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Remitly (RELY) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q1 FY26)· Information Technology· May 6, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Remitly Q1 FY26 — Record Revenue & Adjusted EBITDA Driven by Digital Shift and Growth Accelerators

Remitly delivered exceptional Q1 FY26 results, driven by a resilient business model, growing contributions from new business categories, and continued expense discipline. The company is accelerating its strategy by leveraging AI for efficiency and product development, focusing on high-value senders, businesses, and receivers, and expanding its card-based offerings to diversify revenue and enhance customer loyalty.

Highlights

5

  • Record revenue of $453 million, up 25% YoY, exceeding guidance.

  • Record adjusted EBITDA of $102 million, exceeding guidance and marking the first time over $100 million.

  • Quarterly active customers (QAU) grew 20% YoY to over 9.6 million, ahead of expectations.

  • Send volume grew 37% to $22.1 billion, with Send volume per active customer up 14% to nearly $2,300.

  • RLTE dollars grew 28% to $308 million, outpacing revenue growth, with RLTE as a percentage of revenue improving 156 bps YoY to 68%.

Concerns

2

  • Q2 revenue growth expected to decelerate to 17-18% due to timing shifts of Ramadan/Easter, elevated Q1 tax refunds, and tougher comps.

  • Stock-based compensation expected to be elevated in Q2 due to hiring activity shifted from Q1 and challenging prior-year comparisons.

Guidance & targets

CategoryTargetConfidence
Q2 FY26 Revenue
$483 million to $485 million
high materiality
High
Q2 FY26 Revenue Growth
17% to 18%
high materiality
High
Q2 FY26 Adjusted EBITDA
$86 million and $88 million
high materiality
High
Q2 FY26 Adjusted EBITDA Margin
around 18%
high materiality
High
Full-year FY26 Revenue
$1.96 billion and $1.975 billion
high materiality
High
Full-year FY26 Revenue Growth
20% to 21%
high materiality
High
Full-year FY26 Adjusted EBITDA
$370 million and $385 million
high materiality
High
Full-year FY26 Adjusted EBITDA Margin
around 19%
high materiality
High
Full-year FY26 RLTE margins
broadly in line with 2025 on a normalized basis
medium materiality
Medium
Full-year FY26 Stock-based compensation
increase in absolute terms year-over-year, but decrease as a percentage of revenue
low materiality
High
Growth accelerators revenue contribution
around 5% of total revenue
medium materiality
High
Growth accelerators revenue contribution
exceed 10% of total revenue
medium materiality
High
New products revenue growth
more than double this year
medium materiality
High
GAAP Net Income
positive each quarter this year
medium materiality
High

Segment performance

SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
U.S. Send Revenue
Driven by continued share gains and the shift from offline to online conversions due to recent regulatory changes.
—25%——
Rest of the World Send Revenue
Showcases geographic diversification. Notable strength in the UAE with volumes up over 150% YoY due to a short-term surge from geopolitical events.
—31%——
Receive Revenue (ex-India, Philippines, Mexico)
Further diversifying the business by growing faster than overall revenue and now comprising over half of the total revenue mix.
% of revenue mix: over half
—faster than overall revenue growth——

RELY operating KPIs by quarter

RELY operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPIThis call Mar 2026 Q1 FY26 Jun 2026 Q2 FY26Change vs prior quarter
Payments volume
$22.1B Unpacking revenue growth drivers for Q1, Send volume grew 37% to $22.1 billion. Source: earnings call transcript
$23.5B Unpacking revenue growth drivers for Q2, send volume grew 27% to $23.5 billion. Source: earnings call transcript
+6.3%
Send volume per active customer
<$2,300 Supporting this strong volume growth, Send volume per active customer increased to nearly $2,300 or 14% year-over-year growth, a record on both an absolute and percentage growth basis. Source: earnings call transcript
$2,300 Send volume per active customer reached a record $2,300, up 6% year-over-year, driven by growth in high-value senders and business customers as well as higher average transaction sizes among core senders. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Active accounts
9.6M+ Quarterly active customers grew 20% year-over-year to over 9.6 million, ahead of our expectations. Source: earnings call transcript
10.2M Quarterly active customers grew 20% year-over-year to 10.2 million. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Take rate
2.05% Our take rate this quarter was 2.05%, in line with expectations. Source: earnings call transcript
2.11% Our take rate this quarter was 2.11%. Source: earnings call transcript
+0.1 pt
Active accounts Remitly business
20K+ We ended Q1 with over 20,000 Remitly business users and more than 30% quarter-over-quarter growth in business Send volume. Source: earnings call transcript
25K+ We ended Q2 with over 25,000 Remitly business users and saw a sequential acceleration in quarter-over-quarter growth for both volume and revenue. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Marketing spend per active customer
$8.56 Marketing spend per active customer was $8.56, up 0.7% year-over-year, in line with our expectations. Source: earnings call transcript
$9.46 Marketing spend per active customer was $9.46, up 0.9% year-over-year and in line with our expectations. Source: earnings call transcript
+10.5%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Product announcements

