Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) versus Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Head to Head Comparison

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) and Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Global Payments has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.66, suggesting that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Global Payments and Shift4 Payments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Payments	19.68%	12.66%	6.12%
Shift4 Payments	5.02%	40.19%	6.61%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.8% of Global Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Global Payments shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Global Payments and Shift4 Payments, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Payments	1	15	7	2	2.40
Shift4 Payments	0	6	15	1	2.77

Global Payments presently has a consensus target price of $102.29, indicating a potential upside of 35.48%. Shift4 Payments has a consensus target price of $96.55, indicating a potential upside of 54.09%. Given Shift4 Payments’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Shift4 Payments is more favorable than Global Payments.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Global Payments and Shift4 Payments”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Payments	$10.11 billion	1.77	$1.57 billion	$7.12	10.60
Shift4 Payments	$3.33 billion	1.67	$229.60 million	$2.13	29.42

Global Payments has higher revenue and earnings than Shift4 Payments. Global Payments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shift4 Payments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats Global Payments on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc. provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services. This segment also provides an array of enterprise software solutions that streamline business operations of its customers in various vertical markets; and value-added solutions and services, such as point-of-sale software, analytics and customer engagement, payroll and reporting, and human capital management. The Issuer Solutions segment offers solutions that enable financial institutions and retailers to manage their card portfolios through a platform; and commercial payments, account payables, and electronic payment alternatives solutions for businesses and governments. It markets its products and services through direct sales force, trade associations, agent and enterprise software providers, referral arrangements with value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions. The company also offers suite of technology solutions, such as Lighthouse, a cloud-based business intelligence tool that includes customer engagement, social media management, online reputation management, scheduling, and product pricing, as well as reporting and analytics; integrated POS for merchants business; and Skytab, a mobile payment solution. In addition, it provides marketplace technology that enable seamless integrations into third-party applications, which includes online delivery services, payroll, timekeeping, and other human resource services. Further, the company offers merchant management, training and education, marketing management, and incentives tracking solutions. Additionally, it provides merchant underwriting, onboarding and activation, training, risk management, and support services; and software integrations and compliance management, and partner support and services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.