FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FirstCash, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE: FCFS) announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase plan for up to $100 million of its common stock effective May 15, 2017. The Company expects to fund the share repurchases primarily through its operating cash flows and the expected net proceeds from the private placement offering of senior notes due 2024 also announced today in a separate release.
Rick Wessel, chief executive officer of First Cash, stated, “While the Company’s primary use for cash is for continued investment in new stores through organic growth and acquisitions, the new and increased share repurchase program reflects the strength of the Company’s financial position and cash flows which we expect to generate additional shareholder value through our cash dividend and share repurchase programs. We anticipate making meaningful share repurchases throughout the remainder of 2017 and 2018, if necessary, under this authorization.”
The new share repurchase program replaces the Company’s prior share repurchase program, which was terminated effective May 15, 2017. Under the new share repurchase plan, the Company may purchase common stock in open market transactions, block or privately negotiated transactions, and may from time to time purchase shares pursuant to a trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act or by any combination of such methods. The number of shares to be purchased and the timing of the purchases are based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the level of cash balances, credit availability, debt covenant restrictions, general business conditions, regulatory requirements, the market price of the Company's stock and the availability of alternative investment opportunities. No time limit was set for completion of repurchases under the new authorization and the program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.
Forward-Looking Information
This release contains forward-looking statements about the business, financial condition and prospects of FirstCash, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (together, the “Company”). Forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” “may,” “estimates,” “should,” “plans,” “targets,” “intends,” “could,” “would,” “anticipates,” “potential,” “confident,” “optimistic,” or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, objectives, estimates, guidance, expectations and future plans. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the fact these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties.
These forward-looking statements are made to provide the public with management’s current expectations with regard to the share repurchase program. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurances such expectations will prove to be accurate. Security holders are cautioned such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements made in this release. Such factors may include, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and regulatory developments discussed and described in (i) the Company’s 2016 annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 1, 2017, including the risks described in Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” thereof, and (ii) the other reports filed with the SEC. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the ability of the Company to control, nor can the Company predict, in many cases, all of the risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.
About FirstCash
FirstCash is the leading international operator of pawn stores with more than 2,000 retail pawn and consumer lending locations in 26 U.S. states and Latin America, which includes all the states in Mexico and the countries of Guatemala and El Salvador. The Company employs more than 16,000 people between the U.S. and Latin America. FirstCash focuses on serving cash and credit constrained consumers primarily through its retail pawn locations, which buy and sell a wide variety of jewelry, consumer electronics, power tools, household appliances, sporting goods, musical instruments and other merchandise, and make small consumer pawn loans secured by pledged personal property. Approximately 95% of the Company’s revenues are from pawn operations.
FirstCash is a component company in both the Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index® and the Russell 2000 Index®. FirstCash’s common stock (ticker symbol “FCFS”) is traded on the NYSE, home to many of the world’s most iconic brands, technology business leaders and emerging growth companies shaping today’s global economic landscape. For additional information regarding FirstCash and the services it provides, visit FirstCash’s websites located at http://www.firstcash.com and http://www.cashamerica.com.
