Why a $10.5M Bet on Flywire Despite a 70% Drop

by

Somewhere in Connecticut, investors with a nose for opportunity – or perhaps just a nose for trouble – placed a bold wager on Flywire. Ararat Capital Management. They bought nearly 775,000 shares, tossing about $10.5 million onto the table in the third quarter. That’s what you call a gamble in the world of high finance, where the stakes are often as crooked as a crooked cop.

What Happened

On November 14, the SEC filed the latest page of this story. Ararat’s hand showed up with a new position – 774,864 shares of Flywire, valued at a cool ten and a half million dollars as of late September. The fund’s total holdings: a tidy $186.5 million spread across a portfolio of twenty. They’re not just throwing darts; they’re playing a long game, even if the odds are stacked and the market’s jittery.

What Else to Know

Flywire, that digital payments guy, now makes up around 5.6% of Ararat’s assets. Not a top-five player by any stretch. Their heavy hitters include NYSE:BY, NASDAQ:LZ, and NASDAQ:DRVN – giants with names that echo in the hallways of Wall Street. Flywire’s price? About $13.63, down a brutal 38% over a year – out of sync with the S&P’s modest 13% gain. The stock’s been a long, slow fade, a ghost haunting the tech sector.

Company Overview

Metric Value
Market Cap $1.7 billion
Revenue (TTM) $583 million
Net Income (TTM) – $2.4 million

Company Snapshot

  • Flywire’s a slick platform – a global payment machine that cuts across borders and currencies, making international transactions less of a headache and more of a routine.
  • It’s in education, healthcare, travel, and B2B, where they promise efficiency, security, and a little bit of magic in managing tricky payments.

Underneath it all, Flywire’s a tech-driven player. Proprietary platform, extensive payment network, and software tailored to their sectors. They’re the specialists, the guys who speak the language of complex payments like a native. When most stumble, Flywire strides forward, weaving through the chaos with software sharp enough to cut glass – and integrations with alternative payment methods that keep the money flowing like a river in flood season.

Foolish Take

The move by Ararat isn’t just a flinch; it’s a statement. Despite losing 70% off its high – a brutal fall – Flywire’s growth figures demand attention. Revenue jumped 27.6% to $200.1 million. Margins crept up, adjusted EBITDA hit $57.1 million with a 29.4% margin, climbing 155 basis points. Total payment volume? A hefty $13.9 billion, after a 26.4% leap. This isn’t just a growth story; it’s a statement of resilience amidst the noise.

Their client list swelled by over 200 new faces, and management isn’t hiding from optimism. They raised their full-year guidance, betting on macro conditions holding steady rather than collapsing. The business? It keeps expanding, margins improving, and their verticals – the industries they serve – are glued to their products tightly.

In a world where few payments companies make profit at scale, Flywire dares to keep going. They show operating leverage, sticky sectors, and a business model that could outlast the reckoning. It’s risky, yes, but no one ever became a legend playing it safe.

In the end, Flywire survives the storm, maybe even thrives. Its story is a slow burn, with volatility as a constant companion. For those with stomach for the ride, the payoff might just be worth the bumps. Just like a good mystery, the ending’s still unwritten.

Investors looking for a long-term angle will do well to keep one eye on the horizon, where resilience and risk dance a delicate tango. Or, in plain speak, sometimes you gotta gamble on the dark-hoping that the future’s brighter than the present’s shadow. 🎯

Read More

2025-12-04 21:14