Experian (LON:EXPN) reported a “good start” to fiscal 2027, with first-quarter organic revenue growth of 7% and total revenue growth of 10% at actual exchange rates, Chief Executive Officer Brian Cassin said on the company’s trading update call.
Cassin said growth was supported by continued new business momentum and “accelerating potential across a range of AI-enabled opportunities.” Total revenue increased 8% at constant currency, while acquisitions contributed about one percentage point to growth and foreign exchange added roughly two percentage points, according to Lloyd Pitchford, who reviewed the financial performance on the call.
North America Growth Led by Financial Services
North America organic revenue rose 7%, with B2B growth of 11%. Cassin said financial services delivered another strong quarter, up 13%, with broad-based growth across credit, fraud, verifications and mortgage.
“While clients continue to monitor credit quality in the light of inflation risks, the lending environment remains relatively stable,” Cassin said, pointing to solid growth in bank lending and originations and stable to modestly improving delinquencies.
Experian said all 10 of its largest strategic clients are now live on Ascend, the company’s platform-led analytics offering. Cassin said the company is building on that foundation by moving agentic AI applications into pilot and expanding adoption of Model Risk Manager, its generative AI-enabled compliance monitoring solution.
Pitchford said North America financial services growth was supported by Ascend analytics solutions, fraud prevention products, mortgage profiles and stable underlying client activity. Mortgage revenue was up in the 45% to 50% range, with volumes slightly higher and pricing benefits similar to recent trends.
In mortgage, Cassin said 11 of the top 15 mortgage lenders are accessing VantageScore 4.0, representing nearly 30% of the total mortgage market. In response to analyst questions, he said there had been no fundamental change in the direct mortgage channel since the company’s May update.
Consumer Services Affected by Data Breach Contract Roll-Off
Global consumer services organic revenue grew 2%, held back by the wind-down of two North American data breach contracts that management had previously discussed. In North America, consumer services revenue was down 2% due to the completion of that roll-off.
Pitchford said excluding data breach, North America consumer services trends were in line with the prior quarter, with strong growth in personal loans and insurance and softness in credit cards. In the Q&A, he said North America marketplace growth improved from 1% in the fourth quarter to 2% in the first quarter, while membership growth also edged higher.
Pitchford also outlined the expected cadence from the data breach contract roll-off, saying the contracts represented about $20 million per quarter. Experian lost about half of that in the fourth quarter and the remaining half in the first quarter. He said the company will see a $20 million year-over-year impact in the second and third quarters, a $10 million impact in the fourth quarter, and the issue will be out of the system by the first quarter of next year.
Cassin said Experian is working to extend its consumer brand beyond its own channels through partnerships. He cited EVA going live on Snapchat to support consumer credit education and said the company has established a steady cadence of app launches in ChatGPT while pursuing partnerships with other large language models.
Latin America Remains a Standout
Latin America organic revenue rose 12%, with strong performances in Brazil and Spanish Latin America. B2B revenue increased 9%, while consumer services grew 22%.
Cassin said Experian has strengthened its fraud position in Brazil following last year’s ClearSale integration and the more recent addition of idwall, which management said was completed July 1. He said the expanded capabilities are driving higher adoption among strategic clients, including major Brazilian banks and telecommunications providers.
Pitchford said Latin America’s pipelines remain strong and underpin the company’s expectation for double-digit organic revenue growth in the region for the full year. Consumer services growth was driven by Linha Direta Premium and marketplace activity, including payroll lending expansion.
In the Q&A, Cassin said Experian expects Latin America’s growth to be sustainable, adding that market conditions have not changed significantly and that the company is executing against a new wave of business opportunities.
U.K. and Ireland Up 5%, EMEA/APAC Slower on Comparisons
In the U.K. and Ireland, organic revenue grew 5%, with B2B also up 5%. Cassin said the region benefited from competitive wins, client upsell, further penetration of the Ascend sandbox, expanded fraud use cases and some growth in verifications.
Consumer services in the U.K. and Ireland grew 7%, supported by audience engagement, premium subscriptions and marketplace progress. Pitchford said marketplace growth benefited from higher engagement after the launch of the new 1250 credit score and ongoing subscription product enhancements.
EMEA and Asia Pacific organic revenue rose 1%, which Cassin and Pitchford attributed mainly to the timing of deliveries against a strong prior-year comparator. Management said it expects growth in that region to be higher through the rest of the year.
Management Highlights AI and Product Pipeline
Cassin emphasized Experian’s product pipeline and AI-related initiatives, including agentic capabilities tied to Ascend. He said the company launched the Ascend Agentic Operating System at Money20/20, describing the reception as “really fantastic.”
Asked about Ascend adoption, Pitchford said the platform often displaces internal labor, including isolated analytics work, spreadsheets and compliance activity inside banks. He said that productivity and effectiveness benefits have driven rapid penetration.
Cassin said sales pipelines across the company are “very healthy” and up substantially year over year, though he noted that B2B sales cycles are lengthy and execution remains required through the year.
“We started the year well, delivering good performance in Q1,” Cassin said. “We’re executing strongly against our strategy and are encouraged by the opportunities ahead.”
About Experian (LON:EXPN)
Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. We help to redefine lending practices, uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using our unique combination of data, analytics and platforms. We also assist millions of people to realise their financial goals and help them to save time and money.
We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare, automotive, agrifinance, insurance, and many more industry segments.
We invest in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data and to innovate.
