Latest news with #Remitly
Time Out
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
A study just named this European nation the world's funniest country
Are you a quick wit or a master of irony? Have you got good craic or enough comedic timing to get a laugh even out of the cringiest dad jokes? Chances are that you're a funny person. Humour is both universal and incredibly local. It varies enormously between generations, communities and across cultures, but you can bet every nation has its own comedic identity – even if that means not really having one at all. But, which nation is the funniest? Well, Remitly asked more than 6,000 people from 30 different countries to fill out the Humour Styles Questionnaire, which is a study developed back in 2003 by a guy called Rod Martin. It essentially helps researchers and psychologists understand how humour is used by different people in their day-to-day, not just if they're funny but also how they're funny. Recommended: The best comedy movies of all time, according to Time Out. So, was it the Brits, with their dry use of irony, or the Irish, famous for their good craic, who claimed the crown? The answer is neither – the title of the funniest country in the world was actually awarded to (slapstick drum roll, please) ... Czechia (aka the Czech Republic). Scoring 72.33 out of 100, Czechs apparently excel at self-defeating humour and also, according to the study, rank well for aggressive humour (this includes jokes that come at another person's expense, such as sarcasm or ridicule). Portugal came second with a score of 71.42. The Portuguese are characterised by affiliative humour – that's the kind of funny which is warm and helps people bond – and in a close third place was Ireland, which scored 71.18. These are the world's 20 funniest countries, according to Remitly Czech Republic Portugal Ireland Belgium Chile Greece Australia Poland Denmark Hungary Switzerland Netherlands France Mexico Austria Estonia Canada UK South Africa Norway Did you see that these are officially the best islands in the world to visit in 2025? Plus: The Italian city was crowned Europe's best by thousands of travellers.
Time Out
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
South Africa is officially one of the world's funniest countries
If there's one thing South Africans are known for, it's our ability to laugh through just about anything. We don't take ourselves too seriously – and more often than not, that sense of humour brings us together. Take lockdown, for example. When Cabinet Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma defended the tobacco ban with her now-infamous line – "When people zol, they put saliva on the paper, and then they share that zol" – the internet did what it does best. Within days, Capetonian music producer Max Hurrell had turned the moment into the viral hit 'Zol', which quickly became a national lockdown anthem. Fast forward to the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the peak of loadshedding, and Mgarimbe gave 'Sister Bethina', affectionately called South Africa's unofficial second national anthem, a fresh spin with 'Amabokoboko (Sister Bokkina)', featuring the memorable line: "We're taking the loadshedding to France, boys." View this post on Instagram A post shared by 947 (@947joburg) Now, science has caught up with what we've always known. A global study by Remitly using the Humour Styles Questionnaire, involving 6,000 participants across 30 countries, set out to identify the World's Funniest Nations – and South Africa made the list, ranking 19th with an average humour score of 69.26. The study assessed four types of humour: Affiliative humour: The social glue – friendly, inclusive, and uplifting. Self-enhancing humour: Optimistic and resilient – helping people cope through tough times. Aggressive humour: Sarcastic, teasing, and sometimes at others' expense. Self-defeating humour: Self-deprecating and used to deflect or gain approval. While we didn't crack the top 10 overall, South Africa did claim the number one spot for both affiliative and self-enhancing humour. The 10 Funniest Nations: Czech Republic Portugal Ireland Belgium Chile Greece Australia Poland Denmark Hungary So no, we might not be the absolute funniest, but when it comes to laughter that brings people together and keeps spirits high, South Africa leads the pack. As if our sense of humour isn't enough (we're looking at you Trevor Noah), we've were also recently named one of the Best Countries on Earth!
Time Out
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
A scientific study just ranked Australia as the world's 7th funniest country – who beat us?
