Navan (Navan (NAVN)) shares surged more than 18% in premarket trading Thursday after the travel and expense management platform delivered first-quarter fiscal 2027 results that blew past Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook. The company's president, Michael Sindicich, summed up the mood simply: enterprise customers are "running to us."

Revenue hit $220.2 million, up 40% from a year ago and well above the $205.3 million analysts were expecting. The growth was broad-based, spanning regions, customer segments, and sales channels. Gross bookings climbed 50% to $3.1 billion, fueled by strong corporate travel demand and success in both sales-led and product-led acquisition strategies.

On the bottom line, Navan reported adjusted earnings of $0.08 per share, compared with the consensus estimate for a loss of $0.01. Adjusted operating margin expanded to 11%, up about 900 basis points from a year earlier. The company ended the quarter with $681 million in cash and short-term investments.

Management highlighted increasing traction across its growth initiatives, supported by higher request-for-proposal activity and broader platform adoption. Travel bookings to U.S. cities hosting the FIFA World Cup rose 46% from a year ago, underscoring the strength in business travel.

Artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of the story. Navan said usage of its proprietary AI model increased from 20% to 30% within a few weeks, improving accuracy, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency while reducing reliance on more costly frontier models.

Industry consolidation is also working in Navan's favor. As competitors merge or shift strategy, companies are reassessing their travel and expense providers. Sindicich noted a sharp increase in RFP activity, with volume up more than 200% year over year in the first quarter. "It increasingly feels like customers are running to us," he said.

Looking ahead, Navan raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to a range of $907 million to $913 million, above the analyst consensus of $884.5 million. The company now expects adjusted operating profit between $76 million and $80 million, implying an adjusted operating margin of about 9%. For the second quarter, Navan guided for revenue of $219 million to $221 million, ahead of Wall Street's $213.8 million estimate, and adjusted operating profit of $13.5 million to $14.5 million.

Navan shares were up 18.78% at $24.79 in premarket trading Thursday, hitting a new 52-week high.