founded in 1988, first cash financial services, inc. is a leading specialty retailer and provider of consumer financial services. our pawn stores make small loans secured by pledged personal property and retail a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, tools and other merchandise. the company's short-term loan locations provide various combinations of financial services products, including short-term loans, check cashing, and credit services. the company owns and operates over 800 stores in twelve u.s. states and 24 states in mexico. first cash's common stock (ticker symbol "fcfs"​) is traded on the nasdaq global select market, which has the highest initial listing standards of any stock exchange in the world based on financial and liquidity requirements.