EZPW vs FCFS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
FCFS is the larger of the two ($8.85B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (15.64x forward earnings, beta 0.53). EZPW is the smaller challenger ($1.81B), cheaper on forward earnings (13.49x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
EZPW vs FCFS: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | EZPW | FCFS | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $1.81B | $8.85B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 13.49 | 15.64 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 14.82 | 23.18 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.64 | 0.53 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 65% of range | 70% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 1.56 | 3.82 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: EZPW is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how EZPW and FCFS affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. EZPW and FCFS share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined EZPW and FCFS exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does EZCORP (EZPW) do?
EZCORP, Inc. is an Austin-based pawn operator with about 1,549 locations at the end of its fiscal third quarter of 2026: roughly 560 in the United States under EZPAWN and Value Pawn & Jewelry, about 881 across Latin America under names including Empeño Fácil, GuatePrenda and MaxiEfectivo, and about 108 more in the Simple Management Group network across 12 countries, which EZCORP took to full ownership in July 2026. The business earns money three ways. Pawn service charges are the fees on short-term loans secured by an item the customer leaves behind. Merchandise sales come from reselling the collateral on loans that are not redeemed. Jewelry scrap sales come from melting gold that is not worth reselling as a finished piece.
What does FirstCash Holdings (FCFS) do?
FirstCash Holdings operates more than 3,300 retail pawn stores across roughly 29 US states, four Latin American countries (led by Mexico, where it runs over 1,700 locations), and the United Kingdom. The stores make small, secured non-recourse pawn loans against jewelry, electronics, tools and other pre-owned goods, and resell forfeited and purchased merchandise at retail. A second segment, American First Finance (AFF), provides lease-to-own and retail point-of-sale payment plans through roughly 16,000-plus merchant locations, extending the company beyond the physical pawn footprint into embedded consumer finance.
EZPW vs FCFS: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- EZPW drivers: Gold as the loan-size multiplier; Latin America store growth and acquisitions.
- FCFS drivers: Pawn store growth and consolidation; Counter-cyclical pawn demand.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The gold tailwind cuts both ways: a sustained decline would shrink loan sizes, compress the loan book and hit scrap revenue at the same time, and the recent growth rates would not repeat off a lower base. For FCFS, firstCash faces meaningful regulatory exposure.
EZPW or FCFS: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick EZPW if you believe its drivers more; FCFS if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the EZPW and FCFS guides.
EZPW vs FCFS: the full fundamentals
EZPW. Fiscal 2025 closed with revenue of about $1,274 million and diluted EPS of about $1.42, and the first nine months of fiscal 2026 already produced about $1,248 million of revenue and about $132 million of net income. Growth of that shape is partly organic, partly the gold cycle and partly acquisition, so the trailing multiple of roughly 15 times earnings is being applied to a number that has been moving quickly in one direction. Forward estimates sit slightly below the trailing figure, which implies the market is not extrapolating the current pace.
FCFS. FirstCash reported record Q1 2026 revenue of about $1.05 billion (up 26% year over year) and diluted EPS of $2.43, with full-year 2025 revenue near $3.66 billion. The stock trades around $220 to $225 for a roughly $9.9 billion market cap, a mid-20s trailing earnings multiple that compresses toward the high teens on forward estimates as management raised 2026 pawn guidance. The dividend is modest at about $0.42 per quarter, so the return case leans on earnings growth rather than yield.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): EZPW shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.58B, market cap ~$1.81B, q3 fy2026 revenue ~$418.7M, up ~35% year over year, pawn loans outstanding ~$387.2M, up ~33% (~18% same-store); FCFS shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.9B, net income (ttm) ~$350M, market cap ~$9.9B, trailing p/e ~26x.
The bottom line: EZPW vs FCFS
EZPW and FCFS are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined EZPW and FCFS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how EZPW or FCFS fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in EZCORP with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how EZPW fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between EZPW and FCFS?
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EZCORP, Inc. FirstCash Holdings operates more than 3,300 retail pawn stores across roughly 29 US states, four Latin American countries (led by Mexico, where it runs over 1,700 locations), and the United Kingdom. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is EZPW or FCFS the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. FCFS is the larger incumbent; EZPW is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, EZPW or FCFS?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), EZPW trades at 13.49x and FCFS at 15.64x, so EZPW is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both EZPW and FCFS?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of EZPW vs FCFS?
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EZPW: The gold tailwind cuts both ways: a sustained decline would shrink loan sizes, compress the loan book and hit scrap revenue at the same time, and the recent growth rates would not repeat off a lower base. Store expenses grew about 30% year over year, with labor and statutory minimum wage increases cited, so cost inflation in Mexico and Central America can absorb a meaningful share of the revenue growth. Roughly two-thirds of the store base sits in Latin America, which brings peso and quetzal translation exposure and local regulatory risk on pawn rates and consumer lending rules; US operations face state-level rate and fee caps plus federal consumer-finance oversight. The company carried about $519 million of long-term debt against about $311 million of cash at quarter end after retiring SMG debt and funding acquisitions, and its convertible notes add share-count dilution as the stock rises. Finally, public shareholders own Class A non-voting stock while voting control sits with a separate Class B holder, so ordinary shareholder pressure on the board is not available here. FCFS: FirstCash faces meaningful regulatory exposure. In 2025 it settled a CFPB action over alleged Military Lending Act violations for roughly $9 to $11 million, and both pawn APRs and the AFF lease-to-own model draw ongoing scrutiny from state and federal regulators. A large share of revenue comes from Mexico, so a weaker peso can dent US-dollar results even when local operations grow. The business is also tied to gold prices, which cut both ways, and to the financial health of a lower-income consumer base whose loan performance can deteriorate in a downturn. Rising interest expense on its debt-funded acquisitions is an additional pressure.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell EZPW or FCFS; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.