WEX posts record $780.1 million quarter as it adds AI to its products

WEX, a company that runs payments for fleets, benefits and business bills, reported record revenue of $780.1 million for the third quarter. That is up 12.8% from a year earlier. The company also said it is piloting an AI program that gives small fleets the kind of dedicated account help that only its largest customers used to get.

What changed

CEO Melissa Smith called it record quarterly revenue on an Oct. 29 earnings call. She was open about one reason. Higher fuel prices added a net $57.3 million to revenue, and currency changes added $800,000. "Results benefited from tailwinds from higher fuel prices, but the real story is the actions we have taken," she said.

The fleet business leads

Mobility, WEX's largest segment, covers payments and fleet management. Its revenue jumped 20.6% to $435.1 million. During the quarter it renewed its largest over-the-road customer by gallons processed. It also began piloting an agentic account management tool, which means software that handles tasks on its own.

Smith said only the largest fleets could historically have a dedicated account manager. The AI pilot aims to reach every customer "at the moments that matter most" in their experience with WEX.

The other two segments

• Benefits: revenue rose 4.8% to $207.6 million, and an AI tool for processing claims now supports more account types.
• Corporate Payments: revenue rose 3.5% to $137.4 million, with new customers and healthy pipelines in Direct AP and Embedded Payments.
• Both grew far more slowly than the fleet business.

Who it affects

Owners of small fleets are the clearest group. If the pilot works, they could get regular, well-timed help without paying for a human account manager. Businesses that pay suppliers by virtual card, a digital card number made for a specific payment, may also see WEX push further there. Smith called its range of virtual card options an important competitive edge.

What is not known yet

The material does not say how many fleets are in the pilot, when it might open to everyone, or what it will cost. It is still a test. WEX also says it is using AI to build products faster and run more efficiently, but it gave no figures on those savings.