At a glance
Western Union Co is worth $1.90B, about 4 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue fell 3.8% to $4.05B in fiscal 2025, with 12.3% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 3.5% a year. It pays a 15.76% dividend yield, and returned $3.23B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −27.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −12.7% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 29.9% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 30.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Western Union moves money across borders. Its core customers are individuals, many of them international migrants, sending money abroad. A sender pays at an agent location (a shop, bank or post office offering its service) or online. The recipient usually collects cash at another agent within minutes, or gets it in a bank account. As of December 31, 2025, the network reached more than 200 countries and territories, and about 360,000 locations had handled a transfer in the prior 12 months.
Revenue comes from the fee it sets on each transfer and from the foreign exchange spread: the gap between the exchange rate it gives the customer and the wholesale market rate. It pays commissions to both the sending and the paying agent. In fiscal 2025, Consumer Money Transfer brought in $3.51 billion, about 87% of total revenue of $4.05 billion. Consumer Services, which covers bill payments, money orders, travel money, check acceptance, prepaid cards and digital wallets, made up the other 13%. About 65% of revenue came from outside the US.
Under its “Beyond” strategy, announced in November 2025, it aims to expand digital wallets and launch USDPT, a stablecoin (a digital token backed by US dollars). It also agreed to acquire Intermex, a US-to-Latin America transfer company, for about $500 million in cash.
Price history
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WU -27.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Consumer Money Transfers | $3.51B | 86.6% |
| Consumer Services | $543.3M | 13.4% |
By business segment
| Consumer Money Transfer | $3.51B | 86.6% |
| Consumer Services | $543.3M | 13.4% |
By geography
| Non Us | $2.65B | 65.4% |
| US | $1.40B | 34.6% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $1.01B, down 1.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $76.7M (-37.2%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $4.05B (-3.8% year over year; -3.5% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 12.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | -3.5% weak |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 18.7% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 12.5% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 52.2% (lifted by a small equity base, often the result of years of buybacks) good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 6% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.59B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $4.83B | $744.3M | $841.0M |
| FY2021 | $5.07B | $805.8M | $1.01B |
| FY2022 | $4.48B | $910.6M | $549.7M |
| FY2023 | $4.36B | $626.0M | $760.2M |
| FY2024 | $4.21B | $934.2M | $368.9M |
| FY2025 | $4.05B | $499.6M | $505.2M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $1.90B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 4 |
| Dividend yield | 15.76% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Western Union’s market value went from $10.53B at the end of 2016 to $1.90B on Oct 28, 2026, down 82%; since the end of 2025 it is down 36%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $1.90B | -35.8% |
| 2025 | $2.96B | -17.4% |
| 2024 | $3.58B | -17.6% |
| 2023 | $4.34B | -18.3% |
| 2022 | $5.32B | -25.9% |
| 2021 | $7.17B | -20.5% |
| 2020 | $9.02B | -19.7% |
| 2019 | $11.23B | +48.6% |
| 2018 | $7.55B | -13.5% |
| 2017 | $8.73B | -17.1% |
| 2016 | $10.53B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WU price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -28.1% | -27.7% | -10.3% | -12.7% | -5.4% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -28.1% |
| 2025 | -2.5% |
| 2024 | -3.6% |
| 2023 | -6.1% |
| 2022 | -17.8% |
| 2021 | -15.1% |
| 2020 | -14.6% |
| 2019 | +62.9% |
| 2018 | -6.7% |
| 2017 | -9.2% |
| 2016 | +25.3% |
| 2015 | +3.4% |
| 2014 | +7.1% |
| 2013 | +30.8% |
| 2012 | -23.4% |
| 2011 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | -0.1% |
| 2009 | +31.9% |
| 2008 | -40.8% |
| 2007 | +8.7% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 49.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 63.1%, back to its old high 124.9 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 28.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 29.9%, back to its old high 12.2 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 22.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 4 sales ($241K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | Benjamin Carlton Adams Chief Legal Officer | sell | $116K |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Giovanni Angelini President Europe, Africa, MEPA | sell | $57K |
| May 1, 2026 | Benjamin Carlton Adams Chief Legal Officer | sell | $38K |
| May 1, 2026 | Benjamin Carlton Adams Chief Legal Officer | sell | $29K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 10.2% | Apr 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.79% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.3% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| SCHRODER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP | 5.2% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | 0.1% | Jun 30, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in WU
| DGRS WisdomTree US Smallcap Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 2.42% |
| KBWD Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield Financial ETF | 2.31% |
| OUSM ALPS | O’Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF | 1.8% |
| IPAY Amplify Mobile Payments ETF | 1.79% |
| WBIY WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF | 1.76% |
| CVAR Cultivar ETF | 1.51% |
| SMOT VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF | 1.39% |
| KVLE KFA Value Line Dynamic Dividend Equity Index ETF | 1.39% |
What could go wrong
- Fewer migrants could mean fewer transfers. A large share of transfers comes from international migrants. Stricter immigration laws, deportations, travel limits, or job losses in industries such as construction, hospitality and agriculture could reduce how much money they send.
