Cardtronics Partners Royal Buying Group…

On July 22, 2009, Cardtronics Inc. (CATM - Snapshot Report) announced that it has been selected by Royal Buying Group, Inc. (RBG) as an exclusive ATM provider. This program aligns with the financial services portfolio of Cardtronics. Cardtronics will offer special pricing and promotions to almost 6,000 members of RBG in 50 states, who are convenience/gas operators and jobbers. 

In recent years, ATM business has continued to advance with regulatory controls. We believe that, with its experienced and a stable team, CATM is well positioned to grab market opportunities. Along with serving the convenience/ petro-retail segment, the current association will help CATM gain a large market share of the crucial merchant population. 

The diversification of CATM’s product and service offering beyond the traditional ATM surcharge model over the past few years has positioned the company to take advantage of certain growth opportunities that do not require a significant amount of new capital. As a result, the company is well positioned than many of its peers (CSTR - Snapshot Report, EEFT - Snapshot Report, GCA - Snapshot Report, and GPN - Snapshot Report). 

We anticipate CATM’s diversification and expense control initiatives to support its future earnings, but the ongoing global crisis and a strengthening U.S. dollar will continue to impact the results in the coming quarters. 

As such, we are maintaining our Hold recommendation on the shares.