Repay NASDAQ: RPAY reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said were in line with internal expectations, while reiterating its outlook for double-digit reported revenue growth for the full year and highlighting plans to close its pending KUBRA acquisition in the second quarter.
On the call, CEO John Morris described the quarter as “a solid start to the year” after continued momentum exiting 2025, pointing to revenue growth, profitability, and ongoing product and operational initiatives. CFO Robert Houser said the company is confident in achieving its 2026 outlook and noted that the company recently raised its full-year Adjusted EBITDA outlook.
First-quarter results and segment performance
Houser said Repay generated revenue of $80.8 million in the first quarter, representing 4% year-over-year growth. Adjusted EBITDA was $34.4 million, or approximately 43% of revenue.
Adjusted net income was $19.4 million, or $0.22 per share. Free cash flow was $5.4 million, which Houser said equated to 16% free cash flow conversion for the quarter.
By segment, Morris and Houser highlighted divergent growth rates:
- Consumer Payments: Revenue increased approximately 4% year-over-year. Morris said growth was supported by implementation of new enterprise clients adopting more payment channels and modalities.
- Business Payments: Revenue increased approximately 18% year-over-year. Houser added that normalized revenue growth was approximately 16% when excluding political media contributions in the quarter.
Morris said the company ended the quarter with more than 297 software partners across consumer and business payment verticals. In Business Payments, he said Repay added two new software partners in the quarter and ended Q1 with over 665,000 vendors in its supplier network, up more than 70% year-over-year.
Operational initiatives, product development, and leadership update
Morris said Repay continued investing in sales and customer support teams and enhancing software integrations to deepen penetration of existing partnerships and improve user experiences. He said teams are working through onboarding, implementation, and client ramping in the pipeline, which management believes can drive accelerating growth as 2026 progresses.
He also described efforts to automate workflows and deploy AI capabilities to improve performance and risk monitoring on the company’s gateway, as well as optimization of network routing that has produced “tangible payment efficiencies.”
In Consumer Payments, Morris said Repay has seen strong interest in its Digital Wallet capabilities and has begun a phased rollout of “Repay Voice AI” to select enterprise clients. Later in the Q&A, Morris described Digital Wallet functionality as enabling bill presentment within a consumer’s native Apple or Google wallet and said the company is rolling out that solution with clients. He said Repay Voice is an AI-driven interactive solution intended to modernize phone payment experiences, noting it is in early testing and rollout stages.
Morris also announced a leadership addition: Matt Morrow is expected to join in the coming weeks as Executive Leader of Consumer Payments. Morris said Morrow brings more than a decade of payments and business services experience and will oversee consumer payments growth, sales, and operational initiatives.
KUBRA acquisition: rationale, timing, and financial priorities
Morris spent a significant portion of his prepared remarks discussing Repay’s recently announced acquisition of KUBRA. He said management believes the transaction offers “the most compelling long-term value creation opportunity” compared to other capital allocation alternatives, citing KUBRA’s scale, non-discretionary recurring revenue profile, and synergy potential.
Morris said the board continues to support the deal and that financing is fully committed. Repay expects to close the acquisition during Q2 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Houser added that Repay’s current 2026 outlook does not incorporate any contributions or expenditures related to the acquisition.
In discussing integration planning, Morris said teams are actively preparing to “hit the ground running on day one,” including integrating technology, employees, and client relationships, while acknowledging that execution will be critical and that the company is focused on disciplined planning to mitigate operational and client transition risks.
Morris outlined the scale metrics management expects based on KUBRA’s 2025 results, saying the combined company would approximately double revenue, interact with over 40% of U.S. and Canadian households monthly, and process more than $130 billion in annual payment volumes across “non-discretionary categories with recurring billing cycles.”
He also reiterated a deleveraging objective, stating Repay is targeting a return to below 3 times net leverage within approximately 18 months of closing, supported by combined cash flow generation and synergy realization.
In Q&A, Morris said the combination would create a more comprehensive end-to-end digital platform spanning bill presentment, communication services, and payment processing, including Repay’s clearing and settlement engine. Houser emphasized free cash flow generation and said the company has “plans in place” to start executing on synergies immediately after close.
Capital allocation, balance sheet, and 2026 guidance
Houser detailed several cash flow and balance sheet items during the quarter, including approximately $15 million in Tax Receivable Agreement payments related to the 2024 tax reporting year. Repay also paid approximately $22.5 million for what management described as a strategic distribution partner purchase, which Houser said provided an immediate EBITDA uplift because the volumes were already on Repay’s platform.
In a separate refinancing transaction, Houser said Repay used approximately $37 million in cash and drew $110 million on its revolving credit facility to refinance maturing 2026 convertible notes. Total debt at quarter-end included $288 million of convertible notes due 2029 with a 2.875% coupon and the $110 million revolver draw. As of March 31, Houser said Repay had approximately $44 million in cash and net leverage of about 2.7 times.
For full-year 2026, Houser reaffirmed expectations for double-digit reported revenue growth and provided guidance ranges:
- Revenue: $340 million to $346 million (10% to 12% reported growth); excluding political media, approximately 7% to 9% normalized growth
- Adjusted EBITDA: $141 million to $146 million
- Adjusted EBITDA margin expectation: approximately 42% for full-year 2026 (following an outlook increase)
- Free cash flow conversion target: 45%
Houser said Repay expects political media to contribute $8 million to $10 million of revenue in 2026, representing about 3 percentage points of reported growth, with the majority of contributions typically occurring in Q3 and Q4 around November elections.
When asked about quarterly progression excluding political media, Houser said the company expects growth to ramp in Q2 and “really into Q3,” reflecting implementation timing of new client wins. In a follow-up, he said the company’s confidence in 2026 is tied to bookings already secured, with focus shifting toward 2027 as deployments progress.
Morris said Repay continues to see stable consumer trends in its verticals, citing strong February and March performance tied to tax refund season. He also said there were no unusual customer renewals to highlight for core Repay during 2026.
Governance matters and unsolicited proposal
At the outset of the call, Head of Investor Relations Stewart Grisante addressed governance-related matters, including a request from Veradace Partners for a waiver of bylaw timing requirements for director nominations. Grisante said the board denied the request and that Repay filed a preliminary proxy statement on May 1. He said Veradace “failed to comply with the requirements set forth in our bylaws and is not entitled to make lawful director nominations at this year’s annual meeting.”
Grisante also said the board previously confirmed receipt of an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Forager Capital to acquire outstanding shares of the company. He said Repay sent a letter to Forager and issued a press release stating the board “has unanimously rejected” the proposal because it “significantly undervalues the company” and is not in shareholders’ best interest. Grisante said the company would not take questions on those matters.
In closing remarks, Morris said Repay remains focused on executing against its priorities, including closing the KUBRA transaction, and “accelerating towards double-digit reported growth with strong profitability” under its 2026 outlook.
About Repay NASDAQ: RPAY
Repay Holdings Corp. Nasdaq: RPAY is a specialized financial technology company that delivers integrated payment solutions to businesses operating within key vertical markets. The company's platform enables merchants and service providers to accept a range of payment types, including credit and debit cards, automated clearing house (ACH) transfers and electronic checks. Repay's offerings are designed to seamlessly integrate with third-party software applications, such as enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and point-of-sale systems, empowering industries such as utilities, telecommunications, automotive finance, healthcare, insurance, property management and education.
Tracing its roots to the formation of Pinnacle Payment Systems in 1997, Repay expanded its capabilities through strategic acquisitions, including Southeastern Integrated Solutions and Payliance, before completing a business combination with Thunder Bridge Acquisition II in 2019 to become a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq.
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