World Acceptance posts $8.8 million profit as provision and expenses fall

World Acceptance Corporation reported net income of $8.8 million, or $1.92 per diluted share, for its fiscal 2027 second quarter, reversing a net loss of $1.7 million a year earlier, as total revenues rose 3.2% to $139.2 million and the provision for credit losses fell to $46.0 million from $49.8 million.

The quarter ended September 30, 2026 is the second period of World Acceptance's fiscal 2027, which closes on March 31. The Greenville, South Carolina lender disclosed the results in a news release filed as an exhibit to a current report. For the six months to September 30, net income was $14.9 million, or $3.25 per diluted share, against a net loss of $100,000 a year earlier.

Credit and cost lines carried the quarter

Interest and fee income rose 3.6% to $123.3 million from $119.0 million a year earlier; insurance income slipped to $11.6 million from $11.9 million, and other income rose $300,000, or 8.3%, to $4.3 million. Interest and insurance yields for the quarter rose 158 basis points year over year, which helps explain why revenue grew while the loan book barely moved.

The provision for credit losses fell because the allowance build slowed. The allowance for credit losses rose to $116.3 million at September 30 from $112.5 million at June 30; a year earlier the same quarter moved it from $109.1 million to $117.8 million. General and administrative expenses fell 2.9% to $69.9 million, or 50.2% of revenue from 53.4%, as personnel expense dropped 8.0% and incentive expense fell $4.2 million on lower share-based compensation. Interest expense fell $2.7 million, or 18.8%, from a year earlier: the year-earlier quarter carried a $3.0 million early call penalty and a $700,000 write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, partly offset by a 13.3% increase in average debt outstanding to $582.8 million.

Delinquency improved while charge-offs rose

Loans 61 days or more past due fell to 5.4% of the portfolio on a recency basis from 5.8% a year earlier, and loans 0 to 60 days past due fell to 18.9% from 20.0%. Net charge-offs still rose $1.1 million to $42.2 million, and annualized net charge-offs as a percentage of average net loans rose to 17.6% from 17.1%. The allowance for credit losses was 12.0% of net loans receivable, against 12.1%. Delinquency and charge-offs moved opposite ways and the release does not explain the gap; the delinquency rates are measured against a book that has stopped growing, with gross loans outstanding at $1.319 billion, a 0.3% increase from $1.315 billion.

A smaller customer count as underwriting loosens

New-customer originations fell 18.1% from a year earlier and former-customer originations fell 9.9%, while refinancing volume rose 4.4%. The customer base shrank 5.4% over the twelve months to September 30, against a 6.2% increase a year earlier, and same-store gross loans at branches open at least twelve months rose 0.1% against 3.3%. The release attributes the contraction to underwriting tightened at the end of the prior fiscal year and says the stance has changed: "We have since loosened underwriting and expect to carefully increase new customer lending in the coming quarters." The company reported 1,009 open branches and headcount down 3.4%.

Buybacks, leverage, and a smaller year-earlier loss

World Acceptance repurchased 133,199 shares, or 3.0% of the total, for approximately $25.0 million in the quarter, and said it had $25.0 million left under its share repurchase program and $47.5 million available under its revolving credit facility. Debt outstanding was $592.1 million and the debt-to-equity ratio 1.7:1, against 1.6:1 a year earlier; the six-month results included $4.8 million, or $3.6 million after tax, of CEO transition expense, and adjusted net income was $18.5 million, or $4.05 per diluted share.

The comparative column also tells a second story. Today's release puts the year-earlier quarter at a net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.33 per diluted share. The release published on October 23, 2025 reported $1.9 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for that quarter, and revenue for the six months then ended of $266.9 million with a net loss of $600,000; the comparatives published today show $267.6 million and a loss of $100,000. Neither release explains the difference.

No outlook, and a call later today

The release contains no earnings or revenue forecast and no statement about expected credit losses for the rest of the fiscal year. Management scheduled a conference call for 10:00 a.m. Eastern time today, and the release notes that responses on that call may include information not previously disclosed. The useful tests are whether the company can add new customers without pushing annualized charge-offs above the current 17.6% and whether the allowance, at 12.0% of net loans, holds as that lending restarts. The next scheduled disclosure is the fiscal third-quarter release.