00:00Analysts calling this a knee-jerk reaction and ultimately maybe some lofty expectations.
00:04But are you like Bill? Are you still seeing the consumer spending right now?
00:08We are. We really are. He's exactly right. I couldn't agree more.
00:11U.S. consumer has been resilient. They found new things to buy, new things to be excited about.
00:15We're seeing really strong growth, which is posted 36 percent GMV growth, and that's a third quarter in our acceleration.
00:22So the rumors of U.S. consumer decline are somewhat exaggerated, it seems.
00:26And look, maybe it's lofty expectations. I'm sure you go tell me you don't check in on the shares very much.
00:32But when you do see sentiment like this on the back of your numbers, what do you think investors are shying away from?
00:37Is it competition?
00:40You know, hard for me to tell. I try not to check too often.
00:44I primarily care about it from the point of view of the team feeling that their hard work is actually understood by the market.
00:49And I think it took our consumers and our merchant partners about a decade to fully grasp just how different and how accretive we are to their sales
01:01and just how powerful this whole new idea is, and that it just happened.
01:05So, you know, they say slowly at first, then all at once.
01:08Max, that's my hope for the market.
01:12Max, hello. Let's talk about Costco.
01:15You have this arrangement with Costco to allow a Costco customer to pay over time.
01:20I am a Costco member, and I have a city credit card.
01:25And the benefit of the card is that it gives me 5 percent cash back on gas or 4 percent on groceries, right?
01:31So I'm incentivized there.
01:33You and I have talked about this a lot, right, the sort of academic approach to whether you should put something on your credit or not.
01:40Just explain how you think you're going to be competitive against Costco members like I with this offer.
01:47You know, I'm not sure I'm going to be competitive.
01:49I think Costco's card, like everything offered at Costco, is a great value.
01:53And, you know, it's certainly not a thing we are trying to talk you out of if you are truly committed to it.
01:59We speak to a younger demo than a typical credit card consumer who is very miles, rewards, et cetera, conscious.
02:06They choose to borrow with a firm because they have a point of view on they don't like credit card debt.
02:14They want to know exactly the true cost of the thing they're buying.
02:18They want to know when they're out of debt and fully paid up.
02:20And they're less interested in rewards, much more interested in just transparency of pricing.
02:26And I think Costco understands that as they try to attract younger buyers.
02:31And that's why they partner with us.
02:33I am no longer in the younger demographic.
02:36You're still in a very young demographic.
02:40Max, you know, the performance, you know, the top end of the guide was above consensus.
02:46Just where were the specific elements of strength for you?
02:48Is there anything you're doing on the technology side that's giving you a real advantage?
02:52You know, it's very fashionable to flash your AI credentials, but we have built a really, really meaningful business entirely on the strength of AI and machine learning all these years, underwriting consumers with alternative data, complete different approach to modeling, while, of course, remaining fully compliant with all the applicable laws.
03:16So, we are a technology-first company with real depth of approvals while maintaining our core values, such as no late fees, no compounding interest, no deferred interest, all the things that people love to complain about when they talk about credit cards.
03:30And that's given us. And that's given us real strength with the younger consumer Gen Z, just like Bill said, you know, we have a huge penetration into millennial demographic, Gen Z demographic.
03:40That's what retailers come to us for. They want to attract this younger buyer who really does differentiate between, hey, I don't want to revolve.
03:47I don't want to think of this as a buy now, pay forever, which is, you know, what much credit cards are.
03:54Yeah.
03:56Is that younger demographic, is any of your demographic starting to use you more because of the economic uncertainty?
04:01Is that what you actually anticipate going forward?
04:03It doesn't appear to be that way. I don't think we are gaining share because of economic uncertainty.
04:12You know, TBD, we're living in a volatile moment, so who knows what's going to happen next.
04:15But right now, our consumer comes to us more than anything for the clarity and the transparency.
04:21But most importantly, I think we are seeing increased growth right now because of all the 0% offers that we're seeing, that we're putting into the market right now.
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