Executive Summary

Q4 2023 revenue was $0.94B (+6% y/y) and GAAP diluted EPS was $3.48 (+15% y/y), with EBITDA margin expanding 220 bps y/y to 54.2% as cost discipline offset softness in certain U.S. businesses .
Adjusted EPS was $4.44 (+10% y/y); management said revenue and adjusted EPS came in “slightly behind” internal expectations due to pockets of U.S. softness; fuel price/spread was a ~$15M headwind while FX was a ~$20M tailwind in Q4 .
Corporate Payments remained the growth engine (+25% y/y revenue; 27% of mix), while Vehicle Payments was flat y/y; Lodging grew +1% y/y with higher revenue per room night .
FY24 outlook: revenue $4.04–$4.12B, GAAP EPS $15.40–$15.80, Adjusted EPS $19.20–$19.60; plan to repurchase up to $800M of stock in 2024; revolver capacity increased by $600M .
Stock reaction catalysts: reiterated mid-teens adjusted NI growth target for 2024, continued mix shift to Corporate Payments, EV-network expansion (added Tesla in Q4), and sizable buyback authorization .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Mix and growth: Corporate Payments revenue +25% y/y to $251M, now 27% of Q4 revenue; “Corporate Payments segment grew 19% for the year and now represents over 25% of total revenue” (CEO) .
- Margin execution: Q4 EBITDA margin 54.2% (+220 bps y/y), supported by tight OpEx management (CFO) .
- Strategic progress: Expanded EV capabilities; added Tesla to network and “now have the best charge point network in the UK and Western Europe” (CEO) .
What Went Wrong
- Top-line shortfall vs internal plan: Management said Q4 revenue and adj. EPS were “slightly behind our expectations due to pockets of softness in some of our U.S. businesses” (CFO) .
- Macro headwinds: Q4 revenue impacted by ~$9M fuel price and ~$6M fuel spread headwinds (net -$15M), partially offset by ~$20M FX tailwind .
- Interest expense pressure: Net interest expense rose 24% y/y in Q4 (to $92.0M) and more than doubled for 2023 overall, highlighting the rate backdrop (hedged ~60% floating via swaps) .

Financial Results

Overall financials vs prior periods

Metric	Q4 2022	Q3 2023	Q4 2023
Revenue ($MM)	$883.6	$970.9	$937.3
Net Income ($MM)	$225.3	$271.5	$255.9
Diluted EPS ($)	$3.03	$3.64	$3.48
EBITDA ($MM)	$459.3	$528.9	$508.1
EBITDA Margin (%)	52.0%	54.5%	54.2%
Adjusted Net Income ($MM)	$300.2	$335.1	$326.1
Adjusted EPS ($)	$4.04	$4.49	$4.44

Segment revenue mix

Segment ($MM)	Q4 2022	Q4 2023
Vehicle Payments	$501.1	$499.8
Corporate Payments	$201.0	$251.1
Lodging Payments	$119.1	$119.9
Other	$62.4	$66.5
Total	$883.6	$937.3

Geographic revenue mix

Geography ($MM)	Q4 2022	Q4 2023
US	$536	$525
Brazil	$119	$143
UK	$85	$108
Other	$143	$161
Total	$884	$937

Selected KPIs

KPI	Q4 2022	Q4 2023
Vehicle Payments Transactions (MM)	151.5	193.9
Vehicle Revenue/Transaction ($)	$3.31	$2.58
Corporate Spend Volume ($MM)	$29,975	$33,583
Corporate Revenue/Spend (%)	0.67%	0.75%
Lodging Room Nights (MM)	9.0	8.7
Lodging Rev/Room Night ($)	$13.28	$13.86
Other Transactions (MM)	362.7	444.8
Other Rev/Transaction ($)	$0.17	$0.15

Non-GAAP adjustments (Q4 snapshot): Adjusted net income excludes stock-based comp, amortization (intangibles, premium on receivables, deferred financing costs, discounts), integration/deal costs, restructuring/other, litigation/settlement, with related tax effects; Q4 adjustments were $91.5M pre-tax and -$21.2M tax effect .

Guidance Changes

FY24 guidance introduced; Q1’24 guidance provided. Q3 provided Q4’23 guidance; below we compare that to actuals.

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance / Actual	Change
Total Revenue	FY 2024	n/a	$4,040–$4,120MM	New
GAAP Net Income	FY 2024	n/a	$1,090–$1,130MM	New
GAAP EPS (Diluted)	FY 2024	n/a	$15.40–$15.80	New
Adjusted Net Income	FY 2024	n/a	$1,360–$1,400MM	New
Adjusted EPS (Diluted)	FY 2024	n/a	$19.20–$19.60	New
Interest Expense	FY 2024	n/a	$340–$370MM	New
Tax Rate	FY 2024	n/a	~25%–26%	New
Shares (FD)	FY 2024	n/a	~71MM	New
Q1 Revenue	Q1 2024	n/a	$925–$945MM	New
Q1 Adjusted EPS	Q1 2024	n/a	$4.02–$4.12	New
Q4 Revenue	Q4 2023	$953–$983MM (Q3 guide)	$937.3MM actual	Lower vs guide
Q4 Adjusted EPS	Q4 2023	$4.34–$4.64 (Q3 guide)	$4.44 actual	In-line (midpoint)
Capital Return	2024	n/a	Plan to repurchase up to $800MM; authorization increased by $1.0B (remaining ~$1.6B); 10b5-1 planned	New
Liquidity	Revolver	n/a	Revolver capacity +$600MM (terms unchanged)	New

