Navan, a corporate travel booking and technology provider based in Palo Alto, California, said it now expects full-year 2027 revenue to land between $866 million and $874 million, a projection that exceeds the average Street estimate of about $839 million compiled by LSEG. The company attributed the upside to strong demand tied to the onboarding of new company customers to its platform.
Following the outlook, Navan's shares rose more than 15% in after-market trading on the announcement. The firm derives the majority of its revenue from large enterprise clients across sectors including AI and technology, manufacturing and health, according to the company.
Navan highlighted a recent corporate win in February when Yahoo selected the platform to embed AI into its travel booking process, an engagement the firm said is expected to reduce Yahoo's travel spend by 7% to 10%.
Management pointed to sizable fourth-quarter results as evidence of momentum. For the quarter ended January 31, Navan reported gross bookings of $2.3 billion, a 42% increase year-over-year and above analysts' estimates of $2.14 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 34.7% to $178 million, also above expectations of $162 million.
At the same time, Navan is investing heavily to support customer acquisition. Sales and marketing expenses in the fourth quarter more than doubled to $117.3 million from $57 million a year earlier. The company said it plans to keep sales and marketing as a priority to continue onboarding additional clients over the next year.
"We are seeing a great return and very attractive payback on our sales and marketing investment," CFO Aurélien Nolf told Reuters, adding that the company will continue prioritizing those investments as it seeks to add more clients.
Navan also flagged a market dynamic tied to travel costs. Management noted the company tends to earn more when travel expenses rise, pointing to oil-price-driven increases in travel costs from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a factor that could lift its near-term results. "Navan earns more money when the cost of travel goes up, that's a fact," Nolf said. "Something like gas being more expensive would benefit us in the short term," he added.
The company made its Nasdaq debut in October at $22 per share, implying a valuation of roughly $5.9 billion at the time. Since that listing, Navan's share price has declined, falling 61.3% to $8.51 per share as of Tuesday's close.
What this means
- Navan's guidance for 2027 revenue sits above consensus driven by new enterprise client onboarding and recent wins such as Yahoo.
- Fourth-quarter metrics showed strong year-over-year increases in gross bookings and revenue, alongside a substantial rise in sales and marketing spend to support growth.
- Market dynamics that raise travel costs could provide a short-term tailwind to revenue, while the company continues to invest in customer acquisition.