Corpay Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Corpay raised its 2026 outlook after third-quarter revenue grew 18% to $1.38 billion and adjusted EPS rose 32% to $7.54. Full-year revenue guidance is now centered at $5.35 billion, with adjusted EPS guidance of $28.
• Corporate Payments led growth, with organic revenue up 18% and organic spend up 24% to $95 billion; cross-border sales grew more than 25%. Management cautioned that a roughly 100-basis-point monetization benefit in Q3 may not recur in Q4.
• Corpay generated about $500 million in Q3 free cash flow and repurchased $750 million of stock; the board expanded its buyback authorization by $1 billion. The company expects to deploy roughly $2 billion of 2027 free cash flow on acquisitions or share repurchases.

Corpay NYSE: CPAY raised its 2026 outlook after reporting third-quarter revenue growth of 18% and a 32% increase in adjusted earnings per share, as corporate payments accelerated and its spend management business outperformed expectations.

Revenue rose to $1.38 billion, while cash earnings per share reached $7.54, Chairman and CEO Ron Clarke said on the company’s earnings call. Organic revenue growth was 11%, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

For the full year, Corpay raised its revenue guidance to a midpoint of $5.35 billion and adjusted earnings guidance to $28 per share. The earnings forecast represents 31% growth from 2025 and is $2 above the company’s initial February guidance, Clarke said.

Corporate Payments Drives Growth

Corporate Payments organic revenue grew 18% in the quarter, or 20% excluding float, while Vehicle Payments grew 8%. Lodging organic revenue increased 3%, improving sequentially for the third straight quarter.

CFO Peter Walker said corporate payments benefited from cross-border and spend management activity, with organic spend increasing 24% to $95 billion. Cross-border sales grew more than 25% organically from a year earlier.

Walker cautioned that third-quarter results included approximately 100 basis points of monetization benefits that might not repeat in the fourth quarter. Excluding that benefit, corporate payments growth would have been about 17% and companywide organic growth about 10%, he said.

Clarke said new sales, strong retention and expanded payment options helped corporate payments. Corpay has introduced debit cards and developed paid automated clearing house services as additional ways to generate revenue beyond virtual cards, he said.

Companywide new bookings rose 24%, retention was 92.2%, and same-store sales increased 2%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 17% to nearly $800 million, producing a margin of 57.4%, Walker said.

Outlook and Portfolio Changes

For the fourth quarter, Corpay expects revenue of approximately $1.37 billion and adjusted earnings of $7.65 per share at the midpoint. The company forecasts 10% organic revenue growth, with corporate payments remaining in the high teens.

Clarke said the outlook incorporates preliminary October results. Walker added that the updated forecast reflects favorable macroeconomic conditions, underlying business strength and the closing date of a maintenance divestiture.

Looking ahead to 2027, Corpay expects organic revenue growth of 9% to 11%, including mid-teens growth or better in corporate payments. Clarke said corporate payments new sales are expected to exceed $500 million in 2026, providing a revenue ramp into the following year.

Corpay plans to deploy roughly $2 billion of free cash flow in 2027 on spend management acquisitions or share repurchases, depending on expected returns. Clarke said the company remains interested in both spend management and cross-border acquisitions but is currently focused on the former while integrating Alpha.

The company has divested two noncore businesses in 2026 for approximately $1.2 billion and used the proceeds to repurchase more than 3 million shares, Clarke said. Additional assets worth an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion are in the market, he said, with potential candidates including smaller vehicle payments or lodging businesses.

Walker said the 2026 revenue forecast includes approximately $120 million from the two divested businesses that will not appear in 2027 reported revenue. The sales were neutral to adjusted earnings per share because of buybacks, he said.

Acquisitions and International Expansion

Clarke said Alpha and Avid are expected to contribute more than $1.40 in combined cash earnings per share accretion in 2026, above the company’s initial $1 target. Alpha’s cross-border corporate payments migration is substantially complete, Walker said, while its global bank account integration remains on track for early 2027.

Avid, in which Corpay holds a minority investment, doubled EBITDA year over year to a record level in the quarter, Walker said. Clarke attributed its progress partly to increased sales investment, improved monetization and cost changes. Corpay’s likelihood of buying the rest of Avid has risen, he said, but a purchase is not certain.

In the U.K., Clarke said Corpay expects its spend management operation to exit the fourth quarter with more than $1 billion in annualized volume and a $15 million revenue run rate. The company is considering further expansion outside the U.S. through both its own platform and acquisitions.

In Brazil, two vehicle debt businesses acquired last year are expected to grow more than 30% in 2026 and represent about 20% of Corpay’s Brazil consumer revenue, Clarke said.

Capital Returns and Longer-Term Target

Corpay generated approximately $500 million in free cash flow during the third quarter and repurchased $750 million of stock, or about 1.9 million shares. Its board also increased the share repurchase authorization by $1 billion, leaving approximately $1.6 billion of capacity, Walker said.

Walker outlined a longer-term objective of compounding adjusted earnings per share by more than 20% annually, from $28 in 2026 to approximately $50 by 2029. He said the objective depends on sustained organic growth, profit expansion, share repurchases and accretive corporate payments acquisitions.

About Corpay (NYSE:CPAY)

Corpay is a global corporate payments company that provides businesses with a range of payment and expense management solutions. Its services are designed to help organizations manage payables, card programs, travel and fleet-related expenses, and cross-border transactions more efficiently.

The company serves customers across a variety of industries and geographies, offering software and payment tools that streamline accounts payable, vendor payments, and workforce payments. Corpay also provides specialized solutions for fleet management and international payments, helping businesses control costs and simplify financial operations.

Corpay operates as part of the broader financial technology and payment processing sector.

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