Payments infrastructure company and newest ASX stock, Cuscal (ASX: CCL), made its debut on the ASX on Monday but had a shaky orientation to class, shedding 9% on its first day of trading.
Listed at an initial public offering (IPO) price of $2.50 per share at midday, Cuscal's shares slipped to lows of $2.26 shortly afterwards.
They finished the day at $2.29 apiece, the market's first ever quotation for the payments company.
With the regulatory environment clamping down on the fintech sector, one might wonder what the appetite for such stocks is in the broader scheme of things.
Still, more than 2.5 million shares exchanged hands today, about 13% of the entire float.
Let's take a closer look.
ASX stock makes shaky debut
Cuscal listed its shares on the ASX on Monday in a fairly lacklustre debut. Right from the outset, the ASX stock was heavily sold before finishing more than 8% lower on the day.
This is actually the company's second attempt at listing on the ASX after pulling a previous IPO in 2023.
Market data showed that the company raised over $336 million from the offering and finished the day with a market capitalisation of $438.6 million.
By now, you're probably asking, what does Cuscal actually do? Founded in 1992, Cuscal is a payments company that provides a full suite of 'financial services' to smaller institutions.
Many mutual banks and credit unions use its services to issue cards, facilitate payments, and bring them up to speed with the latest in banking/fintech.
According to Bank of America research compiled pre-listing, Cuscal has 92 clients, some of which had been with the firm for over 40 years.
The firm was valued at 10.3 times projected pre-tax earnings, giving an implied corporate valuation of $656 million, according to The Australian Financial Review. The company is projected to produce $63 million based on these figures.
This valuation is reportedly "similar to Australian payment names", which can trade higher than most ASX stocks.
Can Cuscal recover?
If Cuscal is, in fact, valued 'similarly' to other ASX payment stocks, we have an interesting recipe. Whether or not it lacks investment flavour will be decided by the market's taste buds.
On the one hand, the federal government has announced a clampdown on card payment surcharges. That's certainly a sour drop.
Although, the ASX stock emphasised it isn't exposed to these changes in its IPO pitch.
Global credit card network Mastercard is also a major shareholder in Cuscal, adding some spice to the mix. It's held shares since 2014.
The company is also profitable, with Bank of America analysts pointing to its history of "strong free cash flow conversion" and dividends as positives. There's your sweetener.
Combining sour, spicy and sweet makes for a good taco dressing, but does it make for a good stock in this instance? The market didn't think so on Cuscal's first day of trading. Maybe it was after something sweeter.
Even still, it's critical to hold a long-term view. It's only the company's first day.
ASX stock takeout
Cuscal's ASX stock debut highlights the challenges companies have when listing their shares on public markets.
Once listed, you're letting the market decide the value of things. This takes time, especially more than a day.
It will be interesting to see what value investors place on the ASX's newest fintech player moving forward.
