Corpay Lifts 2026 Outlook as Q3 Adjusted EPS Jumps 32%

Corpay raised its 2026 guidance after third-quarter revenue rose 18 percent to $1.38 billion and adjusted earnings per share climbed 32 percent to $7.54. Chairman and CEO Ron Clarke said the new full-year forecast centers revenue at $5.35 billion and adjusted EPS at $28, two dollars above the company's initial February guidance and 31 percent above 2025.

Organic revenue growth (growth excluding acquisitions and currency effects) reached 11 percent, the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit expansion. Adjusted EBITDA rose 17 percent to nearly $800 million, a margin of 57.4 percent, according to CFO Peter Walker.

What drove the quarter?

Corporate Payments delivered the performance. The segment's organic revenue grew 18 percent, or 20 percent excluding float (income earned on customer funds held between payment and settlement). Vehicle Payments grew 8 percent, while Lodging organic revenue increased 3 percent, improving sequentially for the third straight quarter.

Walker said organic spend in corporate payments rose 24 percent to $95 billion, with cross-border sales up more than 25 percent organically. He offered one caution: roughly 100 basis points of monetization benefit in the third quarter may not repeat. Excluding it, segment growth would have been about 17 percent and companywide organic growth about 10 percent.

Companywide, new bookings rose 24 percent, retention stood at 92.2 percent, and same-store sales increased 2 percent. Clarke credited new sales, strong retention and expanded payment options, including newly introduced debit cards and paid automated clearing house services that extend revenue beyond virtual cards.

How much capital is going back to shareholders?

Corpay generated about $500 million of third-quarter free cash flow and repurchased $750 million of stock, roughly 1.9 million shares. The board expanded the buyback authorization by $1 billion, leaving approximately $1.6 billion of capacity, Walker said.

The company has divested two noncore businesses in 2026 for about $1.2 billion and used the proceeds to buy back more than 3 million shares. Walker noted the 2026 revenue forecast includes roughly $120 million from the divested units that will not recur in reported revenue next year; the sales were neutral to adjusted EPS because of the buybacks. Clarke said further noncore assets worth an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion are on the market, with smaller vehicle payments or lodging businesses as possible candidates.

What comes next?

For the fourth quarter, Corpay guides to roughly $1.37 billion of revenue and $7.65 of adjusted EPS at the midpoint, with 10 percent organic revenue growth and corporate payments growth in the high teens. The outlook incorporates preliminary October results, favorable macroeconomic conditions and the closing date of a maintenance divestiture, Walker said.

For 2027, management expects organic revenue growth of 9 to 11 percent, including mid-teens growth or better in corporate payments, and plans to deploy roughly $2 billion of free cash flow toward spend management acquisitions or share repurchases. Clarke said corporate payments new sales should exceed $500 million in 2026, building a revenue ramp into the following year. The company remains interested in both spend management and cross-border deals but is focused on the former while integrating Alpha.

Can the long-term target hold?

Alpha and Avid are expected to contribute more than $1.40 of combined cash EPS accretion in 2026, above an initial $1 target. Alpha's cross-border migration is substantially complete, with global bank account integration on track for early 2027, Walker said. Avid, a minority-held investment, doubled EBITDA year over year to a record; Clarke said the likelihood of buying the remainder has risen, though a purchase is not certain.

Internationally, the U.K. spend management operation should exit the fourth quarter with more than $1 billion in annualized volume and a $15 million revenue run rate. Two Brazilian vehicle debt businesses acquired last year are expected to grow more than 30 percent in 2026, representing about 20 percent of Brazil consumer revenue.

Walker set the longer-term objective plainly: compound adjusted EPS by more than 20 percent annually, from $28 in 2026 to roughly $50 by 2029. The math depends on organic growth, margin expansion, repurchases and accretive acquisitions. Ambitious, certainly. Unhedged, no.