StoneCo (STNE) : 9-month performance

IPOs this week : April 22 - 26, 19

Expected IPO pricings: No new pricings are on the calendar for next week after a sizzling week for new offerings. In case you missed it, Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) jumped 28% on its first day of trading, while Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) topped that performance with a 72% rip.

IPO lockup expirations:

• Yeti (NYSE:YETI), StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) and Pintec Technology (NASDAQ:PT) see lockups expire on April 23. Yeti is the one that might see some insider selling with shares up 119% YTD.

IPO quiet period expirations:

• Genfit (NASDAQ:GNFT) and Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) on April 22; 
• Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) on April 23.

StoneCo (STNE) drops on anticipated competitive risk

Competition pressure in the Brazilian payments sector seems on the verge of disruption and intensification as Ita Unibanco (ITUB) has reportedly announced that it will not charge interest rates on cash advancements for small- and medium-sized merchants; stock plunges to its lowest levels in almost two months.

StoneCo (STNE) earnings on Mon 18 March 19 (a/h)

• Brazilian version of Square (SQ)

** charts before earnings **

 

** charts after earnings **

StoneCo reports Q4 results; Beats on revs (two analysts); Take Rate and Net Adds in line with preannouncement 

• Reports Q4 (Dec) adjusted net income of BRL 155.9 mln vs. adjusted net income of $20.9 mln in the prior year; revenues rose 113.6% year/year to BRL 529.4 mln vs the BRL 465.62 mln two analyst estimate.
• The number of active clients increased by 136.7 thousand in fiscal year 2018, reaching a total of 267.9 thousand clients at the end of the year, up 104.1% compared to 2017.
• The Company's take rate reached 1.88% (preannounced) in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to 1.58% in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 30 basis point increase year over year.
• Total Payment Volume (TPV) was R$26.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 73.8% from R$15.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017.
• The Company ended 2018 with 267.9 thousand active clients, up 104.1% compared to the previous year, when it had 131.2 thousand clients. The net addition of active clients in the fourth quarter was 33.5K (preannounced), an improvement in net addition per sales force working day compared to the third quarter of 2018 by approximately 10%.

StoneCo (STNE) reported earnings on Mon 26 Nov 18 (a/h)

• Other top payments stocks: Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), PayPal (PYPL), Square (SQ) 
• Recent Brazilian IPO

** chart 3 days after earnings **

Warren Buffett-Backed IPO Reports Adjusted Earnings Jump Of 1,467%

Brazilian fintech firm StoneCo (STNE), which counts Warren Buffett as a backer, reported adjusted earnings soared in Q3, in its first report since an October IPO.

StoneCo Earnings
Estimates: Wall Street expects the Brazilian credit-card processor's earnings per share come in at 11 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research. Revenue estimates are not available.

Results: Adjusted net income soared to 89.3 million Brazilian reais from 5.7 million a year ago. Revenue jumped 121.4% to 414.1 million Brazilian reais. As of Sept. 30, StoneCo had 234,400 thousand active clients, up 127% from a year ago. Payment volume surged 84% to 21.8 billion Brazilian reais.

"Our performance so far in the fourth quarter 2018 in terms of growth, operational leverage, profitability and take rate has been strong and on track," StoneCo said in a statement. "The Company's strategy of having the best customer experience, a disciplined execution and being very close to the clients has been paying off."

Warren Buffett Backs StoneCo
StoneCo stock has high-pedigree backing, with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) revealing that it owns 14.2 million shares of the Brazilian financial technology firm. This amounts to an 11.3% stake in the company. The position was taken when the firm went public Oct. 25.

Berkshire is not known for its financial or tech investments, however this may be changing. It also invested in Paytm, India's largest mobile-payments service, in August.

StoneCo touts itself as a leading provider of financial technology solutions in its native Brazil. Its products help merchants and partners conduct e-commerce in-store, online, and through mobile channels. It competes with fellow Brazilian stock PagSeguro (PAGS), which was recently listed among the IPO Leaders list and reports Thursday.

StoneCo is planning to use the proceeds from its stock market IPO for mergers, acquisitions and working capital. In addition, it is planning to offer banking services and start a loyalty program.

StoneCo (STNE) began trading on the Nasdaq on 25 October 2018

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology solutions that empower merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil.

• Brazilian version of Square (SQ)

• Sector: Technology
• Industry: Software - Application
• Founded in 2000
• HQ in São Paulo, Brazil.
• http://www.stone.co

StoneCo prices upsized 50.72 mln share IPO (from 47.73 mln shares) at $24.00, above the expected $21.00-23.00 range