Q2 earnings & beyond: 3 questions with Dee Choubey, CEO of MoneyLion

Q2 earnings & beyond: 3 questions with Dee Choubey, CEO of MoneyLion

A conversation with Dee Choubey on Q2 results, regulatory pressures, and his outlook for the next half of 2023.

by SARA KHAIRI

Source: MoneyLion

For the second quarter ending June 30, 2023, MoneyLion reported:

• Net Revenue came in at $107 million, up 22% YoY
• Gross Profit increased 30% to $62.6 million compared to $48.1 million in Q2 2022
• Adjusted EBITDA stood at $9 million vs. $18.5 million in Q2 2022

While the company has shown strong growth in revenue, its profitability remains a concern. The company reported a net loss of $27.7 million at a 59% gross profit margin in Q2 2023, up from $23.06 million. However, analysts are hopeful and predict a surge in the stock price in the months ahead based on the firm's consistent growth since the past quarters.

I spoke with Dee Choubey, CEO of MoneyLion, about what factors contributed to the second quarter results, challenges regarding regulation and compliance, and his outlook on the US economy and banking sector for the second half of 2023.

What key factors contributed to MoneyLion’s Q2 results – positive numbers and areas that can be further refined?

Dee Choubey, ML: We’re proud to have achieved a second consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA and more than a year of consistent quarterly improvement on our path to profitability, highlighting our acute focus on efficiency. 

Importantly, we continue to position ourselves to capture market share when credit conditions and digital ad-spend, which have impacted the industry for the last 12 months, normalize. As we expand our Enterprise network of partners and support even more asset classes, the scale of unmet demand continues to grow, positioning MoneyLion for a massive revenue opportunity and margin expansion going forward.

How challenging has it become to launch new products/services or expand existing ones amid increasing regulations?

Dee Choubey, ML: Regulation is a fact of life in the financial space and we welcome it as we build and launch innovative products that create great outcomes for our customers. We embrace sensical guidelines that promote transparency and choice for consumers.

We’ll continue to work very hard in cooperation with regulators and other stakeholders to promote consumer protection while also fostering innovation and healthy competition, with the hope of reaching measures that make sense and are in line with modern practices in every other area of finance and tech, so we can clear the field of bad actors together. 

What is your outlook on the US economy and banking sector at large for the second half of 2023?

Dee Choubey, ML: We believe we are seeing signs of improvement in what has been a tough macroeconomic climate for everyone. We strategically serve the general population in the United States.

Our consumer products are a must-have for hardworking families, and we’re seeing that they are remaining resilient. We are looking forward to the normalization of credit conditions and digital ad-spend that have impacted the industry for the last 12 months.

Market recap

The fintech IPO index saw some big dips last week

Upstart (UPST) - down 53% to $32.05 per share

• Although Upstart exceeded expectations on revenue and net income for Q2, its shares tanked sharply after the lending platform issued Q3 revenue guidance that was viewed as disappointing and fell short of analysts' expectations. 
• The company expects Q3 revenue of $140 million compared to the $155.4 million estimate. It also expects its contribution margin to be 65% in Q3, down from 67% in Q2.

Green Dot (GDOT) - down 17% to $15.96 per share

• Despite payments firm Green Dot reporting better-than-expected Q2 results, investors don't seem that impressed.
• Quarterly non-GAAP earnings of 37 cents per share exceeded the consensus estimate by 8.8%. However, the bottom line decreased by 50% on a YoY basis. Non-GAAP operating revenues of $361.1 million also beat estimates by 8.7% but dropped YoY.

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