Mississauga, Ont.-based lender Goeasy Ltd. missed Bay Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations, but some analysts say the numbers were “far from disastrous” and reflect “signs of stabilization.”

The lender, which provides loans to Canadians with low scores , had experienced a sharp drop in its share price in March after disclosing unexpected loan losses worth about $178 million.

It reported an adjusted earnings per share loss of $1.90, lower than the analysts’ estimate of a $1.43 loss. Its net charge-off rate — a declaration that a debt is unlikely to be collected — was 17.8 per cent, up from 8.9 per cent a year ago.

Goeasy’s consumer loan portfolio in the first quarter was $5.36 billion, up 12 per cent from the $4.8 billion from a year ago, but down $150 million, or three per cent, from the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.

“Guidance remains tepid for (the second quarter), meaning that investors will need to wait until the second half before seeing an inflection,” John Aiken, an analyst at Jefferies Inc., said in a note on Tuesday. “Signs of stabilization are evident, but Goeasy will need to continue to weather the dual storms of running down its LendCare portfolio as well as a weakening economic outlook.”

Jaeme Gloyn, an analyst at National Bank of Canada, said in a note that the impact of the earnings “tilts negative” as key credit metrics failed to meet expectations. For example, he said the delinquencies in the “one to 90” day bucket increased, which signalled “stress in the portfolio continued to flow through.”

On the positive side, he said delinquency rates in the 90-to-180 and 181-plus day buckets declined sequentially and revenues “surprised higher as commissions earned proved more resilient than expected.”

For analysts to be more “bullish,” Gloyn said there needs to be “confidence that charge-offs will perform in line with management’s guide in line with management’s guidance — (the first quarter) suggested some risk to this outcome with (the) core portfolio weakening.”

But he said he expects “continued headwinds” for the shares.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Goeasy’s share price was trading at $29.44 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down five per cent for the day.

The company also announced its board has adopted a shareholder rights plan to “ensure that all shareholders are treated fairly in connection with an unsolicited takeover bid or acquisition of control of the company.”

The company said it hasn’t received any offers yet.

Overall, Raymond James analyst Stephen Bolland said the results reflect gradual improvements at the company.

“While we have seen some improvement in credit results, we remain cautious until a longer trend develops,” he said in a note on Wednesday.

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