• Western Union is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, under the WU ticker
• The company was initially founded as The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in 1851 and has undergone numerous bankruptcies and restructurings since then
• Western Union’s stock reached an all-time high of over $28 just prior to the 2008 crash
• The company is a constituent of the S&P 500 - the benchmark index of the U.S. stock market. WU was also added to the Russell 1000 index in 2021
• Western Union has a presence in over 200 countries and territories, making it one of the largest money transfer companies in the world
• In 2020, Western Union announced a partnership with Google to enable users to send money through Google Pay using Western Union's platform
• As of April 2023, Western Union had a market capitalization of $4 billion 
• BlackRock is the largest institutional shareholder of Western Union, owning 16.70% of its shares 

Western Union stock has taken massive hits since the start of the year 2022 losing over 40% of its market value. With earnings missing analyst estimates and high-profile bank failures taking place in March 2023, Western Union has found itself in a tough spot. 

While the company’s financials were far from terrible, it has struggled to regain past growth momentum. Fierce competition in the financial services industry has also pressured Western Union’s stock and driven investors to try their luck elsewhere. 

With the stock trading between the $10-12 range, and a bulk of its woes coming from outside forces, Western Union could be a decent buy at current valuations. However, before markets start to turn around, WU may well fall further breaking the $10 price point. 

Prospective investors may be weary of Western Union’s recent financial and stock woes. However, it is important to consider the pros and cons of investing in the stock to get a clearer picture of possible things to come for WU stock.

Pros

• Market position - Western Union is one of the largest money transfer companies in the world with a vast customer base
• Growing digital business - Western Union has been expanding its digital capabilities in recent years, which could help it capture a larger share of the growing online money transfer market
• Brand recognition - Western Union has a long history and a globally-recognizable brand identity, which is an advantage new players in the market do not have
• Attractive dividend yield - Western Union pays dividends to its shareholders and offers an attractive yield of 8.65%

Cons

• Regulatory risk - the money transfer market is subject to various rules and regulations and Western Union has had a few issues and had to pay penalties over its long operational history
• Competition - the global money transfer market is a competitive one, which gives Western Union very little room for error
• Economic risk - money transfers depend on broader economic trends and market downturns can hurt Western Union’s bottom line
• Technology risk - the more Western Union digitalizes its business, the threat of cyber attacks on its systems will pose a greater threat 
• Dependence on legacy business - While Western Union has been taking steps to expand its digital capabilities, a bulk of its revenue still comes from the core money transfer business, which leads to concentrated risk

"We have a fantastic core businessl, we are in 200 countries, we have 500,000 locations, we have regulation, we are
regulated in every country, so we built the base and we were very concentrated on our core business" - Devin McGranahan

• Western Union is a global money transfer and financial services company founded in 1851
• The company trades its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, under the WU ticker
• Western Union’s stock has endured a difficult year in 2022 and trades at a considerable discount
• The company is actively trying to expand its digital capabilities - partnering with the likes of Google to implement Google Pay
• Western Union’s financials have started to improve, which can help the company regain lost ground in the near future