Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.050-1.150 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.970. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.2 billion-$1.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.2 billion. Upbound Group also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.000-4.350 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD opened at $22.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 3.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.06 and a 200-day moving average of $20.90. Upbound Group has a 1-year low of $15.82 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.88.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.04. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 1.85%.The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Upbound Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is presently 107.59%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 2,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $44,235.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 92,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,643,744.96. This trade represents a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Upbound Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Upbound Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat: Upbound reported $1.01 EPS vs. $0.97 consensus and revenue of $1.20B vs. $1.17B consensus; revenue grew ~10.8% YoY — the beat supports near‑term earnings credibility. UPBD Q4 beat (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Strong near‑term guide: Upbound raised Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance to $1.05–$1.15 (above consensus ~$0.97) and issued $1.2B–$1.3B revenue guidance — should support the stock’s short‑term momentum. Q1 guidance (press release)
• Positive Sentiment: Growth plan disclosed: Management outlined a $4.7B–$4.95B FY‑2026 revenue target and emphasized digital growth and integration of Brigit — a strategic signal that management is pursuing product/digital expansion to lift top‑line over time. Revenue target & Brigit integration (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and transcript available — useful for digging into customer trends, margin dynamics and management commentary; no new material surprise in the transcript beyond guidance and strategic comments. Earnings call transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Stock technical/benchmark note: coverage pieces report UPBD climbing within Nasdaq composite performance — a context item rather than a driver of fundamentals. Nasdaq performance note (Kalkine)
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance below street: Management set FY EPS at $4.00–$4.35 and revenue $4.7B–$4.95B, both below consensus (~$4.57 EPS and ~$5.0B revenue) — a likely reason for downward pressure as it signals weaker medium‑term profitability or margin assumptions. FY‑2026 guidance (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Management discussed risks on the earnings call (execution, integration and macro sensitivity) which, combined with the below‑consensus FY guide, increases uncertainty around hitting longer‑term targets. Earnings call highlights & risks (TipRanks)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPBD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 15.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 6,623 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Upbound Group by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Upbound Group by 73.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,766,000 after buying an additional 224,811 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 286.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 64,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $440,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.