Western Union slides as Q1 earnings fall sharply despite flat revenue and reaffirmed outlook

The Western Union Company (WU) is down 7.9% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: Western Union’s stock appears to be moving lower after the company reported a sizable year-over-year decline in first-quarter profitability, with EPS pressured by weaker margins and several discrete headwinds. Even though revenue was roughly flat and full-year guidance was reaffirmed, investors may be reacting to the magnitude of the earnings drop and signs of ongoing pressure in the Americas retail business.

Details:

Western Union reported first-quarter 2026 GAAP revenue of about $983 million (roughly flat year over year), but GAAP EPS fell to $0.20 from $0.36 and adjusted EPS fell to $0.25 from $0.41.

Operating margin declined to 13% (GAAP and adjusted), down from 18%/19% in the prior-year quarter, with management citing items such as weaker fixed-cost coverage at owned locations, timing of vendor incentives, higher commissions tied to new agents, and foreign-currency impacts.

Consumer Money Transfer segment revenue declined (down 3% on a GAAP basis), with macro pressure in the Americas retail business highlighted as an offset to growth areas.

The company reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance (including GAAP revenue growth of 5% to 8% and adjusted EPS of $1.75 to $1.85), assuming the Intermex acquisition closes in Q2 2026.

Sources:

U.S. SEC, The Associated Press, StreetInsider

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$WU Insider Trading Activity

$WU insiders have traded $WU stock on the open market 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 0 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $WU stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

GIOVANNI ANGELINI (President Europe, Africa, MEPA) purchased 10,000 shares for an estimated $89,540

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$WU Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 254 institutional investors add shares of $WU stock to their portfolio, and 227 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA removed 10,644,796 shares (-87.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $99,103,050
SG AMERICAS SECURITIES, LLC removed 7,821,087 shares (-98.3%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $68,278,089
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP added 4,966,422 shares (+1018.4%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $46,237,388
UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 3,996,755 shares (-76.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $37,209,789
J. GOLDMAN & CO LP added 3,970,718 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $36,967,384
MARSHALL WACE, LLP added 3,633,049 shares (+3370.2%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $33,823,686
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC removed 3,553,671 shares (-62.4%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $33,084,677

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$WU Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $WU recently. We have seen 4 analysts offer price targets for $WU in the last 6 months, with a median target of $9.5.

Here are some recent targets:

Ramsey El-Assal from Cantor Fitzgerald set a target price of $9.0 on 01/27/2026
Sanjay Sakhrani from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a target price of $10.0 on 01/02/2026
James Friedman from Susquehanna set a target price of $10.0 on 11/10/2025
Timothy Chiodo from UBS set a target price of $9.0 on 11/10/2025

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.