FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCFS) shares demonstrated resilience on Thursday, exhibiting a marginal uptick of 0.09% to conclude the trading session at $109.17. This stability persisted despite notable insider selling activities reported on the same day. According to SEC filings, FirstCash directors Richard Rippel Douglas and Owen Randel G. divested 41,421 shares of FCFS, realizing gross proceeds of $4,530,722 at an average selling price of $109.2975.
The steadfast performance of FirstCash (FCFS) shares appears to be correlated with the company’s recent expansion initiatives. In the third quarter alone, FirstCash added 104 pawn stores, comprising 79 acquired locations in the U.S. and 25 newly established stores, predominantly in Latin America. The company is on track to incorporate over 150 pawn stores by year-end. This substantial unit growth, combined with robust demand in existing locations, is anticipated to propel additional revenue and earnings growth for FirstCash in the fourth quarter and beyond.
So far this year, FCFS has expanded its presence by adding 88 fresh sites in the United States. This raises the overall count to 1,181 comprehensive pawn outlets spread across 29 states and the District of Columbia. This marks a significant 10% surge in the overall store count when compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
During the third quarter, FirstCash also acquired the underlying real estate for ten existing pawn stores, raising the tally of owned U.S. locations to 318. Meanwhile, the American First Finance (AFF) segment of FCFS continued its expansion, boasting approximately 10,800 active retail and e-commerce merchant partner locations as of September 30, 2023, marking a 26% surge compared to the same date in 2022.
In October 2023, FirstCash secured a $50 million augmentation in lender commitments for its U.S. revolving commercial bank credit facility, enlarging the facility’s size from $590 million to $640 million. Notably, the maturity date of August 2027 and all financial covenants remained unaltered despite the expansion of the U.S. facility.
