International expansion and surging profitability help make Remitly Global stock a buy. Just ask its growing base of users. By Dan Victor
For millions of immigrants and expats worldwide, sending money abroad is a financial lifeline. The global remittance market exceeds $900 billion a year and continues to grow, according to World Bank data. These cross-border transfers are rapidly shifting away from cash agents and retail storefronts to transactions on digital applications.
Seattle-based Remitly Global, with a $5 billion market capitalization, is a disrupter in the field. The company is generating industry-leading growth, with more than 10 million active customers, and evolving into a broader financial platform. The stock is a Buy amid its international expansion and surging profitability.
In its second-quarter results posted Aug. 5, Remitly beat expectations on the top and bottom lines. Revenue was up 20% year over year, while earnings of 93 cents per share surged from three cents compared with the same quarter a year ago. Through the first six months of the year, free cash flow of $202 million is up 83% compared with the same period in 2025.
The impressive results reflect a growing scale and improved cost structure, including efficiencies driven by artificial intelligence. The $23.5 billion in transaction send volume in the quarter increased by 27% from the prior year. Annualized, that corresponds to about 9% of the total annual global remittance market. Further momentum into 2027 should support a steady tailwind for the stock.
Gus Galá of Monness Crespi Hardt was among the Wall Street analysts who were bullish heading into the report. "We view Remitly as a structural market winner poised to capture 10% to 15%+ of consumer transactions by 2030, driven by a product superiority vs. legacy incumbents and a business model built around digital scale," he wrote in a July note, reiterating a Buy rating with a $33 price target. That corresponds to more than 35% upside from the recent closing price near $24 and a multiple of 15 times enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda.
In our view, the stock could climb meaningfully higher if Remitly continues executing on its expansion and product road map. In a highly fragmented industry, the company has shown an ability to win and keep customers by delivering a faster, more seamless experience, often at a narrower exchange rate spread than competitors.
Remitly's core strength lies in treating international money transfers as a low-cost customer-acquisition engine. Once users are onboarded, the company is able to cross-sell banking-like products that deepen engagement and expand lifetime user value.
The strategy starts with financial wallets that let customers store, send, receive, and manage funds with access to credit without needing a traditional bank account. Several product innovations have accelerated this shift.
Remitly Flex, launched in 2025, offers customers small-value, short-term cash advances on a "send now, pay later" basis and already serves more than 140,000 active users. In July the company rolled out the Global Card, a branded debit product that enables no-fee international spending and cash-back rewards. While the card alone is free to users, both offerings -- along with enhanced credit and liquidity features -- can be bundled into the premium Remitly One subscription for $9.99 a month. The premium membership is currently expanding beyond the U.S.
Remitly is also capturing higher-value segments that further boost send volume and take rates. It has been successful in attracting high-dollar senders -- customers who regularly remit $5,000 or more -- by providing specialized support services and preferential exchange rates.
At the same time, the company is pushing into the business-to-business segment with commercial features such as bulk transfers, international invoicing, and contractor payouts. These efforts are emerging as important growth drivers while broadening its addressable market beyond pure consumer remittances.
Citizens analyst David Scharf has identified these initiatives as a catalyst for the stock. "We believe the company is on the cusp of materially expanding its total addressable market by launching its next phase of growth, which includes SMB transfers, digital wallet penetration, and new products for receivers," he wrote in a recent July report. Scharf reiterated a Market Outperform rating on shares, hiking his price target from $26 to $30.
The quarterly results likely add to that conviction. Remitly management raised its full-year 2026 guidance to revenue growth of 21% to 22%, while raising its forecast for adjusted Ebitda of $410 million to $415 million. If confirmed, the estimate will represent an impressive 52% increase in Ebitda at the midpoint from the 2025 result.
Ultimately, the bullish case for Remitly Global stock is that it leverages its remittance leadership and transforms into a broader financial technology giant.
At roughly 13 times enterprise value to Ebitda, Remitly's valuation seems reasonable given its financial momentum and market share gains. The stock does trade at a premium to legacy players like Western Union and International Money Express, which sit closer to five times Ebitda. But both of those companies have been weighed down by their capital-intensive, cash-agent network model, and have posted weak growth in recent quarters. Western Union's traditional retail business has been especially pressured by the ongoing digital migration. International Money Express has seen declining volumes and widening financial losses, challenges that likely have led to its pending acquisition by Western Union.
Remitly's valuation multiple is closer to that of digital peer Wise Group. In this case, the businesses aren't identical. Like Remitly, Wise is a remittance platform, but has focused more on the clearing infrastructure side of the business while avoiding an expansion into broader financial products.
Notably, Wise was denied a U.S. national trust bank charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in July, a setback related to past compliance and anti-money-laundering deficiencies. That license would have let Wise settle dollar transactions more directly, potentially improving its economics in the key U.S. market. The denial keeps both companies on the same playing field operating as regulated intermediaries, with Wall Street analysts describing it as a favorable development for Remitly.
For its part, Remitly secured a key operating license from the United Arab Emirates central bank, one of the first granted to a foreign remitter in the world's second-largest outbound remittance market, notable for its extensive expat population. This foothold in the Middle East positions Remitly to sustain consensus revenue growth near 20% through 2028, with even greater potential for earnings.
The outlook for Remitly is compelling, but risks remain. Competition in cross-border payments is intense, and higher marketing spend or pricing pressure could slow profitability gains. Wider adoption of noncustodial wallet-to-wallet transfers and crypto alternatives may also challenge traditional fee and foreign-exchange models over time. Policy shifts, including potential remittance taxes, tighter immigration enforcement, or delayed licensing, are also worth watching.
For investors who believe the multiyear shift to digital remittances still has room to run, Remitly Global looks like a transfer worth making.
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