CPI Card Group shares surge 25.48% after-hours after reporting 11% sales growth and 78% net income increase in Q3.

think> Okay, let's tackle this query. The user wants me to act as a financial analyst explaining CPI Card Group's stock price movement based on recent news. The stock went up by 25.48% after hours. I need to look at the provided news events and see which ones are relevant. First, the main news is the Q3 2025 earnings report. The company reported an 11% sales increase driven by Arroweye and instant issuance solutions. However, net income went up 78%, but adjusted EBITDA decreased 7%. The CEO mentioned growth in core payment solutions and strategic initiatives. They also updated their 2025 outlook to lower growth rates. Another news item mentions that the stock plummeted 17% after the earnings due to missing EPS expectations. But wait, the user says the stock went up 25.48% after hours. That seems conflicting. Maybe there's a mix-up here. The user input says the stock went up, but one of the news events says it dropped. I need to check the details again. Looking back, the user provided "Cpi Card Group盘后 after-hour up 25.48317824%", so the stock actually rose after hours. However, one of the news items (Reason 2) states the stock plummeted 17% on the earnings. But another news item (Reason 6) mentions the stock fell over 14% in pre-market. But the user's input is about after-hour trading. This discrepancy needs to be resolved. Wait, the user's input says the stock is up 25.48% after hours, but the news events mention a drop. This might be a contradiction. However, perhaps there's a misunderstanding in the news events. Let me check the details again. The first news event (Reason 1) is the earnings report. The second (Reason 2) is a summary of the earnings leading to a 17% drop. The third (Reason 6) says the stock fell 14% pre-market. The user's input is about after-hour trading, so maybe the after-hour movement is positive, but during regular trading it dropped. But the user's instruction is to focus on the after-hour movement. The key here is to determine what caused the after-hour upswing. The earnings report includes positive elements like increased sales and strategic acquisitions (Arroweye, Karta), but also negative aspects like lower EBITDA and revised outlook. The stock's after-hour increase might be due to positive factors not mentioned in the news events that caused the regular trading drop. Wait, the user's input says the stock is up 25.48% after hours. The news events mention a drop in regular trading. But the user's question is about the after-hour movement. The relevant news for the after-hour move might be something else. However, the provided news events all relate to the earnings report. Wait, perhaps there's an error in the user's input. The stock's after-hour movement is up, but the news events mention a regular trading drop. The user might have mixed up the periods. But according to the input, the stock is up after hours. The news events mention the regular trading drop. So, maybe the after-hour increase is due to a different event not mentioned in the provided news. But the user's instruction says to use the provided news events. Alternatively, perhaps the after-hour increase is a correction after the regular trading drop. But the user's instruction is to link the movement to the news. Since the provided news events don't mention anything positive causing an after-hour rally, but the stock went up, there's a contradiction. Wait, the user's input says the stock went up after hours by 25.48%, but the news events all relate to the earnings report leading to a regular trading drop. This is confusing. Unless there's a positive catalyst in the earnings report that wasn't captured in the news events. Let me re-examine the news events. In the first news event, the CEO mentions that the company is gaining share in core payment solutions, Arroweye is performing well, and the Card@Once business is growing. They also acquired Arroweye and entered a strategic partnership with Karta. These could be seen as positive developments. The earnings report shows increased sales, even though EBITDA is down. The company updated its outlook to lower growth but mentioned long-term market trends. Perhaps investors in after-hours trading are reacting positively to the sales growth and strategic moves despite the short-term profit issues. The after-hour increase might be due to optimism about the long-term strategy and market expansion, even though the immediate earnings were disappointing. So, the key factors are the 11% sales increase, the acquisition of Arroweye, the strategic partnership with Karta, and the CEO's comments on future growth. These.