File Photo / Tim Greenway
Melissa Smith
Updated: July 25, 2024
WEX beats the Street on Q2 earnings, but scales back full-year outlook
WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a Portland-based financial technology services provider, on Thursday posted second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates. However, the company scaled back its full-year financial forecast.
Second-quarter adjusted net income was $164 million, or $3.91 per diluted share. That’s 8% higher than the same period last year and above the $3.80 per share consensus estimate of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus earnings per share estimates three times.
Second-quarter revenue increased 8% to $673.5 million, or 0.58% below the Zacks consensus estimate. The Q2 revenue figure reflects a $5.4 million unfavorable impact from fuel prices and spreads and an $800,000 unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rates.
WEX, led by CEO Melissa Smith, provides fintech services to businesses in the areas of fleet mobility and fueling, corporate payments, travel industry payments and employee and member benefits. Total volume across all segments rose 9% to $60.1 billion in Q2, with the corporate payments purchase volume up 12%.
“WEX achieved another quarter of record revenue and delivered adjusted earnings per share above the top end of our guidance range, showcasing our ability to deliver consistently strong financial results even in challenging economic conditions,” Smith said in a statement ahead of a morning call with analysts.
After buying back $100 million in shares during the second quarter, the company said it expects to enter into an accelerated share repurchase agreement to buy back $300 million in common stock.
As of Wednesday’s close on Wall Street, WEX shares had a market value of around $7.49 billion. The stock is trading 9.4% lower than a year ago.
Revised outlook
Citing recent trends in the travel environment, WEX Chief Financial Officer Jagtar Narula said that the company is “modestly revising our outlook” for the second half of 2024 and taking actions to drive further operational efficiency.
For the third quarter, the company expects revenue in the range of $688 million to $698 million and adjusted net income in the range of $4.42 to $4.52 per diluted share.
For the full year of 2024, WEX now expects revenue in the range of $2.68 billion to $2.72 billion, or $50 million lower than previous guidance at the midpoint range.
In addition, adjusted net income is now expected to be in the range of $15.98 to $16.38 per diluted share, or 17 cents lower than the previous guidance at midpoint.
Third-quarter and full-year 2024 guidance is based on assumed average U.S. retail fuel prices of $3.65 and $3.61 per gallon, respectively, and a 25% adjusted net income effective tax rate.
IDEXX next up
IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX), another Maine-based publicly traded company, is scheduled to release first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
In May, the Westbrook-based maker of veterinary diagnostics and software posted first-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations but missed on revenues.
IDEXX shares have a market value of around $38.9 billion as of Wednesday’s close. The stock is trading 15.3% lower than a year ago.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments