Will

Will (for Charles Strauzer) asked about Deluxe's strategic positioning to leverage AI-enabled tools in the data segment and embedded payment solutions like Deluxe Fast Funds, particularly in response to broader industry trends in agentic commerce and AI. He also inquired about macroeconomic risks impacting growth segments and potential upside drivers for the 2026 outlook.

Answer

Barry McCarthy, President and CEO, highlighted Deluxe's strong position, noting that AI technology is already live and delivering improved performance across the business, particularly in the data-driven marketing segment with its large data lake and Gen AI-based tools. He emphasized that AI is applied to solve specific problems, not just for technology's sake. Chip Zint, CFO, added that the company is in a fundamentally different and stronger position entering 2026, with improved momentum across all segments. They both expressed optimism about consumer health and the data segment's continued solid growth in the first half of 2026, with normalization against tougher comps in the second half. Upside factors include pipeline visibility and continued execution.