It began with 4 easy phrases: “What hath God wrought?”
The query, a biblical quote from the E book of Numbers, was on Could 24, 1844, the primary official Morse Code message transmitted within the U.S., to open the Baltimore–Washington telegraph line, marking the daybreak of a brand new technological age.
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Seven years later a bunch of telegraph corporations got here collectively to type the long-lasting enterprise generally known as Western Union (WU) .
Sure, the telegram, a favourite dramatic machine in numerous films, TV reveals, and songs, normally bringing dangerous information.
Simply ask the Capris who made the musical plea “Baby, Come Home to Me” in 1959 through telegram, or the 5 Individuals, whose 1967 hit “Western Union” instructed the unhappy story of a busted romance, full with sound results.
Now, a few of you on the market have to be questioning why try to be occupied with an organization that appears as well timed as buggy whips and snuff packing containers.
Western Union’s CEO says the corporate’s North American footprint will increase.
Western Union CEO cites tough macro backdrop
However Western Union has moved on from dots and dashes and now offers international monetary companies, specializing in cross-border cash motion and funds.
“Back 150 years ago, it was on the vanguard of technology,” TheStreet Professional’s Bret Jensen stated in his Sept. 14 column. “Now most would consider it stodgy, and while few use its services anymore, it still has a core niche.”
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“In actual fact, the corporate is so well-known, simply by saying its title invokes its yellow and black company banner for many — even by those who haven’t used its companies in many years,” he added.
In August Bloomberg reported that the company was considering issuing a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset, like a fiat currency — like the dollar — or a commodity.
Such a coin could be “almost like a savings account in US dollars” for customers in other countries where regulators will allow the activity, Chief Executive Devin McGranahan told the news service.
In July President Donald Trump signed a law regulating stablecoins and many financial firms are now figuring out how to leverage the product, Bloomberg reported.
WU CEO: ‘Reasonable quarter, difficult macro backdrop’
Western Union missed Wall Street’s expectations in July and lowered its full-year 2025 outlook as earnings were hit by a slowdown in its North America retail business and reduced revenue from Iraq.
“We reported a reasonable quarter against a difficult macro backdrop as we continue to implement our evolved 2025 strategy, which is focused on returning [Western Union] to sustainable, profitable revenue growth,” McGranahan instructed analysts throughout the second-quarter earnings name.
Western Union, which is scheduled to report Q3 outcomes subsequent month, has seen its inventory slide 20% this yr and almost 30% from 2024.
“We stay optimistic in regards to the long-term outlook as our funding in turning into market aggressive over the previous two years has offered a basis for what we imagine can be future share beneficial properties propelling income progress in each our retail and digital companies,” McGranahan stated.
Jensen stated that the corporate’s North American footprint will increase, pending the closing of final month’s introduced acquisition of Worldwide Cash Specific, a deal valued at roughly at $500 million.
Extra not too long ago, Western Union and dLocal DLO, a Uruguayan fintech, unveiled an alliance to allow digital-payment strategies on WU’s on-line platforms in Latin America.
Western Union’s client companies unit primarily consists of bill-payment companies within the U.S. and Argentina, in addition to cash order companies, Jensen stated.
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The bigger Client Cash Switch enterprise has roughly 380,000 agent places conducting in-person transactions, though digital transactions have gotten an more and more bigger portion of its enterprise, Jensen defined.
“Western Union’s CMT revenues have declined markedly since the close of 2021,” the investor and entrepreneur stated. That is occurred because the Trump administration’s immigration insurance policies have diminished remittances to Mexico. And repair to Ukraine and Russia has been suspended because of the warfare there, Jensen stated.
TheStreet Professional’s Jensen: WU option-trade concept
In his column Jensen laid out a strategy to provoke a place in Western Union utilizing a covered-call technique.
“Selecting the February $8 call strikes, fashion a covered call order with a net debit in the $7.55 to $7.65 a share range (net stock price – option premium),” he stated. “Liquidity is beyond solid with the options against this equity.”
This technique, Jensen stated, offers draw back safety of 15% over the commerce’s period, which incorporates two dividend funds of 24 cents a share. “It also provides upside return potential of just over 11%, including dividends, even if the stock trades down 5% over its option duration,” he added.
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