CluenexWestern Union WU
Western Union scores weak on business quality (3.8 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Western Union does
Western Union moves money globally for consumers through a vast agent network, collecting transfer fees and exchange rate margins. Revenue relies heavily on cash-to-cash remittance channels used by unbanked or migrant populations.
- What it does best
Western Union dominates physical cross-border cash delivery through a global network of hundreds of thousands of retail agents. This deep physical footprint locks in customers who lack banking access, creating a barrier to entry that pure-play digital apps struggle to match without heavy retail partnerships.
- The main risk
Aggressive digital competition is eroding transaction volumes, pushing revenue down from $5.1 billion in 2021 to $4.0 billion. If digital alternatives accelerate migration away from retail agents, high fixed network costs will compress margins further.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 15.9% with a net margin of 9.8%. Margins remain stable despite top-line contraction, but scale advantages are fading as transaction volumes drop across the retail agent network.
The regulatory license portfolio and global agent network lock in retail consumers across international corridors. Return on equity hits 42.6%, placing it in the top quartile of its sector, though shrinking revenues limit moat durability.
Revenue fell 3.8% to $4.0 billion, continuing a multi-year contraction visible since 2021 when revenue stood at $5.1 billion. Growth ranks in the bottom decile of its sector at the 3rd percentile, showing ongoing top-line decay.
Total debt sits at $2.9 billion against $1.2 billion in cash, leaving net debt at $1.6 billion. Interest coverage is 4.3x. Free cash flow reached $479 million, supporting dividends of $303 million. The balance sheet remains soft due to heavy leverage.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on WU
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Western Union scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.8 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 28, 2026, after the close.
See WU today
- Today's verdict on WU, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Western Union (WU)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/wu/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.