Around the world, Aussies are loved for their dry, sarcastic sense of humour that's pointed at everything from dodgy politicians and deadly animals to coffee snobs and interstate rivals. And while we might think we're the most entertaining bunch on the planet, a new study reckons we're only the seventh-funniest nation behind some unexpected contenders. Sense of humour is undeniably subjective, so the researchers at Remitly decided to take a scientific approach to the rankings (yep, no funny business here). They surveyed more than 6,000 participants from 30 countries using the Humour Styles Questionnaire, which measures four styles of humour: affiliative (friendly banter), self-enhancing (laughing through the pain), aggressive (roasting others) and self-defeating (laughing at yourself). The higher a country scored across the board, the funnier it was deemed by the rest of the world. Turns out, the Czech Republic is the world's funniest nation, excelling in both self-defeating and aggressive humour. 'Czech humour is legendarily dry, operating through deadpan delivery and subtle verbal jabs that can sometimes catch you off guard,' the researchers said. Coming in next were Portugal and Ireland, where humour tends to be affiliative – the kind that brings people together through shared laughs. Belgium, Chile and Greece also ranked highly, with Australia following as the seventh-funniest country in the world. We'll take it! Australians would likely hit it off with the Czechs, since our humour shares a love of both self-deprecating and cheeky roast styles – so while we love making fun of others, we're also happy to crack a joke at ourselves. Check out who's 'scientifically' funnier than us below. The 10 funniest countries in the world Czech Republic Portugal Ireland Belgium Chile Greece Australia Poland Denmark Hungary 🎤 Going out in your city makes you happier, according to new Australian research 😱 I've found the outback wellness capital of Australia
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
2 Stocks I'm Still Holding for the Next Decade
Holding stocks while they rise in price is an important discipline if you are going to be a good individual investor. Remitly is a great stock to hold for the next decade because of its fast growth in the remittance sector. Interactive Brokers is the most profitable brokerage in the world, and has a lot of room to keep gaining market share. 10 stocks we like better than Remitly Global › It can be hard to hold huge winning stocks, but that is the best way to beat the stock market through buying individual companies. Just ask Warren Buffett, who sometimes holds a stock for multiple decades. Or founders of large technology players like Jeff Bezos, who still maintains a large position in Amazon to this day. Holding a stock and not trimming your winning investments is more difficult than it seems. Your instinct will tell you to take a profit when a stock jumps, as it feels like the safe play for your portfolio. This is contrary to the philosophy of the great long-term investors. Here are two stocks I think are buys today and plan on holding through thick and thin for the next decade. First up is the fast-growing Remitly Global (NASDAQ: RELY). It has come on the scene quickly and taken a share of the remittance market for individuals sending money overseas back to friends and family. Through a sleek mobile app, lower fees than traditional players and banking institutions, as well as a wide ability to pay out in local markets like India, Remitly is gaining a lot of share in the United States and increasingly other countries for cross-border transfers. Total transfer volume was $16.2 billion last quarter, up 41% year over year and well outpacing industry growth. It has a measly 2%-3% market share of remittance payments, giving the company a huge runway for expansion as it goes for the United States to other countries around the world. Revenue grew 34% year over year to $362 million, while the company is now generating a positive net income, albeit just slightly at $11.4 million in the period. Current earnings power underestimates the profit potential of Remitly's business. With an asset-light model, the company's true costs come from transaction processing and fees paid to financial partners. Most of its revenue is currently getting reinvested in product development and marketing to acquire new customers, which will fuel more revenue growth. When the business matures, investors should expect Remitly's profit margins to begin to expand, likely to 20% or higher. Its peer Wise already has a profit margin of 20%. Growing quickly, Remitly's annual revenue should soon hit $2 billion and has a path to grow to $5 billion over the long haul. This will enable the company to eventually generate at least $500 million in annual earnings, if not more. Today, the stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, which makes the stock cheap compared to the future earnings potential. Buy Remitly and sit tight through the ups and downs of the stock price. The world of investing has changed rapidly in the last decade. Investors want free stock trades, global access to markets, easy-to-use mobile applications, and a variety of different financial instruments to buy. Robinhood Markets is the most well-known disrupter in stock brokerages, but it is underfollowed Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) that