For years, I’ve been on the fence about Wise (LSE:WISE), viewing it as a boring, post-IPO growth stock that had already had its moment. Despite being one of the largest UK-listed technology names, it’s often overlooked because it sits outside the FTSE 100. And these days, it’s overshadowed by flashy artificial intelligence (AI) shares.
That may explain a share price down 20% over the past year.
But after looking more closely at its recent results and valuation, I think I might have been missing a trick. Wise is still growing at a pace that many supposedly younger businesses would envy, and it’s producing real cash while doing it.
Growth that still compounds
Wise has come a long way from generating just £303m of revenue in 2020. Its revenue has since climbed towards £2.05bn, helped by its international transfer network, multi-currency accounts and card offering.
But growth has naturally slowed as the business has become larger. Revenue rose by around 75% in 2023 and 43% the following year, before easing to 28% in 2025. Yet that shouldn’t be seen as a broken growth story.
Its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for revenue over three years is roughly 46%. That suggests Wise is still expanding at a remarkable rate for a profitable company of its size.
What catches my attention is that the sales growth is accompanied by strong returns and cash conversion.
- Return on equity (ROE) is around 27%.
- Revenue’s still rising at a double-digit rate.
- Free cash flow’s climbed into the billions.
That final point matters. Some growth companies can report impressive revenue figures while consuming cash to acquire customers or fund expansion. Wise appears different. Its model’s generating cash, suggesting that growth is becoming more valuable rather than simply more expensive.
Its scale’s also considerable. In fiscal 2026, Wise supported around 19m customers, processed more than $240bn of cross-border transactions and said it saved customers over $3bn.
Those aren’t numbers to take lightly – to me, they scream ‘major global platform’, not a niche fintech experiment.
A valuation worth revisiting
Wise has a market value of roughly £9bn and a forward price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 23.36. That isn’t cheap by any means but it isn’t unaffordable, when viewed in context.
A forward P/E near 23 is reasonable when a business has high ROE, strong cash generation and a long record of revenue growth.
It also compares reasonably with parts of the UK tech sector. Trustpilot, Kainos and Softcat, while good companies, all have higher P/E ratios.
But some of Wise’s closest competitors, such as Revolut and Airwallex, aren’t listed. That makes Wise one of the few listed ways to invest directly in the continued shift away from traditional banking.
The overlooked opportunity
The narrative around Wise is of a big, mature fintech – which is sensible. But the numbers tell a story of a business still compounding rapidly, with a high ROE and expanding cash flow.
There are risks, of course. Competition’s intense, interest-income tailwinds may fade, and a 23.36 forward P/E still demands delivery. But the gap between perception and reality is exactly where the opportunity may lie.
For me, Wise warrants closer inspection by tech enthusiasts chasing an undervalued growth opportunity. If the market eventually values it as a durable global growth business rather than yesterday’s fintech story, the price could really take off.
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Mark Hartley does not hold any positions in the companies mentioned.
This story originally appeared on Motley Fool
