Marqeta Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Q1 results: TPV rose 33% to $112 billion and gross profit grew 19%, with Marqeta returning to GAAP profitability (net income of $8M) and adjusted EBITDA of $33M (20% margin).
• Business mix & product trends: Non-Block TPV is growing over twice as fast as Block (Block revenue concentration fell to 42%), while lending/BNPL (+~60%) and expense management (>40%) lead growth as multinational issuing, a debit/credit product continuum, and modernization demand from large banks expand the addressable market.
• Outlook & capital actions: Management reiterated full-year net revenue growth guidance of 12–14% (Q2 guide 14–16%), raised expected FY GAAP net income to about $15M, and continues share repurchases (9.4M shares bought in Q1) while proposing a 1-for-4 reverse stock split.

Marqeta NASDAQ: MQ reported first-quarter 2026 results that showed continued volume-led growth and a return to GAAP profitability, with management pointing to expanding multinational issuing needs, broader adoption of flexible card credentials, and early signs of modernization demand from large financial institutions.

Q1 results: TPV growth, margin expansion, and GAAP profitability

CEO Mike Milotich said the quarter reflected “continued momentum,” highlighted by gross profit growth of 19% on 33% total processing volume (TPV) growth. He added that Marqeta delivered “GAAP profitability this quarter,” with net income of $8 million, which he described as evidence of “strong growth, operating leverage, and disciplined execution.”

CFO Patti Kangwankij said net revenue and gross profit each grew 19% year over year, with all three growth metrics—TPV, net revenue, and gross profit—coming in “at the top end of expectations.” She said adjusted EBITDA rose to $33 million, up 66% year over year, translating to a 20% margin on net revenue, and noted EPS of $0.02.

Kangwankij also emphasized Marqeta’s scale-driven operating leverage: adjusted operating expenses were $84 million, up 7% year over year and “several points better than expectations,” which she attributed to “the phased implementation of key investment initiatives.”

Use case performance and customer concentration trends

Marqeta reported Q1 TPV of $112 billion, marking the second consecutive quarter above $100 billion and the third consecutive quarter with TPV growth above 30%, according to Kangwankij. She said non-Block TPV continues to grow “over 2x faster” than Block TPV.

Net revenue was $166 million, and Block net revenue concentration was 42% in Q1, which Kangwankij said was down 2 percentage points sequentially as non-Block revenue grows at roughly twice the pace of Block revenue.

By use case, management highlighted:

• Lending / BNPL: Kangwankij said lending, including buy now, pay later, grew “nearly 60%” year over year, driven by flexible network credential usage and geographic expansion.
• Expense management: Growth remained “over 40%,” which Kangwankij attributed to customers gaining share and utilizing configurable platform capabilities.
• On-demand delivery: Growth was “in the double digits, but below the company’s overall growth rate,” which she described as Marqeta’s most mature use case.

On profitability, Kangwankij said Q1 GAAP net income benefited from gross profit growth, platform scale, lower operating expenses, and “lower stock-based compensation.”

Platform themes: multinational issuing, product continuum, and modernization

Milotich said Marqeta’s differentiation comes from a platform spanning “debit and credit, consumer and commercial,” certified to operate in “over 40 countries.” He outlined three trends he believes are becoming more prominent in card issuing: the rise of multinational card issuers, demand for a “continuum of products” across debit and credit, and early efforts to modernize card-issuing technology.

On multinational issuing, Milotich said 12 of Marqeta’s top 15 customers use the platform in more than one country, including six operating in at least five countries. He cited Sezzle’s launch of a virtual card in Canada and Ramp’s plans to expand local card issuing into Australia, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, and Mexico, with further expansion planned later this year.

Milotich also discussed stablecoin-backed card programs as an emerging multinational use case, saying Marqeta is forming partnerships with crypto infrastructure providers to support fiat on- and off-ramps. He described stablecoin-backed cards as “additive” rather than disruptive, saying they would typically live alongside debit or credit offerings and are often connected to remittance and payout use cases where stablecoins can move money efficiently while cards provide a familiar spending credential.

On the product continuum, Milotich said demand is rising for products that bridge debit and revolving credit, including secured credit cards that help consumers build credit. He said an existing embedded finance customer with an established debit program launched a new credit builder card designed to set aside funds to pay the monthly balance and report activity to credit bureaus. He also said Marqeta signed a new customer this quarter that plans to migrate an existing U.S. portfolio and embed BNPL into a secured credit offering, enabling consumers to toggle between secured credit and installments “on a single card.” Milotich said Marqeta is an early adopter of issuer-managed Mastercard One Credential for that program.

Regarding modernization among large issuers, Milotich highlighted a “large U.S. financial institution” using Marqeta’s virtual card expertise to provision a line of credit directly into a consumer wallet. He said the rollout is live and described it as an approach that avoids “lengthy and costly integrations.” In Q&A, Milotich said the opportunity came through market references and that the bank already had a wallet product and wanted to “inject credit” without “recarding” or “replatforming.” He said Marqeta views smaller initial programs as a way to get “a foot in the door” and expand relationships over time.

Guidance, macro commentary, and capital actions

For Q2 2026, Kangwankij reiterated expectations for net revenue and gross profit growth of 14% to 16%. She said gross profit growth in Q2 is expected to be slower than Q1 due to a tougher comparison against last year’s BNPL acceleration beginning in Q2, as well as renewal activity and evolving mix. She guided to adjusted operating expense growth in the “high teens” and adjusted EBITDA growth of 10% to 12%, and said the company expects to be around break-even on a GAAP net income basis in Q2.

For the full year, Kangwankij reiterated prior guidance for net revenue growth of 12% to 14% and gross profit growth of 10% to 12%, despite Q1 coming in at the high end of expectations. She added that the company expects adjusted EBITDA growth to be “several points higher” than prior guidance, in the mid-to-high 20% range, and now expects about $15 million in GAAP net income for the year, up $5 million due to Q1 outperformance. On macro conditions, she said Marqeta is not currently seeing “any notable shift in spend or consumer behavior,” though the company is noting the risk amid uncertainty.

Marqeta ended the quarter with $712 million in cash and short-term investments. Kangwankij said share repurchases remain ongoing; in Q1, the company repurchased 9.4 million shares at an average price of $4.16, and it had more than $52 million remaining under its latest authorization as of March 31. She said the company intends to continue repurchases while it believes valuation “doesn’t properly reflect the market opportunity,” but stopped short of committing to a systematic program beyond the current authorization.

Kangwankij also addressed a proposed reverse stock split included in the company’s April proxy statement. She said the proposal would reduce common shares at a 1-for-4 ratio, resulting in higher reported net earnings or loss per share, and argued a lower share count could provide a clearer view of per-share performance as the business evolves.

About Marqeta NASDAQ: MQ

Marqeta is a modern card issuing and payment processing platform that enables businesses to design, launch and manage customized payment cards. The company offers a fully programmable open API that allows clients to create virtual, physical and tokenized payment cards with real-time transaction controls and dynamic spend limits. By leveraging Marqeta's infrastructure, companies can streamline their payment operations, reduce time to market and deliver tailored payment experiences to end consumers.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Marqeta was established by CEO Jason Gardner with the goal of transforming traditional card issuance through cloud-native technology.

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