A blow to Yitzhak Tshuva: Why has Isracard fallen 33% since the beginning of the year?
The shares of Israel's largest credit card company have lost about a third of their value since the beginning of 2026 and are trading below the price at which Yitzhak Tshuva's Delek Group acquired control. This week, the company is publishing its second-quarter reports. What is putting pressure on the stock, how are the Bank of Israel's interest rate cuts affecting it, and how much are Tshuva and Delek losing on the investment?
Isracard's stock has become one of the most prominent disappointments on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2026. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has plummeted by about 33%, and the company is currently trading at a valuation of about 3.4 billion shekels.
This week, Isracard, managed by Itamar Furman and controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva's Delek Group, is expected to publish its results for the second quarter of 2026 — a report that will be closely scrutinized by investors.
Like other companies in the financial sector, Isracard is dealing with the interest rate cuts by the Bank of Israel. In recent years, credit card companies have become significant consumer lenders: they provide loans, payment installments, and revolving credit at double-digit interest rates, and this is their main profit engine. When the Bank of Israel lowers the interest rate in the economy, the margin between the cost at which the company raises money and the interest it charges the customer narrows — and with it, profitability is eroded.
And here the cumulative pressure comes into play: the Bank of Israel has lowered the interest rate three times since the beginning of the year — in January to a level of 4%, at the end of May to 3.75%, and on July 6, for the second time in a row, to 3.5%. The bank is even signaling two more possible cuts in the coming year, down to a level of about 3%. For Isracard, whose profit is largely influenced by financing income, this is a continuous headwind.
This picture already appeared in the first-quarter reports published in May. Revenues remained almost unchanged, at about 850 million shekels, but profitability was eroded. Beyond the erosion of interest margins, the "Lion's Roar" operation against Iran also had an impact, during which card usage slowed down, especially income from commissions in outbound tourism. The combination of stagnant revenues, falling interest rates, and a tense security situation created the background for the decline in the stock.
On the opportunities side, at the end of March, Isracard signed one of the largest deals in the market: the El Al frequent flyer club, with more than half a million FLY CARD holders, moved to it from CAL in a ten-year agreement.
However, the transition is expensive: the company estimates that the integration will reduce its profitability in 2026 by about 110 to 150 million shekels before tax, due to conversion costs, and only from 2027 is the deal expected to contribute between 160 and 170 million shekels per year. In other words, investors are paying today for a profit that will only arrive later.
Another blow came in mid-July, when the deal to acquire Nir Zuk's digital Ash Bank — which was valued at about 400 million shekels and was supposed to turn Isracard into a kind of small bank — was finally canceled after three extensions of the memorandum of understanding, without the parties reaching a binding agreement. Thus, at least for now, one of the growth expectations that were priced into the stock has dissipated.
Despite the sharp drop, the Delek Group's loss on paper is relatively modest. The group acquired control of Isracard at a valuation of about 3.56 billion shekels, and today the company is trading at about 3.4 billion — meaning a decrease of only about 4.5% relative to the purchase price. The gap between the 33% that the stock has lost since the beginning of 2026 and the relatively small loss of Tshuva stems from the fact that Delek entered at a valuation significantly lower than the peak the stock climbed to after the acquisition.
Isracard is included in the main indices on the stock exchange, including the TA-90 and the finance index, and therefore it is held in the pension, advanced training, and provident funds of many — even without us noticing. The stock's performance directly affects our long-term savings.
The report to be published this week will provide an important indication: are the management's bold moves starting to be translated into profits, or are the pressures — the falling interest rate, the deal that exploded, and the heavy integration costs — continuing to weigh down. The burden of proof lies with Isracard and its controlling shareholder.
