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This story has been updated with analyst comments and additional information from the company's earnings.
Prepaid card firm and bank holding company Green Dot renewed its largest banking-as-a-service partnership in the second quarter despite regulatory pressure from the Federal Reserve.
Austin, Texas-based Green Dot was able to secure a multi-year renewal with tech giant Apple's Apple Cash digital wallet, its largest BaaS partner by revenue, with "improved financial terms," CEO George Gresham said on the company's second-quarter earnings call Thursday.
The renewal spells good news for Green Dot, especially in light of its $44 million settlement with the Federal Reserve in July, said Tim Switzer, vice president of equity research at Keefe, Buyette, and Woods (KBW).
"A main highlight this quarter… is they announced their renewal of their agreement with Apple, with Apple being their largest [BaaS] partner by revenue," Switzer said. "The renewal of your biggest partner right after receiving a consent order I think is a positive, because it indicates that their partners are still confident that Green Dot will still be able sufficiently provide the services they want."
Green Dot's topline earnings per share missed analyst expectations, while revenue beat. Earnings per share came in at a 54-cent-per-share GAAP loss for the three months ended June 30. Wall Street analysts expected a 2-cent-per-share GAAP loss. Revenue was $407.1 million, an 11% year-over-year increase and 5.5% more than Wall Street's $382.5 million average revenue estimate. For net income, the company posted a $28.7 million loss, 27.7% below analyst estimates.
In addition to Apple, the company also provides BaaS services for Amazon Flex, Intuit Quickbooks and human resources software and services provider Dayforce, according to a February investor presentation.
"[Apple has] been the primary driver of growth in [Green Dot's] BaaS division," Switzer said, noting that the partnership accounts for 44% of Green Dot's total revenue.
B2B Services revenue, which includes the bank's BaaS offering and its pay card business, came in at $252.1 million, an increase of 39.5% year over year, according to the company's earnings supplement.
By another measure, BaaS revenue landed at $231 million, up 44% year over year, and pay card revenue hit $21 million, up 4% over the second quarter of last year.
Notably, KBW's Switzer said Q2 marked the first time "in several quarters" that Green Dot grew BaaS revenue on a year-over-year -basis without accounting for revenue from the Apple deal.