Corpay Raises 2026 Outlook as Q3 Revenue Rises 18%

Corpay Inc. (NYSE: CPAY) raised its 2026 revenue and adjusted earnings guidance after third-quarter results exceeded the company’s forecast, supported by double-digit organic growth, favorable foreign-exchange and fuel-price conditions, and strength in Corporate Payments.

Revenue for the three months ended September 30 rose 18% year over year to $1.382 billion. Adjusted net income per diluted share increased 32% to $7.54, while adjusted EBITDA advanced 17% to $794 million. GAAP net income attributable to Corpay was $378 million, up from $278 million a year earlier.

Organic revenue, a non-GAAP measure that adjusts for acquisitions, divestitures and macroeconomic factors, grew 11%. Corpay has now recorded double-digit organic growth for six consecutive quarters. Sales increased 24%, same-store sales rose 2%, and revenue retention was 92.2%.

Foreign-exchange movements added approximately $16 million to third-quarter revenue, while fuel prices contributed about $22 million. Fuel-price spreads reduced revenue by approximately $5 million. Acquisitions added $79 million compared with the prior-year period, while divestitures reduced revenue by $28 million.

Adjusted EBITDA margin was 57.4%, compared with 57.7% a year earlier. GAAP EBITDA margin declined to 53.1% from 53.5%.

Corporate Payments leads organic growth

Corporate Payments was the strongest growth contributor, with reported revenue rising 41% to $571.3 million and organic revenue increasing 18%. Spend volume climbed 45% to $95.3 billion, although net revenue as a percentage of spend decreased to 0.60% from 0.62%.

Vehicle Payments revenue increased 8% on both a reported and organic basis to $579.8 million. Reported transactions declined 26% to 152.4 million, including no parking transactions compared with 65.3 million a year earlier. Fleet transactions were approximately flat, while other transactions rose 58%. Revenue per transaction increased 47% to $3.80.

Lodging Payments revenue rose 3% to $131.1 million, matching its organic growth rate. Room nights declined 14% to 7.7 million, but revenue per room night increased 20% to $17.06.

Revenue from Corpay’s other businesses, which include Gift, Outsourced Card Processing and Payroll Card, declined 2% on a reported basis to $99.7 million and fell 1% organically. Transactions increased 4%, while revenue per transaction decreased 5%.

Full-year outlook increased

Corpay now expects full-year 2026 GAAP revenue of $5.34 billion to $5.36 billion, with a midpoint of $5.35 billion and midpoint growth of 18%. Its previous midpoint was $5.31 billion.

The company also projects adjusted net income per diluted share of $27.90 to $28.10, centered on $28.00, representing 31% growth at the midpoint. The prior midpoint was $27.35. Corpay attributed the revision to the third-quarter outperformance, favorable macroeconomic conditions, underlying business strength and the updated timing of the maintenance-business sale.

For the fourth quarter, Corpay forecasts revenue of $1.36 billion to $1.38 billion and adjusted net income per diluted share of $7.55 to $7.75. The respective midpoints imply year-over-year growth of 10% and 27%.

The outlook assumes weighted-average U.S. fuel prices of $4.90 per gallon for the rest of the year, fuel-price spreads approximately in line with the 2025 full-year average, and full-year interest expense of $435 million to $455 million. It also assumes an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 24% to 26% and about 66 million diluted shares for the full year.

Cash flow, leverage and capital allocation

Corpay generated $501 million of free cash flow during the quarter. Its leverage ratio was 2.72 times, up from 2.40 times a year earlier but within the company’s target range. Corpay ended September with approximately $1.8 billion of liquidity, including $900 million of undrawn capacity under its revolving credit facility.

The company said leverage was elevated because it repurchased 1.9 million shares for $747 million before receiving proceeds from the sale of its vehicle maintenance business. That transaction closed November 2 for estimated proceeds of approximately $800 million, which the guidance assumes will be used to reduce debt.

Corpay’s board also approved a $1 billion increase to the share-repurchase program on October 22, bringing total authorization to $1.6 billion.

The outlook remains subject to macroeconomic and operating uncertainties, including foreign-exchange rates, fuel prices and spreads, interest rates, credit conditions and customer payment behavior. Corpay also identified acquisition and divestiture execution, cybersecurity, regulatory and litigation matters, international conflicts, trade-policy changes, funding conditions and the management of derivative instruments as material risks.