is the most profitable in the industry. Born to serve advanced trades and investment funds, Interactive Brokers is a technology-first brokerage that offers global coverage, a wide variety of financial instruments to buy, and cheap or free trading fees for its brokerage clients. It is gaining a lot of market share, with customer accounts up 32% last quarter to 3.62 million. It may have a lot fewer total users than Robinhood (which has 26 million), but Interactive Brokers has close to double the total client assets at $573.5 billion, which demonstrates the high-end customer base that it serves. These figures and Interactive Brokers' asset-light efficiency enable it to generate pre-tax profit margins of 74%, which is better than almost any company in the world. With hundreds of millions of investors around the world, Interactive Brokers is just scratching the surface when it comes to taking market share in the industry. It has a current price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 32, which is slightly high, but it still remains a great hold for investors over the next decade. As customers grow, so should earnings, which will drive the stock price higher over the long term. Before you buy stock in Remitly Global, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Remitly Global wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,010,880!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 14, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Brett Schafer has positions in Amazon and Remitly Global. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Interactive Brokers Group, and Wise Plc. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $175 calls on Interactive Brokers Group and short January 2027 $185 calls on Interactive Brokers Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Stocks I'm Still Holding for the Next Decade was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Must-Read Analyst Questions From Remitly's Q1 Earnings Call
Remitly entered 2025 with notable momentum, as the company's first quarter results were well received by the market. Management attributed the strong performance to a combination of expanding customer engagement, targeted product enhancements for high-value senders, and efficiency gains in marketing spend. CEO Matt Oppenheimer highlighted the company's ability to deliver 'frictionless experiences' and tailor send limits, which supported a significant increase in send volume per user. Additionally, improvements in direct partner integrations helped speed up transactions and lower costs, reinforcing Remitly's position in the digital remittance market. Is now the time to buy RELY? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $361.6 million vs analyst estimates of $347.5 million (34.4% year-on-year growth, 4.1% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.19 vs analyst estimates of $0.17 (11.9% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $58.43 million vs analyst estimates of $39.15 million (16.2% margin, 49.2% beat) The company slightly lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $1.58 billion at the midpoint from $1.57 billion EBITDA guidance for the full year is $202.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $197.2 million Operating Margin: 3.4%, up from -7.4% in the same quarter last year Active Customers: 8.04 million, up 1.83 million year on year Market Capitalization: $3.74 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Tien-Tsin Huang (JPMorgan) asked about the drivers behind the increase in send volume per active user. CFO Vikas Mehta pointed to higher engagement, growth in high-amount senders, and tailored product experiences for larger transactions. Andrew Schmidt (Citi) inquired whether improvements in volume per user were driven by internal initiatives or environmental factors. Mehta replied that the growth was mainly self-driven, with cohort retention and product improvements providing high visibility and confidence. Chris Kennedy (William Blair) sought more detail on direct partner integrations and their benefits. CEO Matt Oppenheimer highlighted faster, lower-cost, and more reliable transactions, emphasizing the impact on customer experience and retention. Ramsey El-Assal (Barclays) asked about strategies to attract high-dollar and micro business customers. Oppenheimer described tailored marketing and product changes, including improved KYC (Know Your Customer) processes for specific segments. David Scharf (Citizens Capital Markets) questioned the sustainability of margin gains and potential one-time expense benefits. Mehta explained that Q1 benefited from efficient marketing, but investments would increase in Q2 and beyond to support long-term growth. Over the coming quarters, the StockStory team will monitor (1) the pace of adoption and transaction growth from high-amount senders and micro business customers, (2) the success of new market and product launches such as WhatsApp Send, and (3) the sustainability of operational efficiency gains as marketing and technology investments increase. Trends in customer retention and competitive dynamics in key corridors will also serve as important indicators of Remitly's execution. Remitly currently trades at $18.34, down from $21.09 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs. While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.
