EZCORP (EZPW) Surged on Its Counter-Cyclical Demand

Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch Micro-Cap Fund” first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund was down -16.57% in the quarter, outperforming the benchmark Russell Microcap® Growth Index’s -17.75% return. U.S. equities fell in Q1, driven by tariffs, budget cuts, economic weakness, stagflation concerns, and AI-related companies, affecting micro-cap companies. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Wasatch Micro-Cap Fund highlighted stocks such as EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW). Headquartered in Austin, Texas, EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) provides pawn services. The one-month return of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) was -17.98%, and its shares gained 31.08% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 27, 2025, EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) stock closed at $13.37 per share with a market capitalization of $817.092 million.

Wasatch Micro-Cap Fund stated the following regarding EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“Another contributor to performance was EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW), a provider of pawn services and loans in the U.S. and Latin America. As a defensive stock, EZCORP was one that investors gravitated toward given its counter cyclical demand. As discretionary income shrinks, EZCORP can be source of consumer credit. Additionally, the company recently announced the issuance of convertible senior notes in order to more favorably restructure its balance sheet.”

Is EZCORP Inc. (EZPW) the Best Small-Cap Value Stock to Buy Now?

An employee in a pawn store, counting jewelry and consumer electronics that were pawned.

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 27 hedge fund portfolios held EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) at the end of the first quarter, which was 28 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In another article, we covered EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) and shared the list of best small-cap value stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.