Management notes Q1 seasonality, higher rates, and tighter credit-driven late fee declines as headwinds to early-2024 results .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Note: The Q4 2023 earnings call transcript could not be retrieved due to a source database issue. Trends reflect prepared remarks/press releases across recent quarters.

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q2–Q3 2023)	Current Period (Q4 2023)	Trend
Corporate Payments momentum	+30% y/y in Q2; +31% y/y in Q3; strategic focus; organic +20% in Q3	+25% y/y in Q4; now ~27% of revenue; 19% FY growth (CEO)	Improving mix/scale
EV / Mobility expansion	Acquired PayByPhone in Q3; portfolio transformation underway	“Best charge point network in the UK & Western Europe,” Tesla added in Q4 (CEO)	Accelerating capability
Macro (fuel/FX/spreads)	Q2: net -$20MM fuel prices, +$6MM spreads, -$9MM FX	Q4: -$9MM fuel prices, -$6MM spreads, +$19.9MM FX	Mixed but manageable
Interest expense/hedging	Entered $2.0B swaps in Aug-23; ~60% floating hedged	Replaced expiring swap with $500MM swaps; ~60% floating still fixed	Stable hedge posture
Portfolio review/strategic actions	Mentioned strategic review; Russia exit; PayByPhone acquisition in Q3	Mix shift continues; buybacks prioritized; revolver upsized	Portfolio optimized, capital return up
Regulatory/legal	FTC lawsuit disclosed as risk factor	FTC remains listed in risk factors	Ongoing monitoring

Management Commentary

CEO (Ron Clarke): “2023 was a very successful year… full year organic revenue growth of 10% and EBITDA growth of 13%… Our Corporate Payments segment grew 19% for the year… meaningful advances in our EV capabilities… best charge point network in the UK and Western Europe, having added Tesla in the fourth quarter.”
CFO (Tom Panther): “Our fourth quarter revenue and adjusted earnings per share came in slightly behind our expectations due to pockets of softness in some of our U.S. businesses. We tightly managed operating expenses, exiting the year with an EBITDA margin of 54.2%, which was 220 basis points better than the prior year quarter.”
CFO on 2024 outlook: Calls for “20% sales growth, organic revenue growth of 8% to 10%, and adjusted net income growth in the mid-teens” with building volumes through 2024 and strong liquidity .

Q&A Highlights

We attempted to retrieve the full Q4 2023 earnings call transcript but encountered a database inconsistency error (document ID 1 could not be read). As a result, Q&A highlights and any clarifications provided during the call are unavailable from our primary source at this time.

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) for Q4 2023 EPS/Revenue/EBITDA was unavailable due to a missing Capital IQ mapping for ticker FLT in our S&P Global connector. Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable.*
Consequently, we benchmarked results against the company’s prior guidance (Q4 revenue $953–$983MM vs. $937.3MM actual; Adjusted EPS $4.34–$4.64 vs. $4.44 actual) .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Corporate Payments is the secular growth driver and rising mix component; sustaining double-digit growth supports multiple expansion and resilience through macro noise .
Q4 revenue underperformed internal guidance primarily on U.S. softness and macro fuel-spread dynamics; cost control drove margin outperformance, cushioning EPS .
FY24 outlook embeds mid-teens adjusted NI growth, 8–10% organic growth, and seasonally softer Q1; early-year headwinds (rates, late fees) should moderate as volumes build .
EV/mobility ecosystem build-out (Tesla integration; European network strength) adds optionality to Vehicle Payments while diversifying beyond legacy fuel exposure .
Capital allocation is shareholder-friendly: $800MM 2024 buybacks, $600MM revolver upsizing, ample liquidity; share count guidance ~71MM FD in FY24 .
Watch macro sensitivities: fuel prices/spreads and FX can swing quarterly revenue; Q4’s net -$15MM fuel headwind illustrates ongoing volatility .
Near-term positioning: balance the solid FY24 growth guide and buyback support versus Q1 seasonality and rate/late-fee headwinds; updates on U.S. demand softness and Corporate Payments trajectory are key catalysts .

Q4 2023 earnings-call-transcript (Document ID 1) retrieval failed due to database inconsistency error.

Citations:

Q4 2023 8-K/press release and exhibits:
Q3 2023 8-K/press release and exhibits:
Q2 2023 8-K/press release and exhibits:

Note on estimates: S&P Global consensus metrics were unavailable due to a Capital IQ mapping issue for FLT; comparisons to Street estimates are therefore not provided. Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable.*

CORPAY, INC. (FLT)·Q4 2023 Earnings Summary