Earnings Update: Corpay, Inc. (NYSE:CPAY) Just Reported Its Third-Quarter Results And Analysts Are Updating Their Forecasts
Shareholders of Corpay, Inc. (NYSE:CPAY) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 11% to US$455 following its latest third-quarter results. The result was positive overall - although revenues of US$1.4b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Corpay surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$5.66 per share, modestly greater than expected. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.
Following the latest results, Corpay's 14 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$5.81b in 2027. This would be a notable 11% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to shoot up 30% to US$25.06. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$5.78b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$24.63 in 2027. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.
View our latest analysis for Corpay
It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$468. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic Corpay analyst has a price target of US$536 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$390. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.
Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that Corpay's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 8.8% annualised growth rate until the end of 2027 being well below the historical 11% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.3% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Corpay's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$468, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Corpay. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have estimates - from multiple Corpay analysts - going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Even so, be aware that Corpay is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...
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