Funding Circle Holdings reported first-half 2026 revenue of £138 million, up 50% from the same period a year earlier, and profit before tax of £24 million, four times the £6 million reported in H1 2025. The profit-before-tax margin rose to 17% from 7% in H1 2025; earlier multi-year chart references noted a 1% margin. Chief Executive Lisa Jacobs said demand remained strong and that the lender’s multi-product strategy was working, while Chief Financial Officer Tony Damiani said the top line was growing roughly twice as fast as costs. Shares fell 8.7% to $210 from $230, leaving the stock between a 52-week low of $113.2 and a high of $252. The decline occurred even as the company raised its full-year guidance.
Funding Circle extended £1.7 billion of credit in the first half, up 52% year over year, and reported assets under management of £3.3 billion, up 15%. Operating expenses rose 27% to £99 million, meaning revenue growth outpaced cost growth. Term-loan revenue increased 43% to £108 million, with term-loan profit before tax reaching £29 million and a 26% margin. FlexiPay and credit card revenue grew 83% to £30 million from £16 million a year earlier, while assets under management for those products reached £300 million, up 78%. The revenue total included £108 million from term loans and £30 million from FlexiPay and credit cards. Expected credit losses for FlexiPay and the card were £15 million. Damiani said that if the company stopped growing FlexiPay and the card and made no new marketing investment, the businesses would be profitable on an annualized basis at around £10 million.
The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook, expecting revenue of more than £255 million and profit before tax of more than £40 million, implying a doubling of profit versus 2025. For fiscal 2029, Funding Circle targeted revenue of £300 million to £350 million and a profit-before-tax margin in the low-to-mid 20% range. It said it had approximately £2.4 billion in forward-flow arrangements in place for future originations. A Citi facility was renewed in April 2026 at £320 million. Funding Circle ended June with £136 million of unrestricted cash, of which £88 million was considered deployable after risk buffers.
Valuation metrics cited in the transcript included a market capitalization of $819 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15, return on equity of 21% over the last twelve months, and a gross profit margin of 67%. The company said it had repurchased around £72 million of shares, or 18% of issued share capital, since March 2024. It also announced an additional share buyback of up to £25 million following the conclusion of the current program. The buyback update was disclosed alongside the company’s first-half results.
Operationally, Funding Circle said a customer transaction now occurs every 20 seconds, compared with every 38 seconds at the end of the previous year and every half an hour five years earlier. About one-third of customers hold more than one product. The company cited 16 years of proprietary data, 10 billion data points and ninth-generation credit models supporting a six-minute application process, with instant decisions for more than 75% of borrowers. It said 90% of employees use AI frequently, and that an AI-native engineering team improved speed to market by more than 30% in the second quarter.
Jacobs said she intended to step down by the end of September 2027. She said the company had built on the momentum of the prior year with strong revenue and profit growth while backing a record number of small businesses. The succession note was provided during the earnings call.
