Fintech Star Wise Surpasses Q2 Revenue Targets, Elevates Growth Projections

Wise reported robust financial performance for its fiscal second quarter of 2027, with net revenue reaching $739 million. This represents a significant 21% year-on-year growth in constant currency, outperforming analyst consensus by 2%. The positive results, highlighted in an October 16, 2026, research note by Jefferies, which maintains a Buy rating, were primarily driven by a strong showing in net interest income and improved customer balance metrics.

While net interest income exceeded expectations on both gross yield and customer balance, compensating for a slight shortfall in volume per customer, total payment volume (TPV) still grew impressively by 22% year-on-year to $72 billion. However, TPV came in 2% below consensus, attributed to the aforementioned volume per customer miss. Operationally, Wise saw its active customer base expand to 12.5 million by quarter-end, marking a 20% year-on-year increase and 5% sequential growth. This includes 11.9 million Personal customers and 633,000 Business customers.

The Business segment emerged as a particularly fast-growing area, showing a 31% year-on-year increase in TPV terms, reaching $22 billion. A standout performance was also observed in Card and other revenue, which surged by 34% year-on-year to $206 million, surpassing consensus by 3%. Card spend TPV increased by 30%, and the card book now contributes a substantial 27% to net revenue, up from a lower base in the previous year. This structural shift is significant, as card revenue carries different margin and competitive dynamics compared to the core cross-border transfer business, providing a partial hedge against the gradual compression in cross-border take rates, which saw a sequential dip of 1 basis point to 50 basis points.

Total customer holdings for Wise reached $44 billion, with Wise account balances specifically growing 4% sequentially to $32 billion. The implied gross yield on these balances was 2.3%, a decrease from 3.0% in the prior quarter, reflecting the prevailing interest-rate environment. Additionally, Wise has been actively engaged in a share buyback program, completing 39% of a planned $550 million initiative that began in July 2026 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2027. Approximately 17 million shares have been repurchased at an average price of $12.10 per share, representing about 2% of the diluted share count.

Looking ahead, Wise has revised its full-year guidance, lifting it to the upper end of its 15-20% medium-term growth range, indicating a projected 17.5-20% net revenue growth in constant currency. Income before tax (IBT) margin guidance was maintained at around the top of the 20-25% medium-term ambition, a figure that remains below the current analyst consensus of approximately 26%, suggesting a conservative management of expectations. Jefferies estimates FY27 net revenue at $1.55 billion and IBT at $778 million, though they note the beat is unlikely to trigger significant share price movement due to limited room for earnings upgrades.

Despite the strong results, two pending overhangs continue to be scrutinized: an ongoing investigation by Belgian authorities and questions surrounding Wise’s engagement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the United States. Until these issues are resolved or further disclosed, the Jefferies note suggests that Wise’s shares are likely to remain range-bound ahead of the full first-half results, which are due on November 12, 2026.

The fiscal Q2 2027 results clearly illustrate a bifurcated growth story within Wise’s operational model. The legacy cross-border transfer business continues to contend with structural take-rate compression amidst intensifying competition from banks upgrading their international payment systems and other money-transfer operators. Conversely, the card and Business segments are demonstrating faster growth, effectively diversifying the company’s revenue streams. For investors, the pivotal question remains whether this diversification can sustainably support a group growth rate exceeding 20% as the consumer cross-border market gradually matures.