File Photo / Tim Greenway
WEX Chair and CEO Melissa Smith
Updated: February 9, 2023
Helped by new products, WEX beats market expectations on Q4 results
PHOTO / COURTESY OF WEX
WEX Inc. is a global commerce platform based in Portland, on the city's East End.
WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a global commerce platform based in Portland, posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenues that surpassed market expectations and issued financial guidance for Q1 and all of 2023.
Fourth-quarter adjusted net income attributable to shareholders was $152.8 million, or $3.44 per diluted share. That compares to $2.58 per diluted share for the year-earlier period, and the $3.21 EPS consensus forecast of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.
Over the last four quarters, WEX has surpassed Zacks consensus estimates four times.
Fourth-quarter revenue jumped 24% over a year earlier to $618.6 million, which includes a net $34.2 million favorable impact from fuel prices and spreads and an $8.7 million negative impact from foreign exchange rates.
“We finished 2022 in a strong position with another impressive quarter, beating our guidance for revenue and adjusted net income per share and delivering revenue growth for the 10th straight quarter,” said Melissa Smith, WEX’s chair, CEO and president. “We had several exciting new product launches and customer wins throughout the year, and we are proud of our outstanding results.”
Looking ahead to 2023, she said “our strategy remains focused on deepening share of wallet, maintaining our market-leading positions by driving customer-focused innovation, and further building out the scalability of our platform. I am confident in our path forward and the future of WEX as we continue to manage the business through a dynamic economic environment.”
Financial guidance
For the first quarter of 2023, WEX said it expects revenue in the range of $600 million to $610 million and adjusted net income in the range of $140 million to $145 million, or $3.15 to $3.25 per diluted share.
For the full year 2023, WEX expects revenue in the range of $2.43 billion to $2.47 billion and adjusted net income in the range of $604 million to $627 million, or $13.55 to $14.05 per diluted share.
First-quarter and full-year 2023 guidance is based on a number of assumptions, including assumed average U.S. retail fuel prices of $3.86 and $3.83 per gallon, respectively. Those fuel prices are based on the applicable NYMEX futures price, and the guidance also assumes 45.7 million fully diluted shares outstanding for the full year.
WEX shares have a current market value of around $8.13 billion, after closing 1.41% lower on Wednesday to $186.59. Shares are trading 11.63% higher than a year ago.
In early trading Thursday, WEX shares were up 5.52%, to $196.89.
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