PRA Group Inc.’s PRAA second-quarter 2018 earnings per share of 43 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents. Moreover, the bottom line soared 72% from 25 cents in the year-ago quarter, majorly driven by higher cash collections, supply and focused operations in Europe.PRA Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise PRA Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | PRA Group, Inc. QuoteThe company’s reported net income plunged 54.4% year over year to 43 cents per share in the quarter under review.PRA Group’s total revenues were $222 million, up 8.9% from the prior-year quarter’s level. The top line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.7%.Quarterly Operational UpdatePRA Group’s net finance receivable revenues of $219 million increased 12.9% over the year-earlier quarter’s figure owing to yield improvements in certain pools of Europe Core and Americas Core along with a record portfolio investment during 2017 in Americas Core and Americas Insolvency.Fee income of $2.3 million surged 63% year over year.Total operating expenses rose 7.3% year over year to $163.3 million. This downside was induced by higher compensation and employee services from increased U.S. collection staff.In the reported quarter, the company generated cash collections of $406 million, up 8.5% from the amount recorded in comparable period last year. This upside was driven by a significant U.S. staffing and higher portfolio purchase in the Americas.Financial UpdateAs of Jun 30, 2018, the company had total assets worth $3.5 billion, up 2.8% from the year-end 2017 tally.PRA Group exited the second quarter with total equity of $1.1 billion, flat with the year-end 2017 level.Cash and cash equivalents in the quarter under discussion were $71 million, down 41% from the figure at 2017 end.In the second quarter, borrowings dipped 1.7% to $2.13 billion.The company invested $221.4 million in new finance receivables in the quarter under review.Zacks Rank and Performance of Other PlayersPRA Group has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Among other financial miscellaneous service providers having reported second-quarter earnings so far, the bottom line of Synchrony Financial SYF, American Express Company AXP and MoneyGram International Inc. MGI beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI): Free Stock Analysis Report American Express Company (AXP): Free Stock Analysis Report Synchrony Financial (SYF): Free Stock Analysis Report PRA Group, Inc. (PRAA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research