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OnDeck Q4 2018 Earnings Review

Today OnDeck hosted their Q4 2018 earnings call and provided an update across all aspects of their business.

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Last quarter the the big news for OnDeck was the creation of their technology subsidiary called ODX, a platform that houses their lending as a service offering. While OnDeck has had a longstanding partnership with JP Morgan Chase it showed a renewed focus on that side of the business and a look into what the future at OnDeck may look like.

The company achieved much of what they set to do in 2018 and posted another solid quarter as they rounded out the year. Q4 2018 net income came in at $14 million on gross revenues of $109.5 million. The company ended the year with a total of $27.7 million in net income. Below is a snapshot of their Q4 and 2018 full year highlights.

After coming off a tough Q1 2018, the company turned the rest of the year around and moved well into profitable territory. What has been a main driver of profitability for the company has been decreasing funding costs since Q2 2018 even as originations have increased and interest rates broadly have increased. Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of originations have also held steady at 1.7% for Q4. As of Q4 2018 the company still had $246 million of excess debt capacity.

You can see below how OnDeck has been able to consistently increase revenue over time even as their business model shifted. Gain on sale revenue, or loans sold to investors was just a small sliver of revenue back in Q4 2017. What I imagine many investors are keeping a close eye on is the other revenue category which has remained stagnant over the past year.

It appears as though the partnership with OnDeck hasn’t yet resulted in a meaningful increase of revenue. OnDeck noted that JP Morgan Chase volume increased in Q4 after a dip both in Q2 and Q3. ODX is slated for a full rollout in 2019 and OnDeck plans to expand their work with PNC, which was announced late last year as their second bank partner. Commenting on the pipeline of bank partnerships through ODX, CEO Noah Breslow noted that the pipeline has strengthened since the last earnings call and there is a mix of large scale banks and mid-sized to smaller banks which have entered the pipeline.

On the origination side, the company increased volume $10 million sequentially. OnDeck did share that they saw an increase in charge offs and delinquencies in Q4 which were attributed to some selective testing the company was doing. They have since ended these tests and kept the ones that were performing well.

Looking forward there are a few interesting things happening at OnDeck. While it won’t have a meaningful impact on their business in 2019, OnDeck recently announced they were entering the equipment finance space. OnDeck also has their Australian business which is not often talked about. They grew their portfolio organically 80% in 2018 albeit this is likely off of a smaller base. Last December OnDeck shared they were merging their Canadian business with Evolocity Financial Group creating OnDeck Canada which will be the second largest online small business lender in Canada once the deal closes midyear.

OnDeck provided the below guidance for Q1 2019 and the full year.

 

Equipment Financing Market to Get Boost From OnDeck

The small business online lending leader will offer equipment finance loans in 2019

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Hoping to transform the traditionally slow-moving, opaque, and complicated process of the equipment financing market, online small business lender OnDeck has announced it will enter the market for small ticket ($250,000 and under) loans in this category. OnDeck will offer loans online of up to $100,000 to U.S. small businesses beginning in 2019.

Here is what CEO and Chairman, Noah Breslow said in the press release:

With more than a decade of success and over $10 billion funded to small businesses online, we believe OnDeck’s technology is primed to revolutionize how small businesses finance their equipment needs. We expect OnDeck equipment finance loans to quickly become a vital source of online financing for small business owners seeking simple, transparent equipment financing they can understand and utilize.

OnDeck’s decision to add only the third lending product in its history is based on a successful pilot program begun last summer and resulting data indicating that the equipment financing market is vulnerable to disruption. According to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, 68% of all capital purchases in the United States are financed, with small-ticket (under $250,000) equipment finance loans and leases representing $35 billion in originations in 2017. Applying for and receiving the majority of those small ticket loans remains a cumbersome, time consuming and paper-based process. That is a similar scenario to the market for small business loans that OnDeck first began disrupting in 2008.

In 2019, OnDeck will begin making its own equipment finance loans, ranging from $5,000 up to $100,000, with terms ranging from 24 to 60 months, secured by new and used equipment. OnDeck plans to offer only equipment finance loans, rather than leases.

