Western Union Announces New $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program and $0.235 Quarterly Dividend

Rhea-AI Summary

Western Union (NYSE: WU) has announced two significant shareholder-focused initiatives. The company's Board of Directors has approved a new $1 billion share repurchase program and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.235 per common share. The dividend will be paid on December 31, 2024, to stockholders of record as of December 23, 2024.

The share repurchase program will be executed through various methods including open-market transactions, private negotiations, tender offers, and Rule 10b5-1 plans. The timing and amount of repurchases will be determined by market conditions, share price, and other factors. The program has no set expiration date and can be modified or suspended at any time.

Positive

• New $1 billion share repurchase authorization demonstrates strong commitment to shareholder returns
• Maintained quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share shows consistent capital return policy
• Flexible repurchase program structure allows for strategic execution based on market conditions

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Analyst

Western Union's announcement of a $1 billion share repurchase program and $0.235 quarterly dividend demonstrates strong commitment to shareholder returns. The buyback program, representing about 27% of current market cap, could significantly boost earnings per share and stock value. The dividend yields approximately 7.4% annually at current prices, positioning WU as an attractive income stock. This capital return strategy reflects management's confidence in cash flow generation despite industry challenges. The flexible nature of the repurchase program, without a set expiration date, gives management tactical advantages in execution. However, investors should monitor the impact on the company's cash reserves and ability to invest in digital transformation initiatives.

Market Research Analyst

This capital return strategy comes at a important time for Western Union as it faces digital disruption in the remittance industry. The substantial buyback program signals management's view that the stock is undervalued and could help support the share price. The combination of share repurchases and high-yield dividend makes WU appealing to value investors seeking both income and potential capital appreciation. The timing flexibility in the buyback execution is particularly strategic, allowing opportunistic purchases during market volatility. However, competitors' aggressive digital expansion and market share gains remain key challenges that require balanced capital allocation between shareholder returns and business investment.

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) announced today that its Board of Directors approved a new $1 billion authorization for the Company to repurchase its common stock and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.235 per common share. The dividend will be payable December 31, 2024, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 23, 2024.

“We remain committed to returning capital to our shareholders with our disciplined approach focused on driving long-term shareholder value through both dividends and stock repurchases and today’s announcements allows us the flexibility to continue to do that,” said Devin McGranahan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Repurchases may be made at management’s discretion through open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, Rule 10b5-1 plans, or by other means. The amount and timing of any repurchases made under the share repurchase program will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions, share price, legal requirements, and other factors. The program does not have a set expiration date and may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

