Two large Canadian tech companies, the digital lending platform Propel Holdings and online course creation platform Thinkific Labs, have reported first quarter 2025 earnings that tell different stories about their performance.
Toronto-based Propel saw its Q1 revenue jump 44 percent year-over-year to a record $138.9 million CAD, while its net profit spiked 79 percent to reach a similarly record-setting $23.5 million.
“We continue to observe strong demand as a growing number of consumers in our markets are left out of the traditional credit market and are turning to Propel and our bank partners.”
Clive Kinross
CEO,
Propel
CEO Clive Kinross claimed that the performance came in what was typically the company’s slowest demand quarter. It also represented the company’s best quarterly credit performance since Q2 of 2021, and came amid the “economic uncertainty” of the United States’ (US) trade war with Canada.
“We continue to observe strong demand as a growing number of consumers in our markets are left out of the traditional credit market and are turning to Propel and our Bank Partners,” Kinross said in a statement.
Vancouver’s Thinkific had more modest performance, reporting a 12-percent increase in Q1 revenue to $17.8 million. It swung from a $1.1-million loss last year to $400,000 in net income.
It chalked this up to a combination of a surge in subscription-based annual recurring revenue (ARR) from $1.8 million to $60.1 million. Its commerce revenue also grew 52 percent to $3.3 million.
CFO Corinne Hua said she was “pleased” with Thinkific’s start to 2025, as changes to its go-to-market strategy were paying off. She added that the company was still generating cash flow and held the margin for its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).
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“We are now executing on our focused strategy, which we believe will drive long-term financial performance and increased shareholder value,” Hua said.
In contrast, Propel was founded in 2011 and raised $61 million with its 2021 initial public offering (IPO). The company made key strategic moves in late 2024, including the $95.9-million acquisition of UK-based Quidmarket and a team-up with Koho Financial on line of credit offerings as it sought to become a licensed bank.
Thinkific, launched in 2012, struggled with the economic conditions in recent years. It conducted layoff rounds in 2022 and 2023 that each cut about a fifth of the company’s workforce at the time in response to difficult fundraising conditions. Co-founder and COO Miranda Lievers moved to an advisory role.
The firm has turned around its fortunes since, including a return to positive cash flow and a combination of revenue growth and reduced losses.
Both Propel and Thinkific are optimistic in their outlooks. Kinross expected the challenges of conventional credit to “fuel [Propel’s] growth” over the course of 2025. Hua, meanwhile, noted that Thinkific had “important product launches” and marketing campaigns lined up for the summer.
Feature image courtesy of nodomain.cc on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).