Web Research
What the Internet Knows About Wise
Figures converted from GBP at historical FX rates — see data/company.json.fx_rates. Ratios, margins, and multiples are unitless and unchanged.
The Bottom Line from the Web
The web tells two stories the filings don't. First, on 28 July 2025 shareholders approved relocating the primary listing from London to Nasdaq — but the proposal bundled a 10-year extension of the dual-class voting structure to 2036, a governance trade that ISS and Glass Lewis initially missed and that co-founder Taavet Hinrikus publicly opposed. Second, regulatory pressure on the company — and on CEO Kristo Käärmann personally — has compounded: the FCA fined him $469K (£350,000) in October 2024 over tax-disclosure failures, the CFPB ordered redress for misleading remittance practices in January 2025, and a six-state AML settlement followed in July 2025. The operating story (Q4 FY26 underlying income +24%, volumes +26%) is genuinely strong, but the governance and regulatory overhang materially changes the lens through which the print should be read.
What Matters Most
Last Price ($)
Consensus Target ($)
EV / EBITDA
Q4 FY26 Income ($M)
1. Primary listing moves to Nasdaq — with a dual-class extension bolted on
On 28 July 2025, 91% of Class A and 85% of Class B shareholders approved relocating the primary listing to the U.S. with a UK secondary. The proposal bundled a 10-year extension of the dual-class structure to 2036 that proxy advisers initially overlooked. Source: Reuters; governance scrutiny via Bloomberg.
2. Co-founder Taavet Hinrikus publicly opposed the listing
3. CEO Kristo Käärmann fined $469K by FCA for tax-disclosure failures
On 28 October 2024, the FCA fined Käärmann $469K (£350,000) to settle an investigation into his failure to notify the regulator about "significant tax issues" — having previously been fined by HMRC for "deliberately defaulting" on his taxes. The FCA found him "fit to continue" as CEO. Source: Reuters.
4. CFPB ordered redress for misleading remittance practices
On 30 January 2025, the CFPB ordered Wise US to pay $450,000 in redress + $2.025M civil penalty for misrepresenting ATM fees and failing to refund remittance fees. A modified consent order on 15 May 2025 reduced the civil penalty to $44,955 with the $450K redress retained. Source: CFPB.
5. $4.2M multi-state AML settlement; independent monitor required
In July 2025, six U.S. state regulators (CA, MA, MN, NE, NY, TX) settled with Wise US over BSA/AML deficiencies discovered during a July 2022 – Sep 2023 examination. Wise must retain an independent monitor and report quarterly for two years. Source: PaymentsDive.
6. Strong operating momentum: Q4 FY26 income +24%, volumes +26%
Q4 FY26 underlying income $576.4M ($435.3M GBP), cross-border volume $65.4B (+26% YoY), 11.3M active customers. Shares jumped 5%+ on the print. Source: MarketScreener, Bloomberg.
7. Investment-grade BBB / Stable from S&P and Fitch
8. CEO voting power contractually capped just below 50%
A recent share-capital update disclosed Käärmann's stake would translate to more than 50% of voting rights without a contractual cap; he is bound to keep voting power just below 50% while remaining CEO. Source: TipRanks.
9. Application to OCC for U.S. national trust bank
On 2 July 2025, Wise applied to be directly regulated by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as a national trust bank — a major step for U.S. infrastructure independence post-listing. Source: Reuters.
10. Q3 FY26 print (6 Nov 2025): shares fell 6.6% on slowing revenue growth
Despite meeting financial targets, slowing top-line growth caused a 6.6% share decline on 6 November 2025. The narrative around take-rate compression and margin trade-offs intensified. Source: Investing.com.
11. Stablecoin pivot signal — hire of digital-asset product lead
In October 2025, Wise hired a digital-asset product lead at a $192K salary — institutional acknowledgement that stablecoin infrastructure is a real disruption threat to Wise's correspondent-banking-bypass moat. Source: AInvest.
