Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.000-4.350 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.570. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.7 billion-$5.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.0 billion. Upbound Group also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.050-1.150 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UPBD. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Upbound Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.51. The company had a trading volume of 105,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 691,558. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 3.16. Upbound Group has a twelve month low of $15.82 and a twelve month high of $28.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.06 and its 200-day moving average is $20.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 1.88.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 1.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is presently 107.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $44,235.36. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 92,972 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about 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 Trading of Upbound Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPBD. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 548,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,634,000 after purchasing an additional 120,333 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 33,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 8,253 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 57,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 16,615 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Upbound Group by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 214,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,773,000 after acquiring an additional 18,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Upbound Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,103,000 after purchasing an additional 59,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

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.