- Relies on agents it does not own. Most transfers run through outside agents like post offices and banks. Its top 40 agents and partners drove about half of Consumer Money Transfer revenue in fiscal 2025. Losing them or paying more would hurt.
- Strict rules and existing consent orders. Anti-money-laundering and fraud rules are strict and keep changing. The company is bound by consent orders (formal agreements with regulators) and settlements, and investigations or lawsuits could bring fines and higher compliance costs.
- Competition and limits on fees. Rivals compete hard for the same customers, and technology changes quickly. Regulators may also limit the fees and exchange-rate spreads it can charge, cutting profit margins.
- Intermex and stablecoin plans may disappoint. The roughly $500 million Intermex purchase, the USDPT stablecoin and wider digital services carry integration and execution risks. The company warns it may not realize expected benefits, and restructuring could disrupt its workforce.
- Debt and no dividend guarantee. As of June 30, 2026, total debt was $2.51 billion against $920 million in cash and investments. The company says there is no guarantee it will keep paying dividends or repurchasing stock.
Recent events
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Western Union held its dividend flat at $0.94 per share from fiscal 2021 through 2025, after $0.90 in fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2025, dividends took 62% of earnings and 61% of free cash flow (cash left after business investment). The yield was 15.76% as of October 28, 2026, mostly because the share price fell; yields that high often signal doubt about the payout. The company says there is no guarantee of future dividends or buybacks. Buybacks totaled $1.51 billion over fiscal 2021–2025, and the share count fell 23% between July 2021 and July 2026.
In the 2008 financial crisis the stock dropped 63% and did not recover until August 2019, over ten years later. It fell 30% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about a year. It also fell 30% in the 2022 bear market and had not recovered as of October 28, 2026. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Western Union make money?
Mostly from what customers pay to send money across borders. That includes a transfer fee and, when two currencies are involved, a spread: the gap between the exchange rate Western Union gives the customer and the wholesale market rate. Consumer Money Transfer produced $3.51 billion, about 87% of fiscal 2025 revenue of $4.05 billion. Consumer Services, such as bill payments, money orders, travel money and prepaid cards, made up the rest. The company pays commissions to the agents that take in and pay out transfers.
Does Western Union raise its dividend every year?
No. Western Union paid $0.94 per share in each fiscal year from 2021 through 2025, after $0.90 in fiscal 2020, so it had no streak of annual increases. Over those five years the dividend grew about 0.9% a year on average. In fiscal 2025 the payout used about 62% of earnings and 61% of free cash flow. The company's annual report says there is no guarantee it will keep paying dividends.
Why is Western Union's dividend yield so high?
Mainly because the share price has dropped, not because the dividend rose. The yield was 15.76% as of October 28, 2026. By then the shares had lost 28% since the start of 2026 and 49% over five years, and traded at about 4 times fiscal 2025 earnings. Net income fell 46.5% in fiscal 2025, and second-quarter 2026 net income was down 37% from a year earlier. A yield this high often signals doubt that the payout will last.
Is Western Union acquiring Intermex?
Yes. On August 10, 2025, Western Union agreed to acquire International Money Express (Intermex) for about $500 million in cash. Intermex focuses on sending money from the US to Latin America and the Caribbean through agents, its own stores, an app and websites. In its annual report filed February 20, 2026, Western Union said it expected the deal to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to remaining regulatory approvals. Western Union lists acquisitions and integration among its risk factors.
What is Western Union's USDPT stablecoin?
USDPT, short for U.S. Dollar Payment Token, is Western Union's stablecoin project: a digital token backed by US dollars and meant to hold a steady value. Western Union announced it on October 28, 2025. Anchorage Digital Bank, a national trust bank, is to issue it on the Solana blockchain. Western Union plans to use it to settle payments with agents quickly and to offer a credit card funded and secured by USDPT. Its annual report, filed February 20, 2026, expected a launch in the first half of 2026.