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Nerdwallet (NRDS): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 2026, to Sep 30, 2026, filed Nov 5, 2026; rules v1.1
Nerdwallet (NRDS): 0 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Sep 30, 2026; 4 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
No rule is triggered on the latest filings, and none is marked to review.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Not triggered confidence high
Free cash flow rose $59M to $130M; working capital and lower capex explain 7% of it, so most of the gain is in operating cash flow itself.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY2024 |
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $72M |
| Operating cash flow | $132M |
| Capex, year before | $600K |
| Capex | $1M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $71M |
| Free cash flow | $130M |
| Change in FCF | $59M |
| Change in capex | $700K |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | $4M |
| Of which: capex cut | 0.00 |
| Of which: working capital released | $4M |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +6.8% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | 55800000.00 |
FCF = operating cash flow − cash capex; ΔFCF = ΔOCF − ΔCapEx; the working-capital part is the change in the cash-bridge items (receivables, inventory, payables, accruals), with the sign of the cash flow statement
Source: FY2025 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY2024 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 3.4% of revenue, but buybacks of $70M covered it (2.5×) and the diluted share count fell 3.8%: the dilution has been paid for in cash.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Stock compensation | $29M |
| Revenue | $837M |
| SBC / revenue | +3.4% |
| Buybacks | $70M |
| Buybacks / SBC | 2.5 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 78.9M shares |
| Diluted shares | 75.9M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | -3.8% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY2025 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew 1% against revenue 11% in Q3 2026; DSO 45 against a median of 48: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Revenue, year over year | +11.4% |
| Receivables, year over year | +0.9% |
| Quarter before | Q2 2026 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +5.6% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +16.2% |
| Days sales outstanding | 45.4 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 47.9 |
| Receivables | $123M |
| Revenue | $240M |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q3 2026 (receivables and revenue) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Insufficient data
no debt figure could be read from the balance sheet (the filing may tag it in other lines)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS fell 33% and net income fell 43% in Q3 2026; the share count fell 15.9%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Quarter before | Q3 2025 |
| EPS, year before | $0.34 |
| EPS | $0.23 |
| Net income, year before | $26M |
| Net income | $15M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 76.9M shares |
| Diluted shares | 64.7M shares |
| EPS growth | -32.8% |
| Net income growth | -43.4% |
| Diluted shares: change | -15.9% |
| eps from profit | -$0.15 |
| eps from share count | $0.04 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q3 2026 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Insufficient data
no market value or trailing net income in the valuation research
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value Insufficient data
no DCF in the valuation research for this company
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → Nerdwallet: cash flow →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.