Navan lifts fiscal 2027 outlook as corporate travel and customer growth remain strong

Sept 9 (Reuters) - Navan on Wednesday lifted its full-year revenue and operating income forecasts, citing solid corporate travel demand and an influx of new customers as growth drivers.

Shares in the corporate travel and expense platform, however, fell 13% in after-hours trading.

Business travel has held up well despite geopolitical uncertainty, with corporate spending on artificial intelligence encouraging sales teams, engineers and executives to travel more often.

A busier schedule of industrial conferences and increased cross-border dealmaking have also supported corporate booking volumes.

Navan, which made its public market debut last October, said gross booking volume grew 45% in its second quarter, while payment volume rose 34%.

Corporate travel demand has been "very, very strong," Chief Financial Officer Aurélien Nolf said in an interview with Reuters.

Nolf added that, on average, every traveler is taking more trips year over year, and each of those trips is generating higher bookings than a year earlier.

Navan now projects revenue of $927 million to $933 million for its fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2027, up from its prior forecast of $907 million to $913 million.

The company also forecast adjusted operating income of $82 million to $86 million, compared with an earlier expected range of $76 million to $80 million.

Separately, Navan said it plans to acquire AI-powered event-management platform BoomPop for an undisclosed amount. The transaction was valued at up to $95 million in cash and stock, according to a person familiar with the matter.

For the third quarter, Navan expects revenue of $253 million to $255 million, versus analysts' average estimate of $248.27 million, based on data compiled by LSEG.

Adjusted profit for the second quarter came in at 5 cents per share, compared with the 4 cents Wall Street had expected.

Revenue for that quarter climbed 35% to $233 million, beating analysts' expectations of $220.46 million.