OnDeck also announced the appointment of Mark Erickson as Vice President of Equipment Finance. Erickson is a veteran of the equipment finance market, previously serving in executive roles in sales, operations, syndications, and risk at Key Equipment Finance, Inc., a unit of Key Corp. He was also the managing director of the firm’s Australia and New Zealand subsidiary from 2000 to 2004. He had this to say about his new position:

I look forward to working with the team to leverage OnDeck’s online originations and underwriting technology to deliver speed and convenience for small business owners seeking equipment finance loans. With speed, service and transparency, we are poised to transform this market to the benefit of small businesses.

PeerIQ’s Q4 2018 Lending Earnings Insights Report

PeerIQ's latest Lending Earnings Insights Report points to a strong economy but bank and card issuer CEOs are cautious about being late in the credit cycle.

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PeerIQ released their Q4 2018 Lending Earnings Insights Report which points to a number of themes showing the economy is strong but CEOs are striking a cautious tone. Delinquencies and defaults continue to be low as consumers have seen their wages rise and taxes drop. Lenders are increasing reserves as they anticipate credit to renormalize in the near future, saying the economy right now was too good to be true.

The report covers earnings reports from big banks and fintech lenders. Stock performance was mixed with the flattening yield curve causing banks and card issuer stocks in particular to suffer. Companies covered include Enova, LendingClub, One Main Financial, OnDeck, GreenSky, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Discover, Synchrony and American Express.

One of the growing trends has been the pull back by banks lending directly to consumers and small businesses. Banks are instead increasing funding lines to non bank lenders, credit facility volume has grown 6x since 2010. The growth in originations from non bank lenders has forced regulators to look at them more closely, while the FDIC is considering granting ILC charters to non banks.

Broadly across the credit spectrum fintech lenders have seen delinquencies and charge offs remain at near record lows. All the companies in this segment saw double digit revenue and origination growth YoY. Lenders have started to raised borrowing rates, though not at the same pace as the Fed Funds Rate. The flattening yield curve has raised the cost of borrowing on credit facilities, causing margins for lenders and investors to be compressed.

Big banks experienced another strong earnings quarter as all covered in the report saw double digit increase in earnings. Revenue drivers vary from bank type to bank type. Big banks covered within the report saw deposits rise due to a better digital banking experience, an integration between wealth and banking products and a retail branch expansion. As a group the banks are growing, albeit slower than in the past, through digital means and are focused on the long term potential of products they are currently building.

Credit card issuers all saw their earnings grow by more than 20 percent YoY. Most card issuers also saw growth in revenue and their loan books. Growth in total allowances for losses outpaced loan growth, pointing to the fact that most card issuers see a credit normalization coming. Card issuers have used the partnership model with stores like Walmart, JC Penney and Lowes to grow revenues.

Overall economic health, low delinquencies and low charge offs show that the credit space is doing quite well. Though the report points out that most of these companies do not expect this environment to last forever, they are in the midst of preparing for a change while they keep growth humming along.

Roundup of Q3 2018 Earnings: GreenSky, OnDeck, LendingClub

Three US based public fintech companies reported Q3 earnings today.

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Today OnDeck, GreenSky and LendingClub all reported their Q3 2018 earnings. Like last quarter we review the highlights from the respective companies.

OnDeck

Separate from their earnings release, OnDeck announced significant news over the last couple of weeks. First was the announcement of their technology subsidiary called ODX, the platform that would house their lending-as-a-service offering previously called OnDeck-as-a-Service. Shortly thereafter, OnDeck announced their much anticipated second bank partner, PNC Bank which is the 9th largest bank in US.

Not surprisingly this was a hot topic on the Q&A portion of the earnings call. Here are a few takeaways from analyst questions:

  •  OnDeck is making $15 million of incremental investment in strategic growth initiatives including ODX. Two-thirds of this will be in ODX with the remaining one-third allocated to international investments in 2019.
  • The revenue model for ODX generally speaking is technology licensing, professional services and customization with a volume based component.
  • The pipeline for ODX has never been stronger. They have been working with PNC for over a year and are seeing interest both internationally and in the US. The ODX announcement has helped drive further interest in the offering.
  • OnDeck is getting better at bringing banks on, making incremental improvements and aspects of on-boarding repeatable . Ultimately there is customization with every bank and OnDeck is also at the whim of banks’ decision making timeline.
  • ODX and OnDeck’s on balance sheet loans are complimentary products. In the case of PNC they are serving the same customers, but providing a digital experience. OnDeck is focused on underserved small business finance which we haven’t seen traditional banks tackle.
  • We will see more bank partnerships in 2019.

Moving on to Q3 2018 financials, OnDeck posted gross revenues of $103 million, up 8% from the previous quarter and 23% from the prior year period. OnDeck is benefiting from higher interest income due to rate increases as well as their origination growth while being able to decrease funding costs. Effective interest yield was 36.5%, up from 33.1% last year.

Net income came in at $9.8 million for the quarter, up from a loss of $4.1 million from the prior year period.

Origination volume reached an all time high of $648 million, representing a 10% increase from the prior quarter and 22% from the prior year period. The company officially crossed the $10 billion mark in originations and also shared that their next lending product would be announced before year-end. The company ended trading today up over 30%.

OnDeck also raised 2018 guidance:

  • Gross revenue of $392 million to $396 million, up from $380 million to $386 million,
  • Net income of $20 million to $24 million, up from $10 to $16 million, and
  • Adjusted Net income of $40 million to $44 million, up from $30 million to $36 million.

OnDeck reported before the opening bell in New York this morning and the stock closed up 32% today.

GreenSky

GreenSky reported record transaction volume in the third quarter of $1.4 billion, up 33% year over year. Revenue increased 29% to $113.9 million year over year. GAAP net income was $45.7 million.

CEO and Chairman David Zalik noted in the press release that they are still in the early stages of penetrating the total addressable market spanning home improvement, elective healthcare and e-commerce. However, the company adjusted guidance downwards due to anticipated seasonal headwinds in the fourth quarter along with a steeper yield curve than anticipated.

GreenSky added two new bank partnerships in the quarter with BMO Harris Bank and Flagstar Bank added to their lending consortium. Total commitments from bank partners now stand at $11.5 billion, up $3.5 billion from the prior quarter. The company relies on these commitments to fund their loan book. Last quarter we discussed GreenSky’s partnership with American Express. The cross-marketing campaign officially went live in early September and GreenSky reported over 1,000 Amex merchant referrals in 8 weeks. The Amex consumer direct installment loan pilot is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2019 in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Tampa. The product will be advertised as “powered by GreenSky” and will offer home improvement loans.

Along with today’s earnings the company announced a share repurchase program of up to $150 million of the company’s Class A common stock. Due to the adjustment of guidance downwards GreenSky’s stock price ended the day down significantly, almost 37%.

LendingClub

LendingClub had a quarter marked with a few records. Net revenues were $184.6 million, up 20% from the prior year period and originations were $2.9 billion, up 18% from last year. Applications also reached their highest levels, up 30% year over year. While originations grew slightly from the previous quarter it is important to note the steps LendingClub has taken to tighten underwriting this year which is why application growth doesn’t necessarily translate to significantly higher originations. It does however represent an opportunity for the company as they continue to improve features and better target their customers.

The company continues to drive to GAAP profitability. In Q3 2018 GAAP Consolidated Net Loss was $22.7 million, or $7.3 million if you exclude $15.5 million of expenses related to outstanding legacy issues.

The mix of investors over the quarter are relatively stable from the previous quarter as shown below.

A few other milestones from LendingClub’s perspective include the near $1 billion in investments for their CLUB Certificate program which launched less than a year ago. LendingClub also settled legacy issues with the Department of Justice, SEC and lawsuits stemming from May 2016 which we wrote about at the beginning of October. According to LendingClub, they have “continued constructive engagement with the FTC regarding ongoing litigation”. LendingClub is also opening a new facility in the Salt Lake City area to further enhance operating efficiency and customer service.

Total loans issued by the company now stands at over $40 billion.

LendingClub raised their full year guidance for Adjusted EBITDA*, adjusted net revenue projections slightly and increased the high end of projections for GAAP net losses:

  • Net Revenue in the range of $688 million to $698 million.
  • GAAP Consolidated Net Loss in the range of $129 million to $124 million, reflecting expenses related to outstanding legacy issues through the third quarter partly offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA guidance.
  • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $89 million to $94 million.

LendingClub reported after the closing bell but was up just over 1% as of this writing.

(Disclosure: Peter Renton, the founder of Lend Academy owns less than one thousand shares of both OnDeck and LendingClub)

OnDeck Announces Lending Technology Subsidiary

OnDeck has split their OnDeck-as-a-Service offering into a new company.

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OnDeck has been powering JPMorgan small business loans through their OnDeck-as-a-Service offering since late 2015. OnDeck has been keeping details of the partnership close, but their CEO Noah Breslow has hinted that they would be announcing a new bank partner soon. Preempting that announcement, the company announced today the launch of a new subsidiary that will pursue these partnerships.

The wholly owned subsidiary called ODX is currently hiring and some OnDeck employees have moved over to support the new venture. In an American Banker article covering the news, Breslow stated, “This is about signaling our commitment to the market, and really scaling up.”

Brian Geary, who was vice president of OnDeck’s partnership program will be president of ODX. What’s interesting is that while the initial focus will be powering online small business lending, the firm may expand into other asset classes according to Geary.

Just a few weeks ago, we wrote about Avant’s rebrand of “Powered by Avant” to a new name, Amount. Amount has similar goals on the personal loan side while Avant will still offer loans themselves, just like OnDeck.

Both companies previously worked with bank partners, but these moves show a renewed focus on this aspect of their business. Perhaps this is a sign of the times of banks warming up the idea of partnering with fintechs to power their lending programs.

Below a quick video of Brian Geary and Noah Breslow introducing the new platform as a service company. You can learn more by checking out https://www.odxsolutions.com/

OnDeck Surpasses $10 Billion in Lending

The small business lender crossed the milestone after being in business for 11 years.

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Back in 2007, OnDeck started making loans to US small businesses. Since then, the company weathered the financial crisis, lending to small businesses at a time when few were. In 2010, they surpassed the $100 million mark. Fast forward to today and the company officially crossed $10 billion in originations. This makes OnDeck the world’s largest non-bank online lender to small businesses by total volume.

It’s interesting to look back at OnDeck’s history and see how far they have come. The marketplace in 2007 was vastly different than it is today and they still managed to lend $100 million in the first three years. Consumer lending companies Lending Club and Prosper were just getting started so lending online to a small business was a novel idea. Small businesses have embraced online loans over the years as evidenced by OnDeck originating $2.1 billion in 2017 alone but there is still room for growth. In 2017, 24% of small businesses who were seeking credit applied online compared to 21% in 2016. CEO Noah Breslow provided the below comment as part of the press release:

If reaching $10 billion dollars in total loan volume online tells us anything, it’s that the days of old-fashioned lending to small businesses are numbered. We created OnDeck because we believed the Internet could revolutionize and speed up the way underserved small businesses access capital. Today, we are helping to fill a credit gap across hundreds of industries by providing fast, secure and transparent loans that enable small businesses to grow, generate economic activity and create jobs. We look forward to providing billions more in financing and powering the small business lending migration to the online model via our OnDeck-as-a-Service platform.

I expect that we will see a steeper curve in the adoption of online small business loans going forward but it’s difficult to predict just how long it will be until a majority of small businesses seek financing online. In my opinion it will depend largely on the way in which OnDeck and other online lenders reach new customers. The company has had a longstanding partnership with JP Morgan Chase through their OnDeck-as-a-Service platform and another large partnership is in the works. We have yet to hear just how big of an impact these sources are having on OnDeck’s business, but working with institutions that have a large customer base could play a significant role in scaling originations even further.

Roundup of Q2 2018 Earnings: GreenSky, OnDeck, LendingClub

We review the three fintech companies that reported earnings today.

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The reality is that most fintech companies today in the US are private. We often learn of key milestones through press releases, but we often don’t get full transparency into what is happening in the business. This is why we’ve always taken great interest in the publicly traded online lenders. Today, OnDeck, GreenSky and Lending Club all reported their Q2 2018 earnings. Below we share the highlights of each from our perspective.

GreenSky

GreenSky went public just a few months ago on May 24, 2018. Their IPO was significant for a couple of reasons. One was the lack of US based fintech IPOs over the last few years and the second was that GreenSky is a wildly successful business. Last year they reported $139 million in net income on revenues of $326 million.

In the second quarter of 2018, the company grew revenue 28.3% to $105.7 million quarter over quarter and adjusted EBITDA was $52.1 million. In the prepared statement as part of the press release, CEO David Zalik noted that crossing $100 million in revenue and $50 million in adjusted EBITDA were milestones for the company. The company also increased transaction volume by 36% with the increase of home improvement merchants and elective health care providers utilizing the platform. Pro forma net income for the quarter was $33.5 million and the company ended the quarter with $236.6 million in cash.

Also of significance was a strategic partnership that was announced yesterday with American Express. This will further Greensky’s reach by accessing merchants who accept American Express. Under the partnership, customers will have access to point of sale loans for large purchases. What’s also interesting is the two companies are piloting a direct-to-consumer installment loan offering to some American Express Card Members. This will be first focused on the home improvement space in select markets, but if this pilot goes well it wouldn’t be surprising to see this partnership being the first example of a fintech and credit card company teaming up to tackle the broader personal loan category.

OnDeck

OnDeck reported net income of $5.8 million for the quarter with gross revenues of $95.6 million, up 10% year over and 6% from the previous quarter. Originations grew to $587 million, up 26% from the prior year period, but down slightly from the previous quarter. The company’s trend of increasing the number of loans funded and decreasing the average loan size continues. [Read more…]

OnDeck Announces Progress on International Pursuits

OnDeck's Canadian and Australian businesses have secured credit facilities that will allow for further expansion in the regions.

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OnDeck has been one of the leaders in online small business lending for many years. What many people may not realize is that besides the US, OnDeck has operations in both Canada and Australia. Both regions were launched in 2015 and today OnDeck announced that they had secured credit facilities in both countries.

OnDeck secured an AUD75 million (~$55 million) asset-backed revolving credit facility with Credit Suisse for their Australian business and a CAD50 million (~$38 million) asset-backed revolving credit facility with Crédit Agricole.

The new Credit Suisse facility will allow OnDeck to refinance their current loan book at lower cost in addition to funding new originations. The facility in Canada is their first which is split into two parts, 25 million in committed capacity with the additional 25 million available at the discretion of the lenders. These facilities have a floating rate with an initial weighted average interest rate of approximately 5.6%.

As part of the press release, they also shared just how the businesses are structured with the credit facilities:

Under the respective facilities, loans will be made to a wholly-owned subsidiary of OnDeck Australia or OnDeck Canada, which will purchase small business loans from OnDeck Australia and OnDeck Canada, respectively. Each of the two separate revolving pools of small business loans will serve as collateral under its respective facility. OnDeck Australia and OnDeck Canada will act as the servicer for its respective loans.

Conclusion

As OnDeck has shifted their business to being less of a marketplace for investors it has become even more important to control their funding costs which we discussed in our OnDeck Q1 2018 earnings review. They must continuously be shopping for the best deal as a balance sheet lender which is demonstrated by their ability to refinance their loan book in Australia.

The other big take away from this news is that OnDeck is getting traction internationally. Many online lenders speak about the potential to expand globally, but few have taken the leap. OnDeck has already been in these markets for around 3 years and it will be interesting to follow how these businesses develop over the next few years.

New Report on the Impact of Online Lenders on Small Businesses

A new report by economic research firm NDP Analytics shares data on how online lenders are helping small businesses thrive.

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Today a new report was released on how online lenders are helping small businesses which in turn is creating economic activity across the US. The report titled “The Economic Benefits of Online Lending to Small Businesses and the U.S. Economy” was put together by NDP Analytics and was sponsored by the Electronic Transactions Association, the Innovative Lending Platform Association (ILPA) and the Small Business Finance Association (SBFA).

