TransUnion third-quarter revenue rises 12% to $1,312 million and lifts dividend and buyback

TransUnion (TRU) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1,312 million, up 12% from a year earlier, the company said Tuesday in a regulatory filing. Diluted earnings per share were $0.81, compared with $0.49 a year earlier.

The company said the quarter exceeded the high end of its guidance for diluted earnings per share and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share. The board also raised the share repurchase authorization by $1 billion to $2 billion in total and increased the quarterly dividend, the filing showed.

Here's how the company did:

• Diluted earnings per share: $0.81 vs. $0.49 a year earlier
• Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share: $1.25 vs. $1.10 a year earlier
• Revenue: $1,312.5 million vs. $1,169.5 million a year earlier
• Net income attributable to TransUnion: $156.2 million vs. $96.6 million a year earlier
• Adjusted EBITDA: $465 million vs. $425 million a year earlier

Revenue grew 12% as reported and 8% on an organic constant currency basis, the company said. Organic constant currency growth strips out currency movements and the contribution from recent acquisitions.

Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share rose 14% to $1.25. Adjusted Net Income was $242 million, compared with $216 million a year earlier.

The net income margin attributable to TransUnion was 11.9%, compared with 8.3% a year earlier. The Adjusted EBITDA margin was 35.4%, compared with 36.3%.

"TransUnion delivered another quarter of strong results exceeding our guidance," said President and CEO Chris Cartwright.

Segment results

U.S. Markets revenue was $977 million, up 7%. Financial Services grew 11% to $485 million, and Emerging Verticals rose 6% to $351 million.

Consumer Interactive fell 3% to $140 million, the filing showed. U.S. Markets Adjusted EBITDA was $353 million, up 1%.

International revenue was $339 million, up 30% as reported and 10% on an organic constant currency basis. India grew 18% on that organic basis.

Latin America revenue rose 193% as reported. The company closed its acquisition of Trans Union de Mexico in March and of the mobile division of RealNetworks LLC in April.

International Adjusted EBITDA was $156 million, up 39%.

The first nine months include a $225.5 million gain on the acquisition of an affiliate, which the company removes from its adjusted measures.

Full-year 2026 guidance

The company maintained its full-year revenue guidance of $5,131 million to $5,162 million. It said it is positioned to perform at the high end of that range if conditions persist.

The company raised its Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share forecast to $4.81 to $4.88, from $4.75 to $4.83 previously, according to the presentation. It expects growth of 12% to 13%.

Adjusted EBITDA guidance is $1,808 million to $1,827 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 35.2% to 35.4%.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of $1,264 million to $1,294 million and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share of $1.15 to $1.22.

Mortgage inquiries are expected to decline 20% or more in the fourth quarter, the presentation said, under conservative rate and activity assumptions.

The company said it expects 2026 to mark its third consecutive year of at least high-single digit organic constant currency revenue growth and double-digit Adjusted Diluted EPS growth.

Buybacks and dividend

The board increased the share repurchase authorization by $1 billion to $2 billion in total on Oct. 26, the filing said. About $1.5 billion remained available as of the presentation date.

The company has repurchased $243 million of shares year to date and expects about $500 million of repurchases for 2026.

The board declared a cash dividend of $0.135 per share, up from $0.125, for the third quarter. The dividend is payable Nov. 25 to shareholders of record on Nov. 10.

Cash and balance sheet

Cash and cash equivalents were $883 million at Sept. 30, up from $854 million at Dec. 31, 2025. Cash provided by operating activities for the first nine months was $889 million, compared with $668 million a year earlier.

The leverage ratio was 2.5 at the end of the quarter. The company said it is not seeking large, transformative acquisitions.