FleetCor had about 2.5 million cards in drivers' hands in December 2009, and most people had never heard of it. The Georgia company sold fuel cards to businesses that ran fleets of trucks and vans. The cards let managers set limits and see every gallon bought. In 2009 its networks handled about $14 billion in purchases across 18 countries. When it filed to go public in 2010, the economy was still climbing out of recession, and FleetCor offered a payments business built on fuel.

Closed Loops at the Pump

FleetCor served more than 530,000 business accounts. It owned six closed-loop networks, which tied its cards directly to about 83,000 fuel stations and other merchants. That gave it data a general credit card could not match: which driver, which vehicle, how many gallons. Ronald F. Clarke had run the company as chief executive since 2000. At the time of its IPO, FleetCor was based in Norcross, Georgia.

From FleetCor to Corpay

FleetCor priced its IPO at $23 a share and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as FLT on December 15, 2010. The shares closed the first day at $27.25, up about 18 percent. Over the next decade the company moved past fuel into lodging, tolls and corporate payments. In 2024 it changed its name to Corpay and its ticker to CPAY. It is still public on the NYSE and is based in Atlanta.

Cover: Fleet of Ships Anchored at Sea, Imitator of Willem van de Velde, II. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a fleet at anchor (fleet cards).