazakhstan and Türkiye.
About Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz NASDAQ: KSPI
Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz is a leading financial technology and e-commerce group headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The company has built one of the country’s largest digital ecosystems, offering a suite of integrated services that span consumer banking, payments, online marketplaces and merchant acquiring. Through its mobile and web platforms, Kaspi.kz aims to simplify everyday financial and shopping activities for individuals and businesses across Kazakhstan.
The company’s core offerings include digital banking solutions such as deposit accounts, digital wallets and money transfers, alongside consumer lending products that enable point-of-sale financing and “buy now, pay later” purchases.
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