Triumph Financial Posts 38% Q3 Transportation Revenue Growth Despite Freight Recession

Triumph Financial reported nearly 38% growth in third-quarter transportation revenue, a result CEO Aaron Graft attributed to the simultaneous maturation of its rebuilt product platform and an improving freight cycle. Graft said roughly one-third of the growth was organic, not purely cyclical. The company added more than 700 net new factoring customers for the year and now touches 65% to 70% of every transaction in brokered freight. Average invoice sizes rose materially year over year, driven by five inflationary pressures: driver wages above 70 cents per mile, diesel up 67% year-over-year, insurance costs inflated by nuclear verdicts, higher equipment prices and costlier equipment financing. The payments segment reached operating income for the first time this quarter. Graft cautioned the record EBITDA margin should not be viewed as a permanently sustainable run rate, saying payments has "matured from something we're investing in to something we're now harvesting from." Graft estimated each $100 rise in average invoice adds about $12 million in annual revenue. Factored receivables stand at $2 billion. He said broker liability rulings, including a verdict against C.H. Robinson approaching $700 million, have permanently shifted carrier selection from "available and cheap" to "defensible and practicable."