A month has gone by since the last earnings report for TransUnion (TRU). Shares have added about 0.9% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is TransUnion due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for TransUnion before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
TransUnion's Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates
TransUnion reported impressive second-quarter 2026 results, with both earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
TRU’s adjusted earnings of $1.23 per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.9% and increased 13.9% from the year-ago quarter’s level. The performance extended the company’s strong start to 2026.
Revenues of $1.31 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.7% and rose 14.9% year over year. Organic constant-currency revenues grew 10% from the year-ago quarter, led by U.S. Financial Services and Emerging Verticals.
TRU's U.S. Markets Growth Broadens
U.S. Markets revenues increased 11% to $992.7 million. Financial Services revenues climbed 18% to $496.3 million, reflecting strength across credit and non-credit offerings, pricing actions and new client wins.
Excluding FICO mortgage royalties, Financial Services growth was 10%. Credit Card and Banking revenues increased 6%, while Consumer Lending and Auto each grew 8%. Mortgage revenues advanced 37%, or 15% excluding the royalty benefit, despite a 7% decline in inquiries.
Emerging Verticals revenues rose 9% to $353.9 million. Insurance delivered its eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, while technology, retail and e-commerce produced high-single-digit growth.
Consumer Interactive revenues declined 3% to $142.5 million. Growth through indirect channels was offset by continued weakness in the direct-to-consumer business.
TransUnion's International Growth Accelerates
International revenues increased 27% to $320.8 million, including the contribution from Trans Union de Mexico. On an organic constant-currency basis, growth accelerated to 6% from flat performance in the first quarter.
Canada revenues rose 10% to $46.4 million, supported by financial services, fintech and insurance demand. The United Kingdom revenues increased 9% to $73.5 million, benefiting from market-share gains and new business across banking and fintech.
India revenues returned to growth, rising 8% on a constant-currency basis, as credit volumes improved and new client wins strengthened. Latin America grew 5% organically, while Africa advanced 5%. Asia Pacific declined 7%, although management expects the region to return to growth in the second half.
Trans Union de Mexico continued to perform ahead of the company’s acquisition assumptions. Management plans to expand its data coverage, introduce TruIQ analytics and eventually migrate the business to the OneTru platform.
TRU's Margin Picture Reflects Royalty Drag
Adjusted EBITDA increased 12% to $456.1 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 90 basis points to 34.8%, with management attributing the decline entirely to FICO mortgage royalties.
U.S. Markets adjusted EBITDA rose 7% to $361 million, while its margin declined to 36.4% from 37.9%. International adjusted EBITDA increased 27% to $136.8 million, while its margin held steady at 42.7%.
GAAP net income attributable to TransUnion increased to $143.4 million from $109.6 million. Diluted GAAP earnings were 74 cents per share, up from 56 cents in the prior-year quarter.
TransUnion's Cash Flow Supports Buybacks
TransUnion ended June with $839.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and $5.59 billion in total debt. Its leverage ratio declined to 2.6X, supported by adjusted EBITDA growth.
Cash provided by operating activities totaled $459.1 million in the first six months of 2026, up from $343.8 million a year earlier. Capital expenditures decreased to $134.4 million from $145.4 million.
The company repurchased roughly $150 million of shares through July, including 2.1 million shares at an average price of about $71. Management expects second-half repurchases to be at least comparable to the first-half pace while continuing to target leverage below 2.5X.
TRU’s Q3 & 2026 Outlook
For the third quarter, TransUnion expects revenues to be between $1.292 billion and $1.310 billion, representing reported growth of 11-12%. Organic constant-currency growth is projected at 6-8%.
TRU guided its third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings to be between $1.18 and $1.21 per share. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be between $455 million and $463 million, with a margin of 35.2-35.4%.
For 2026, the company raised its revenue outlook to $5.127-$5.162 billion, implying growth of 12-13%. Organic constant-currency growth remains projected at 8-9%.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $1.807 billion and $1.827 billion. Adjusted earnings guidance increased to $4.75-$4.83 per share from the earlier range of $4.68-$4.75, reflecting stronger first-half execution and improved contributions from Mexico.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
VGM Scores
At this time, TransUnion has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. However, the stock was allocated a score of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, TransUnion has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).