Why Remitly Global Stock Popped 17.4% Last Month

Shares of Remitly Global (NASDAQ: RELY) were up 17.4% in August, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The remittance platform has recently hit a 52-week high after building strong momentum following its recent quarterly earnings report in early August.

The remittance disruptor is growing quickly and, at the same time, showing a positive inflection in profit margins. Here's why the stock is soaring, and whether it is too late to buy shares today.

Strong earnings growth

On August 5th, Remitly reported earnings for the second quarter of 2026. Investors were shown yet again that the platform is take share of the remittance market.

Total send volume grew 27% to $23.5 billion, revenue grew 20% to $495 million, and active customers grew 20% to 10.2 million. These are all well outpacing the growth of the international money transfer market and are a key reason why Remitly shares keep climbing.

Most importantly, Remitly is showing Wall Street that it can grow while simultaneously expanding its profit margins. Operating margin was a record 13.5% last quarter, driving significant year-over-year growth in operating earnings. Its efficiency in marketing spend and product development indicates that Remitly's customers actually love its product, because it provides an easy way to send money around the globe from their smartphones for a lower fee than legacy competitors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Is it too late to buy?

Remitly is closing in on processing $100 billion in payment volumes every year. This is well below the global addressable market for remittances, which is in the tens of billions when you include all geographies and the new segments Remitly is targeting, such as business transfers and high-dollar-value senders.

This should lead to continued growth in send volume in the years ahead. Total revenue will grow slower than send volume because of a compressing take rate at scale, but I expect it to grow in the double digits as well.

Remitly is guiding revenue to reach just under $2 billion this calendar year. If revenue grows at 15% annually over the next three years, it will reach $3 billion. Profit margin is the big question, but with an operating margin already at 13.5%, it is not unreasonable to expect a business with a 60% gross margin to reach a 20% margin at greater maturity. That would be $600 million in annual earnings power.

After this latest stock pop, Remitly's market cap is $5.6 billion, which is still under 10x earnings based on these financial estimates a few years out. That makes the stock cheap, despite it trading near a 52-week high.

Brett Schafer has positions in Remitly Global. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.