12. Take-rate compression is structural — by design
Wise operates a "Scale Economies Shared" model: it explicitly cuts take rate as it scales (most recently in April 2024), passing efficiency to customers. Take rate is ~60bps versus 10x for traditional banks; management has guided that "cross-currency take rate will go down year by year." Source: Capital Compounding.
13. JPMorgan raised target to $16.69 (17 April 2026)
JPM lifted its 12-month target to $16.69 from $16.22. Consensus average target ~$16.25 (range $10.17 – $20.86 across 18 analysts). Source: CNBC.
14. Relative-PE intrinsic-value model implies meaningful downside
A ValueInvesting.io relative-PE fair-price model gives $7.06 vs. $13.92 price = -49.3% downside; PEG 6.54; EV/EBITDA 22.08 (rising from ~17 in late Feb 2026). Cited as a single model — not consensus. Source: ValueInvesting.io.
15. No dividend, no buyback; capital reinvested
Wise pays no dividend and has no buyback program disclosed. Capital is reinvested in payment-rail integrations, regulatory licences and the Wise Platform. Source: DividendMax.
Recent News Timeline
What the Specialists Asked
Insider Spotlight
Kristo Käärmann (CEO, co-founder)
Holds ~16% directly per Simply Wall St (other sources cite ~18.8% at IPO). Annual total compensation $275K (£208,100) — extraordinarily low for an $18B-class market-cap CEO; aligned with founder economics. FCA fined him $469K (£350,000) on 28 October 2024 for "careless" failure to notify the regulator of significant tax issues; HMRC had previously penalised him for "deliberately defaulting" on his taxes. FCA found him fit to remain. Voting power contractually capped just below 50% while CEO. Took 4-month paternity leave from Sep 2023.
Taavet Hinrikus (co-founder)
Held ~10.9% ($1.52B) at 2021 listing; sold up to 11M Class A shares at $10.97 (4% discount) on 22 Oct 2021. Stepped down as Chair in Dec 2021. Co-founded Plural Platform (€250M VC fund, Jun 2022). On 21 July 2025 publicly opposed the U.S. listing over the bundled dual-class extension — the most material public dissent of his post-Wise tenure.
Other directors and recent dealings
David Wells (Chair, ex-Netflix CFO, Dec 2021–); Emmanuel Thomassin (CFO, 2024); Ingo Uytdehaage (Adyen co-CEO, board since 2021); Harsh Sinha (Wise US president & CTO since 2015); SerJin Lee (Chief Compliance Officer, 2024 — relevant given AML actions); Cian Weeresinghe (CMO, 2021); Isabel Naidoo (CPO, 2022). Most recent insider event: long-term incentive grant of 90,396 Class A restricted shares to the Global Banking Chief (~Apr 2026).
Industry Context
Pricing dynamics. Wise charges ~60bps blended versus ~10x for traditional banks, and explicitly cuts price as it scales (most recent cut April 2024) under a "cost-plus" pricing model. Card revenue grew 54% YoY. The structural take-rate compression is by design — and is the central reason Q3 FY26 (Nov 2025) caused a 6.6% share decline despite volume strength.
Regulatory environment. UK FCA (Wise is an authorised EMI; CEO action), U.S. CFPB consent order (Jan 2025), six-state AML coordinated action (Jul 2025), pending OCC application for national trust bank charter (Jul 2025). EU MiCA effective 2026; U.S. GENIUS Act (Feb 2025) sets the stablecoin framework.
Stablecoin disruption threat. Stablecoin market cap $300B+; Visa, Mastercard and Circle integrating stablecoins. Wise hired a digital-asset product lead ($192K salary, Oct 2025) and is "prioritising infrastructure over immediate product launches" — institutional acknowledgement that the threat is real to its bypass moat.
London exchange context. Wise's defection to Nasdaq is part of a broader exodus (Diversified Energy also moved). The FCA CEO publicly disputed that listing rules were responsible for departures — a reminder that the listing-venue debate is regulatory-political, not purely commercial.
All figures converted from GBP at historical FX rates (period-end where available, see <code>data/company.json.fx_rates</code>). Ratios, multiples and percentages are unitless and unchanged.