Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.01, reports. The business had revenue of $172.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.05 million. Marqeta had a negative return on equity of 4.22% and a negative net margin of 6.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Marqeta’s conference call:

• Q4 delivered record scale and profitability progress — $109 billion TPV (first quarter above $100B), net revenue of $172M (+27% YoY), gross profit ~ $120M (+22% YoY) and a record Adjusted EBITDA of $31M (18% margin), moving the company closer to GAAP profitability.
• Management’s 2026 guidance targets continued growth and profitability — TPV growth in the high‑20s, gross profit growth of 10–12%, net revenue +12–14%, mid‑20s Adjusted EBITDA growth, and expected modest GAAP net income of roughly $10M.
• 2026 growth is meaningfully pressured by timing of contract changes — two delayed major renewals and Block hitting a lower price tier, plus Cash App new‑issuance diversification, are expected to reduce gross profit growth by roughly 7–9 percentage points (with an additional ~1.5–2 point hit from Cash App diversification).
• Expansion in Europe and value‑added services is a strong long‑term driver — the TransactPay acquisition enables an end‑to‑end U.K./EU offering, Europe TPV has grown rapidly (2025 vs 2022), and BNPL plus value‑added services doubled in 2025 and now contribute >7% of gross profit, increasing stickiness and take‑rate.
• Capital returns and share reduction — Marqeta repurchased 84.8M shares in 2025 (avg $4.59), reducing shares outstanding by nearly 17% and leaving ~ $91M remaining on the buyback authorization.

Marqeta Stock Performance

Marqeta stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3.97. 1,727,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,768,165. Marqeta has a 52-week low of $3.47 and a 52-week high of $7.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.69 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4.47 and its 200 day moving average is $4.98.

Trending Headlines about Marqeta

Here are the key news stories impacting Marqeta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: Marqeta reported $172.1M in revenue (up ~26.7% YoY) and break‑even EPS, topping consensus revenue and EPS estimates. Strong top‑line growth and the EPS improvement versus a year‑ago loss were the core upside drivers. Press Release / Slides
• Positive Sentiment: Record TPV and scale milestones: Management highlighted record total payment volume and continued customer activation/scale on the platform — evidence of sustained demand for card issuing, BNPL and embedded finance use cases. Earnings Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/market momentum but uncertain near‑term margin impact: Call commentary emphasized BNPL growth and embedded finance adoption, which underpin long‑term TAM expansion, but timing and margin contribution from these segments remain unclear. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 revenue guidance raised vs. consensus: Marqeta gave FY2026 revenue guidance of roughly $699.9M–$712.4M, which is above the Street estimate — positive for medium‑term revenue visibility but not a full proof of profitability improvement. Guidance / Call Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 revenue guide slightly light: The Q1 2026 revenue outlook ($162.7M–$165.5M) came in a touch below consensus (~$167.2M), creating near‑term revenue uncertainty that likely pressured the stock despite the FY guide. Guidance / Call Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability still a concern: Marqeta reported a negative net margin and negative return on equity; the company remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis (PE negative), so investors are sensitive to guidance and path to sustained positive margins. Zacks Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate market reaction was negative: Several articles note the stock fell after the release — suggesting investors wanted either stronger near‑term guidance or clearer margin improvement despite good top‑line and TPV metrics. Market Reaction

Insider Buying and Selling at Marqeta

In other news, Director Jason M. Gardner sold 69,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $345,215.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 293,334 shares in the company, valued at $1,466,670. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 218,509 shares of company stock valued at $1,092,545 over the last quarter. 12.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marqeta

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Marqeta during the third quarter worth about $26,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marqeta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marqeta in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Marqeta from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marqeta in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Marqeta from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marqeta from $5.75 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Marqeta in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marqeta presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

About Marqeta

Marqeta is a modern card issuing and payment processing platform that enables businesses to design, launch and manage customized payment cards. The company offers a fully programmable open API that allows clients to create virtual, physical and tokenized payment cards with real-time transaction controls and dynamic spend limits. By leveraging Marqeta’s infrastructure, companies can streamline their payment operations, reduce time to market and deliver tailored payment experiences to end consumers.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Marqeta was established by CEO Jason Gardner with the goal of transforming traditional card issuance through cloud-native technology.