Most of us are aware of the importance of small businesses in the US economy. Small businesses employ over half of private-sector workers in the US, so access to capital for small businesses is critical to their success. Fortunately, online lenders such as the ones mentioned in the report have focused on serving the needs of businesses and activity has picked up over the last few years. Both awareness of these alternative options and the amount lent on these platforms is increasing. Originations at five leading online small business lenders increased by 50% in three years, from $2.6 billion in 2015 to $3.9 billion in 2017.

Nearly $10 billion of funding was provided to 180,000 small businesses from 2015 to 2017 according to data which included leading platforms OnDeck, Kabbage and Lendio. This activity has generated $37.7 billion in gross output, created 358,911 jobs and $12.6 billion in wages.

Another highlight of the study was reporting on where these small businesses are operating. Almost one third of small business borrowers are in lower-income communities and about 24% of this borrower demographic are micro businesses with less than $100,000 in annual sales.

What makes small business lending unique is the amount of capital needed can vary widely and one of the reasons online small business lenders have been successful is because they have been able to efficiently underwrite smaller dollar loans. According to the study:

About 42 percent of small businesses borrowed between $10,000 and $50,000 from five online small business lenders with the average amount being $55,498.

One of the most interesting data points from the research was that on average, for every $1 lent to small businesses, sales for these small business borrowers increased by $2.31, creating $3.79 in gross output in local communities across the country.

As Nam Pham, Ph.D., report author and Managing Partner at NDP said in the press release:

The economic benefits of online lending are far reaching and extend beyond the funding used by small businesses to maintain or expand their operations. As these businesses succeed, so do the communities around them. Small businesses are increasingly turning to online lenders to help cover inventory, payroll for employees, and other expenses at critical junctures in their growth. The loan impacts not just the borrower, but those who work and engage with that business.

Conclusion

The small business lending market looks vastly different than it did 10 years ago. Not only are there more lending choices for small business owners than ever before but these choices are quicker and more convenient than in the past. The platforms included in this study and other innovative online small business lenders have been the driving force behind this shift. It’s a great to see a report put together which highlights just how impactful access to capital can be and it is a sign of great things to come as this market continues to grow.

Review of OnDeck Q1 2018 Earnings Results

OnDeck has been working towards executing on their five strategic initiatives for 2018.

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This morning OnDeck released their Q1 2018 earnings. Last quarter we highlighted that the company had reached GAAP profitability which was a significant milestone. While the company posted a net loss of $1.9 million for the quarter, this was within guidance. Gross revenues were $90 million, coming in at the top end of projections for the quarter. The increase in revenue was attributable to higher interest income or the company’s effective interest yield, or EIY which came in at 35.6%, compared to 34.8% in the previous quarter. OnDeck also beat on adjusted income which came in at $6.4 million (Q1 2018 guidance was between $1 and $5 million).

The below chart outlines OnDeck’s revenue sources. It’s interesting to note that OnDeck reported zero for gain on sale revenue. While this hasn’t made up a significant amount of the business for quite some time, there has been a small amount of revenue coming from this source in previous quarters. It seems they have officially shut the marketplace down for the time being. It is also worth noting that other revenue remained consistent. This is a number to keep an eye on as it includes income from OnDeck-as-a-Service, with OnDeck’s longstanding partnership with JPMorgan Chase as the central piece here. While the company may continue to grow originations this is the area with the most potential of upside for the company. Noah Breslow noted that another significant bank partnership would be announced this year, along with a new lending product which could boost originations.

Originations were up 8% from the previous quarter at $591 million. At the same time the company was able to control sales in marketing costs which came in slightly lower than the previous quarter. This is a significant decrease from the prior year period. [Read more…]

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LendIt Fintech News, Powered by Lend Academy, has been bringing you all the news and information about fintech and online lending since 2010 when it was founded by Peter Renton. We not only have the industry’s most active news site, but also the largest investor forum and the first and most popular podcast.

We are a team of fintech enthusiasts who have been covering the industry for many years. With a deep knowledge of online lending, digital banking, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more our team covers the daily news and writes in-depth editorials.

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