ProductTypeDetails
WhatsApp Integrationupdate
ChatGPT Integrationlaunch
Bre-B (Colombia Central Bank-backed instant payment rail)expansion
Banco Bolivariano (Ecuador)expansion
KBZPay (Myanmar)expansion
Rocket (Bangladesh)expansion
Coins.ph (Philippines)expansion
UAE Receive Marketexpansion
Discover Card Acceptanceexpansion
FedNow and RTP Access (U.S.)launch
Business Receiver Productlaunch
Business Payment Initiation Featurelaunch
Receiver & Request Productlaunch
Card-based Send Now, Pay Later Offeringlaunch

Risks & headwinds

Geopolitical Uncertainty Q1 FY26

short-term surge in volumes

Seasonal/Timing Shifts Q2 FY26

Q2 revenue growth impacted by shifting timing of Ramadan and Easter to earlier in the year, and elevated U.S. tax refunds benefiting Q1.

Mitigation:Management accounts for this in Q2 guidance.

Tougher Comparables Q2 FY26

Q2 revenue growth impacted by tougher comps due to strong Q1 performance and geopolitical events.

Mitigation:Management accounts for this in Q2 guidance.

Elevated Stock-Based Compensation Q2 FY26

elevated

Mitigation:Expected to decrease as a percentage of revenue for the full year. Partially offset by higher forfeitures.

What to watch in Q2 FY26

Q2 Revenue Growth

Q2 FY26
Current Q1 FY26 revenue growth: 25%
Target 17% to 18%

Why it matters

Verifies the impact of seasonal shifts and tougher comps on the company's growth trajectory.

For the second quarter of 2026, we expect revenue of $483 million to $485 million or 17% to 18% growth.

Find out whether RELY delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Asked for more detail on the specific factors driving Q1 outperformance (remittance tax, tax refunds, geopolitical events) and how these impact seasonal trends and future guidance, including any new risks or opportunities.

Vikas Mehta attributed Q1 strength to the positive impact of remittance tax driving offline-to-online shifts, higher U.S. tax refunds, earlier timing of holidays (Easter, Ramadan), and increased volumes in the UAE due to geopolitical uncertainty. He noted that Q1's record new customer acquisition provides a strong foundation for the full year, with reacceleration expected in H2 driven by core business strength and growth accelerators.

“Some of the highlights in the quarter included just the positive impact that we got from remittance tax and the shift from offline to online customers that aided our record new customer acquisitions. In addition to that, the higher U.S. tax refunds as we have seen, especially in the core sender segment, this is a really positive impact that we saw.”

asked by Tien-Tsin Huang · answered by Vikas Mehta

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

CEO's First 90 Days & Operating Priorities

New CEO Sebastian Gunningham spent his first 90 days understanding the business, traveling globally, and speaking with customers. This led to clear operating priorities: smaller teams for ownership, distinguishing core remittance from growth initiatives, disciplined product building from customer needs, embedding AI, and prioritizing speed. These changes are aimed at accelerating the business trajectory.

Strategic Framework & Growth Accelerators

Remitly's strategy is framed around a 4x4 matrix: four customer categories (core senders, high-value senders, businesses, receivers) and four product offerings (sending, borrowing, spending, saving money). While Core Send drives most revenue, Borrow, Spend, and Save products are 'growth accelerators' designed to create a flywheel effect, driving loyalty, higher remittance volumes, and revenue diversification.

AI Integration and Impact

The company is aggressively integrating AI across its operations, expecting three main benefits: cost savings through efficiency (e.g., 250 headcount reductions, 50 redeployments), increased speed in product development (knowledge development engineers compressing cycles from months to days), and enhanced customer trust through personalized localization and improved service. Management believes AI will enable significantly more revenue with roughly the same headcount in 3-4 years.

New Product Initiatives & Expansion

Remitly expanded its network reach in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, adding new receive markets and payment rails. On the send side, it enabled Discover card acceptance and access to FedNow/RTP in the U.S. The company launched a new card-based 'Send Now, Pay Later' offering in the U.S. with a bank partner, providing a global debit card, wallet, short-term credit line, and rewards for a monthly fee, targeting short-term liquidity needs.

High-Value Senders & Business Segment Growth

Remitly redefined high-value senders as those sending $5,000+ per transaction, a segment that saw 73% YoY volume growth in Q1. The business offering scaled ahead of expectations, ending Q1 with over 20,000 users and 30%+ QoQ growth in send volume, with RLTE contribution per business customer more than 2x core customers. The Receiver product also launched in 6 countries, enabling direct access for 30 million individuals and businesses who receive funds.

Operational Efficiency & Capital Allocation

The company achieved leverage across all expense categories in Q1, including a 10%+ reduction in corporate workforce. Marketing expense as a percentage of revenue improved by 67 bps YoY to 18.2%, with LTV to CAC ratio above 6x and payback under 12 months. Technology and development expenses grew 14% YoY, well below revenue growth, due to AI-assisted code generation. Remitly repurchased $44 million (2.8 million shares) in Q1, nearly doubling prior activity, reflecting confidence in long-term growth and disciplined dilution management.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.