TransUnion (TRU) 2020 Q4 Earnings Results

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) was initially created as a holding company for railcar leasing firm Union Tank Car Co. back in 1968. A year later, it jumped into the credit business by acquiring Credit Bureau of Cook County (CBCC), which was maintaining 3.6 million credit accounts at that time. TransUnion grew over the years to become one of the world’s major credit reporting agencies. It gathers data to generate the credit history of individuals, and financial institutions check these reports when deciding on extending credit to those individuals.

The Chicago, IL-based company reported better than expected financial results for the fourth quarter. TransUnion posted earnings of $102 million, or $0.53 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from $0.43 per share in the comparable period of 2019. On an adjusted basis, it reported a profit of $0.80 per share, just ahead of $0.79 per share forecasted by analysts.

Revenue for the quarter rose 2 percent on a year-over-year basis to $699 million, beating the consensus estimate of $696.5 million. Revenue from the U.S. markets rose 4 percent to $431 million, while revenue from the international markets slipped 4 percent to $160 million.

Commenting on the results, CEO Chris Cartwright said in a statement, “Despite the ongoing challenges posed by the global pandemic, TransUnion delivered another quarter of revenue growth while also continuing to make significant investments to fuel our long-term growth.”

Looking forward, TransUnion projected adjusted earnings in the range of $0.78 per share to $0.81 per share for the first quarter, translating to a surge of 2 to 4 percent from the comparable period of 2020.

TransUnion shares fell more than 7 percent in the mid-day trading Tuesday despite better-than-expected Q4 results. TRU stock has stayed mostly flat in terms of price change over the past year.