At 13:05 on September 25, 2025, I made my September allocation: 190 shares of Western Union (NYSE: WU) at $7.93, about $1,500 total.

This isn’t speculation. It’s not a meme trade. It’s a classic application of my Up 40% Free Stock Strategy — a strategy that’s worked for me for nearly 20 years across bubbles, busts, and booms.

1. Dividends: Paid to Wait

WU currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share. At my entry price:

• Dividend yield: ~7.5%.
• Annual income from 190 shares: ~$45, just for holding.
• Payout ratio: ~55% of earnings → sustainable.

That’s a yield 5–6x the S&P 500 (~1.3%) and more than double “dividend classics” like Coca-Cola (~3%).

I always say dividends are like popcorn at the movies. You didn’t buy the ticket for the popcorn — but it makes the waiting a whole lot better.

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2. Valuation: Priced for Failure

The market thinks Western Union is dying. The numbers say otherwise.

• P/E ratio: ~7 (vs. S&P 500 ~20, PayPal ~16, Block ~>30).
• P/S ratio: ~1.0 (vs. PayPal ~2, Block ~2.5).
• EV/EBITDA: ~5.8 (anything under 8 is cheap for a cash cow).
• Cash: ~$1.1 billion.
• Market cap: ~$3 billion.

Think about that: WU has cash equal to more than a third of its market cap, and it still throws off $1B+ in annual earnings. Yet the stock trades like it’s on life support.

This is exactly the kind of setup my strategy thrives on.

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3. Global Presence = Moat + Optionality

WU isn’t a local fintech app. It’s a global payments infrastructure.

• 200+ countries and territories.
• 500,000+ agent locations.
• 120+ currencies supported.

That’s a moat you can’t copy. If you want to move money from rural Africa to rural India, Western Union is one of the only companies that can do it today.

Now, add optionality: with this network in place, WU can pivot into digital remittances, AI-driven compliance, crypto rails, or fintech partnerships at scale — while others are still begging regulators for licenses.

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4. The AI Fintech Angle

Western Union is sitting on $1.1B in cash. What can they do with it?

• Acquire a small AI fintech and instantly scale it worldwide.
• Build AI fraud detection to cut compliance costs.
• Launch an AI-powered remittance + savings app in emerging markets.

With one smart move, the narrative flips:

• From: “Legacy money mover”.
• To: “Global fintech reinvented with AI.”

Markets live on stories. And this is a story waiting to be told.

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5. Someone Cool Could Buy It

Now let’s have some fun. At a ~$3B market cap, Western Union is so cheap that anyone cool in fintech or banking could buy it without blinking.

• PayPal (~$80B market cap) could own the largest remittance network for under 5% of its size.
• Block (Square) (~$40B) could instantly double its global footprint.
• JPMorgan or Citi could scoop it up with less than a quarter’s earnings.
• Even Apple, Amazon, or Google could buy it with loose change, gaining instant access to 200 countries.

What do they get for $3B?

• $1B+ in earnings every year.
• 1,000,000,000+ customer touchpoints annually.
• A regulatory infrastructure that took decades to build.
• A global brand recognized everywhere.

That’s not a melting ice cube. That’s a Ferrari priced like a Toyota.

And if a takeover ever happens? I collect my dividend until then… and cash in the premium when it hits.

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6. Why This Fits My Strategy

For 20 years, my Up 40% Free Stock Strategy has thrived on stocks priced for extinction but still spitting out cash.

• Buy low.
• Collect dividends.
• Wait for a 40% rerating.
• Sell enough to lock in profits.
• Keep the free stock.

Earlier this year:

• Toll Brothers (TOL) → bought at $92, sold part at $134, dividend collected. Free stock left behind.
• Lumentum (LITE) → market thought lasers were dead, I banked free shares in months.

Now WU joins the portfolio, ready to run the same script.

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7. The Trade

• Date: September 25, 2025
• Time: 13:05:11
• Shares: 190
• Price: $7.93
• Total: ~$1,500

Simple trade. Long history behind it. Clear strategy ahead.

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The Bottom Line

Western Union is priced for failure but packed with value:

• 7.5% dividend.
• P/E of 7.
• $1.1B in cash.
• Operations in 200+ countries.

While I collect income, the upside is twofold: a 40% rerating when the market realizes it’s not dead… and the wildcard kicker that somebody cool could buy it outright for its earnings power and global presence.

Either way, this September buy is exactly why my 20-year strategy keeps working.