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Investing.com -- Wise PLC (LON:WISEa) shares tumbled 6.6% on Thursday after the cross-border payments company reported slowing revenue growth despite meeting its financial targets for the first half of fiscal 2026.
The fintech firm reported underlying income of £749.5 million for the six months ended September 30, up 13% YoY, with underlying profit before tax of £122 million, representing a margin of 16.3%.
While this profit margin sits at the top end of Wise’s medium-term target range of 13-16%, it marks a significant decline from the 22.2% margin reported in the same period last year.
Wise’s cross-border volume grew 24% to £84.9 billion, outpacing its cross-border revenue growth of just 5% as the company’s take rate decreased 10 basis points YoY to 52 basis points. This reduction reflects Wise’s strategic investment in lower prices to drive long-term customer acquisition and retention.
"We are now a direct participant of 7 domestic payment systems, most recently Pix, the domestic payment system in Brazil, and will complete our eighth, with Zengin in Japan, later this month," said Kristo Käärmann, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
"Enhancements like these make our infrastructure increasingly efficient: 74% of transfers are now completed instantly, and our average cross-border take rate is at 52 bps."
Active customers increased 18% YoY to 13.4 million, with personal customers growing 18% to 12.8 million and business customers up 17% to 613,000. Customer holdings increased 37% to £25.3 billion, including over £5 billion in the company’s ’Assets’ feature.
Administrative expenses rose 27% YoY to £465.9 million, including approximately £11.5 million in expenses related to Wise’s planned dual-listing in the US. The company confirmed its full-year guidance of 15-20% underlying income growth on a constant currency basis and an underlying profit before tax margin of around 16% for FY26, excluding dual-listing costs.
Wise remains on track for its US listing in the second quarter of 2026, which it expects will increase its profile in what it calls "the biggest market opportunity in the world" for its products.