Safe Harbor Compliance Statement for Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, our forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,” “intends,” “targets,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “guides,” “provides guidance,” “provides outlook,” “projects,” “designed to,” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” and “might” are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers of this press release of The Western Union Company (the “Company,” “Western Union,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) should not rely solely on the forward-looking statements and should consider all uncertainties and risks discussed in the Risk Factors section and throughout the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. The statements are only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Possible events or factors that could cause results or performance to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include the following: (i) events related to our business and industry, such as: changes in general economic conditions and economic conditions in the regions and industries in which we operate, including global economic downturns and trade disruptions, or significantly slower growth or declines in the money transfer, payment service, and other markets in which we operate, including downturns or declines related to interruptions in migration patterns or other events, such as public health emergencies, epidemics, or pandemics, civil unrest, war, terrorism, natural disasters, or non-performance by our banks, lenders, insurers, or other financial services providers; failure to compete effectively in the money transfer and payment service industry, including among other things, with respect to price or customer experience, with global and niche or corridor money transfer providers, banks and other money transfer and payment service providers, including digital, mobile and internet-based services, card associations, and card-based payment providers, and with digital currencies and related exchanges and protocols, and other innovations in technology and business models; geopolitical tensions, political conditions and related actions, including trade restrictions and government sanctions, which may adversely affect our business and economic conditions as a whole, including interruptions of United States or other government relations with countries in which we have or are implementing significant business relationships with agents, clients, or other partners; deterioration in customer confidence in our business, or in money transfer and payment service providers generally; failure to maintain our agent network and business relationships under terms consistent with or more advantageous to us than those currently in place; our ability to adopt new technology and develop and gain market acceptance of new and enhanced services in response to changing industry and consumer needs or trends; mergers, acquisitions, and the integration of acquired businesses and technologies into our Company, divestitures, and the failure to realize anticipated financial benefits from these transactions, and events requiring us to write down our goodwill; decisions to change our business mix; changes in, and failure to manage effectively, exposure to foreign exchange rates, including the impact of the regulation of foreign exchange spreads on money transfers; changes in tax laws, or their interpretation, any subsequent regulation, and unfavorable resolution of tax contingencies; any material breach of security, including cybersecurity, or safeguards of or interruptions in any of our systems or those of our vendors or other third parties; cessation of or defects in various services provided to us by third-party vendors; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits from restructuring-related initiatives, which may include decisions to downsize or to transition operating activities from one location to another, and to minimize any disruptions in our workforce that may result from those initiatives; our ability to attract and retain qualified key employees and to manage our workforce successfully; failure to manage credit and fraud risks presented by our agents, clients, and consumers; adverse rating actions by credit rating agencies; our ability to protect our trademarks, patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights, and to defend ourselves against potential intellectual property infringement claims; material changes in the market value or liquidity of securities that we hold; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations; (ii) events related to our regulatory and litigation environment, such as: liabilities or loss of business resulting from a failure by us, our agents, or their subagents to comply with laws and regulations and regulatory or judicial interpretations thereof, including laws and regulations designed to protect consumers, or detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other illicit activity; increased costs or loss of business due to regulatory initiatives and changes in laws, regulations and industry practices and standards, including changes in interpretations, in the United States and abroad, affecting us, our agents or their subagents, or the banks with which we or our agents maintain bank accounts needed to provide our services, including related to anti-money laundering regulations, anti-fraud measures, our licensing arrangements, customer due diligence, agent and subagent due diligence, registration and monitoring requirements, consumer protection requirements, remittances, immigration, and sustainability reporting including climate-related reporting; liabilities, increased costs or loss of business and unanticipated developments resulting from governmental investigations and consent agreements with, or investigations or enforcement actions by regulators and other government authorities; liabilities resulting from litigation, including class-action lawsuits and similar matters, and regulatory enforcement actions, including costs, expenses, settlements, and judgments; failure to comply with regulations and evolving industry standards regarding consumer privacy, data use, the transfer of personal data between jurisdictions, and information security, failure to comply with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as regulations issued pursuant to it and the actions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and similar legislation and regulations enacted by other governmental authorities in the United States and abroad related to consumer protection; effects of unclaimed property laws or their interpretation or the enforcement thereof; failure to maintain sufficient amounts or types of regulatory capital or other restrictions on the use of our working capital to meet the changing requirements of our regulators worldwide; changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations, or industry standards affecting our business; and (iii) other events, such as catastrophic events and management’s ability to identify and manage these and other risks.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is committed to helping people around the world who aspire to build financial futures for themselves, their loved ones and their communities. Our leading cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments and digital financial services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments—across more than 200 countries and territories and nearly 130 currencies—to connect with billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of thousands of retail locations. Our goal is to offer accessible financial services that help people and communities prosper. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241213394701/en/

Media Relations:

Brad Jones

media@westernunion.com

Investor Relations:

Tom Hadley

WesternUnion.IR@westernunion.com

Source: The Western Union Company

FAQ

What is the size of Western Union's new share repurchase program?

Western Union (WU) has announced a new $1 billion share repurchase program.

When will Western Union (WU) pay its next quarterly dividend?

Western Union will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share on December 31, 2024, to stockholders of record as of December 23, 2024.

How will Western Union execute its new share repurchase program?

The repurchases will be made through various methods including open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, and Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Does Western Union's share repurchase program have an expiration date?

No, the program does not have a set expiration date and can be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time.

What is Western Union's current quarterly dividend amount?

Western Union's quarterly dividend is $0.235 per common share.