i3 Verticals (NASDAQ:IIIV) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

i3 Verticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IIIV)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $19.92, but opened at $21.87. i3 Verticals shares last traded at $20.9890, with a volume of 16,280 shares traded.

The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. i3 Verticals had a return on equity of 4.25% and a net margin of 7.33%.The firm had revenue of $52.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.18 million. i3 Verticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.080-1.160 EPS.

More i3 Verticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting i3 Verticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — EPS of $0.26 vs. $0.24 consensus and revenue of $52.67M slightly above estimates, providing the immediate earnings catalyst. i3 Verticals Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to $1.080–$1.160 vs. consensus ~$0.95, signaling stronger expected profitability and supporting forward valuation. i3 Verticals Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a strategic acquisition and continued SaaS/recurring revenue growth on the earnings call — a shift toward higher-margin, recurring revenue that investors typically prefer. i3 Verticals Inc (IIIV) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Acquisition and SaaS Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The full earnings-call transcript and slide deck are available for detail (useful for modeling revenue mix and acquisition impact). Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Q1 Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary pieces referenced the results and strategy; useful context but not a direct catalyst. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and returns remain modest (net margin ~7.7%, ROE ~4.7%), which could limit multiple expansion unless SaaS mix materially improves margins. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals are a potential headwind: the stock is trading below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages and is near its 52‑week low, which can attract short-term selling pressure. IIIV Stock Profile

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IIIV. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of i3 Verticals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of i3 Verticals from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of i3 Verticals from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research raised i3 Verticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of i3 Verticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other i3 Verticals news, President Frederick Stanford sold 11,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total value of $274,710.87. Following the sale, the president directly owned 43,653 shares in the company, valued at $1,056,839.13. This trade represents a 20.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Paul Christians sold 9,000 shares of i3 Verticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total value of $209,430.00. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 45,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,066,184.86. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,639 shares of company stock worth $562,425 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 60.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On i3 Verticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in i3 Verticals by 31.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 57,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in i3 Verticals during the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of i3 Verticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $401,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of i3 Verticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of i3 Verticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.22% of the company’s stock.

i3 Verticals Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.70 and its 200 day moving average is $28.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.38 million, a PE ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 0.99.

i3 Verticals Company Profile

i3 Verticals, Inc is a provider of integrated software and merchant payment processing solutions tailored for specific vertical markets across the United States. Since its founding in 2001 and headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, the company has focused on delivering SaaS-based applications and payment services to streamline revenue collection and management workflows for its clients.

The company’s product portfolio includes electronic payment processing for credit and debit card transactions, automated clearing house (ACH) transfers, online and mobile payment portals, and related risk management and compliance tools.