Corpay, Inc.
CPAY · NYSE
Dec 2026
Next quarter
Expected to report Feb 3, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $7.00 EPS for Dec 2026 across 6 estimates, ranging $6.84 to $7.22.
CPAY Sep 2026
- 6.08%
- +6.78%
- $6.74
- $7.15
- —
- $1.38B
Reported results
- $1.38B
- $621.26M
- 44.96%
- $378.42M
- $5.66
Highlights
- Earnings beat: The supplied consensus data show EPS of $7.15 versus $6.74 expected, a 6.1% beat. Corpay’s release separately reports GAAP diluted EPS of $5.66 and adjusted diluted EPS of $7.54, up 45% and 32% year over year, respectively.
- Organic growth: Revenue rose 18% year over year to $1.382 billion, including 11% organic growth; adjusted EBITDA increased 17% to $793.8 million, with a 57.4% margin versus 57.7% a year earlier.
- Quarterly progression: Revenue increased about 3% from Q2’s $1.34 billion to $1.382 billion; operating income rose to $621.3 million from $472.3 million and net income to $378.4 million from $248.3 million.
- Corporate Payments strength: Segment revenue grew 41% to $571.3 million as reported, reflecting Alpha and other acquisition contributions; organic growth was 18%, supported by 24% growth in spend volume.
- Vehicle and lodging: Vehicle Payments revenue increased 8% organically to $579.8 million, while Lodging Payments revenue grew 3% to $131.1 million as room nights fell 14% but revenue per room night rose 20%.
- Raised outlook: Corpay raised its 2026 guidance to $5.340–$5.360 billion in revenue and $27.90–$28.10 in adjusted diluted EPS, implying midpoint growth of 18% and 31%; Q4 midpoint guidance is $1.37 billion of revenue and $7.65 adjusted EPS.
- Capital returns and sale: Through Q3, Corpay had repurchased 5.25 million shares for $1.85 billion, including $747 million in Q3. The Maintenance business sale closed November 2 for approximately $800 million, with proceeds expected to reduce debt.
- FTC matter: The company recorded a $100 million provision during the first nine months for a proposed FTC consent order; the order still requires regulatory and court approval, and additional costs remain possible.
Analysis
Corpay delivered a strong Q3, with revenue of $1.382 billion, up 18% year over year and about 3% from Q2’s $1.34 billion. The supplied consensus data list reported EPS of $7.15 against $6.74 expected, a 6.1% beat; the company’s release reports GAAP diluted EPS of $5.66, up 45% from $3.91 a year ago and from $3.70 in Q2, alongside adjusted diluted EPS of $7.54, up 32%. Attributable net income increased 36% year over year to $378.4 million, and operating income rose 19% to $621.3 million.
The print was defined by durable underlying growth and the strength of Corporate Payments: organic revenue growth was 11%, with Corporate Payments at 18% on 24% spend-volume growth. Reported growth also reflected acquisitions and favorable currency and fuel effects, while dispositions reduced revenue. Adjusted EBITDA grew 17% to $793.8 million, although its 57.4% margin was slightly below 57.7% a year earlier. Management raised full-year guidance to $5.34–$5.36 billion of revenue and $27.90–$28.10 of adjusted EPS. Separately, Corpay continued substantial buybacks and completed the Maintenance sale after quarter-end, with proceeds intended for debt reduction.
Underlying earnings growth
- Revenue: Net revenue rose 18% year over year to $1.382 billion. On a pro forma and macro-adjusted basis, revenue increased 11% to $1.321 billion from $1.195 billion.
- Profitability: Operating income increased 19% to $621.3 million, a 45.0% revenue margin versus 44.6% a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose 17% to $793.8 million, while adjusted net income increased 24% to $500.7 million.
- Quarter-on-quarter: Revenue was up about 3% from Q2’s $1.34 billion; operating income rose to $621.3 million from $472.3 million and net income to $378.4 million from $248.3 million.
- Growth drivers: Management attributed the 11% organic growth to higher spend and transaction volumes and the ramping of new sales initiatives. It estimated macroeconomic factors added about $32 million of year-over-year revenue, including roughly $16 million from foreign exchange and $22 million from fuel prices, partly offset by about $5 million from fuel spreads.
Corporate Payments
- Scale and organic growth: Revenue reached $571.3 million, up 41% as reported and 18% organically. Acquisitions contributed approximately $75 million of revenue; Alpha was included in this segment from its October 2025 acquisition.
- Volume and yield: Pro forma, macro-adjusted spend volume grew 24% to $95.3 billion. Revenue per spend dollar eased to 0.60% from 0.63%, which the company attributed in part to new payables and cross-border enterprise clients.
- Operating contribution: Segment operating income increased 31% to $226.6 million. Organic growth, acquisition contributions and integration synergies supported results, partly offset by sales investment and one-time integration costs.
Vehicle and lodging
- Vehicle Payments: Revenue rose 8% to $579.8 million, with 8% organic growth. On a pro forma, macro-adjusted basis, transactions increased 9% to 148.2 million. Reported transaction counts were affected by the prior-year inclusion of PayByPhone parking transactions, which was sold in March 2026. Currency and fuel prices helped reported revenue, while dispositions and fuel spreads were offsets. Operating income rose 16% to $297.4 million.
- Lodging Payments: Revenue increased 3% to $131.1 million and operating income rose 2% to $57.8 million. Room nights declined 14% to 7.7 million, offset by a 20% increase in revenue per room night to $17.06.
- Other: Revenue declined 2% to $99.7 million as lower revenue per transaction outweighed 4% transaction growth; operating income increased 9% to $39.5 million.
Raised 2026 outlook
- Full year: Corpay raised its 2026 guidance to revenue of $5.340–$5.360 billion and adjusted net income per diluted share of $27.90–$28.10. Midpoint growth is 18% for revenue and 31% for adjusted EPS. The company also expects GAAP net income of $1.337–$1.357 billion and GAAP diluted EPS of $20.03–$20.23.
- Fourth quarter: Revenue guidance is approximately $1.37 billion; adjusted diluted EPS is $7.55–$7.75, with a $7.65 midpoint.
- Key assumptions: Guidance assumes approximately 66 million fully diluted shares, a 24%–26% full-year adjusted effective tax rate, and interest expense of $435–$455 million. Management expects free cash flow and Maintenance sale proceeds to be used to pay down debt.
Buybacks and divestiture
- Repurchases: By quarter-end, Corpay had bought back 5.25 million shares for $1.85 billion, including 1.9 million shares for $747 million in Q3. Nine-month cash-flow statements show $1.819 billion of repurchases. On October 22, the board increased the program authorization to $12.1 billion, leaving $1.6 billion available.
- Maintenance sale: The transaction closed November 2 for approximately £600 million, or about $800 million. Corpay anticipates a pre-tax gain of $460–$515 million and expects to use proceeds to delever.
- Cash generation and debt: Nine-month operating cash flow was $716.3 million versus $687.2 million a year earlier. Total debt was $11.23 billion at September 30, 2026, compared with $10.00 billion at December 31, 2025; the company reported about $4.0 billion of total liquidity, including $3.1 billion of unrestricted cash and $0.9 billion available under its credit facility.
FTC consent order
- Recorded provision: Corpay recorded a $100 million charge in the first nine months of 2026 related to a proposed consent order with FTC staff. The charge was included in the $107.6 million of nine-month other operating expense.
- Remaining process: The proposed order, intended to resolve the investigation and related actions, remains subject to FTC Commissioner and court approvals. The company cautioned that it could face additional redress or penalties if approval is not obtained or the terms change.
