Global Payments Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Global Payments is not a turnaround story — the balance sheet is solid, with positive equity of $23.1 billion and an Altman Z-score of 3.94, the core business was consistently profitable before the acquisition, and management communicates setbacks openly. The open operating question is the Worldpay integration itself: our own calculation puts more than 90 percent of the headline revenue jump down to consolidation, organic growth sits at only 4 to 5 percent, GAAP profit has collapsed, and guidance was already cut after two quarters. Over 70 percent of total assets now sit in goodwill and intangible assets from the acquisition — whether that bet pays off will only become clear over the coming quarters, as it becomes visible whether the organic acceleration management has promised for 2027 actually shows up. Anyone waiting should check with each report: is GAAP profit moving back toward the adjusted figure? Does organic growth hold at 4 to 5 percent, or does it pick up? The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Global Payments reshaped itself in a three-way deal on January 9, 2026: selling Issuer Solutions to FIS while buying the larger payments processor Worldpay for a $24.25 billion enterprise valuation. The resulting revenue jump of 68.6 percent (Q2 2026) is, by our own calculation, more than 90 percent a consolidation effect rather than organic growth — and GAAP profit fell 94.6 percent in the same quarter. Book equity remains solidly positive at $23.1 billion, even though a goodwill-adjusted scanner ratio suggests otherwise. The Worldpay integration is the central unproven factor for the quarters ahead. Not investment advice.
Business model after the overhaul
By selling Issuer Solutions to FIS and simultaneously acquiring Worldpay on 01/09/2026, Global Payments reshaped itself into a focused payments processor with three clear segments (SMB, Enterprise, Platforms) — CFO Whipple himself calls it a "pure-play commerce solutions provider."
Quality of revenue growth
The reported revenue jump of 68.6 percent (Q2 2026) is more than 90 percent a consolidation effect from the Worldpay acquisition. The company itself put organic, normalized growth at only 4 to 5 percent for the full year on 08/05/2026 — well below what the headline suggests.
Earnings and profitability
GAAP net income fell 94.6 percent in the second quarter of 2026 to $13.0 million, driven by higher interest and other expense ($277.5M versus $152.5M) and the loss from discontinued operations (Issuer Solutions). Adjusted EPS did grow 12 percent to $3.46 — but that adjustment is a self-disclosure by the company.
Balance sheet & leverage
Book equity is a positive $23.1 billion and slightly growing, and an Altman Z-score of 3.94 signals no solvency threat. At the same time, over 70 percent of total assets now sit in goodwill and other intangible assets, and long-term debt rose to $21.5 billion — write-down risk if the integration disappoints.
Capital returns
$1.2 billion in capital already returned in 2026 (as of 08/05/2026), a plan for over $2 billion for the full year, and roughly $7.5 billion over 2025 through 2027; the $0.25 quarterly dividend — roughly $1.00 a year — is comfortably covered against guided adjusted earnings per share of $13.60 to $13.80.
Ownership structure & communication
Private equity firm GTCR holds roughly 15.8 percent of shares (as of March 31, 2026; roughly 15.45 percent at closing) (an overhang risk on future sales). On the positive side, management cut guidance on 08/05/2026 openly and with a concrete, externally grounded cause (the Middle East conflict and its effect on the travel portfolio), rather than obscuring it.
Worth Noting
Global Payments made our research list through the in-house "Revenue Inflection" stock scanner (rank 2 of 28 hits, as of August 24, 2026). The acceleration the scanner flags is real, but by our own calculation more than 90 percent of it is a consolidation effect from the Worldpay acquisition — not a contradiction between scanner and analysis, but the very point of this piece.
The negative debt-to-equity ratio shown on the scanner (−7.17) is a metric artifact from a figure adjusted for goodwill and intangible assets — actual book equity is a positive $23.1 billion (see "Uncomfortable truth No. 2").
Valuation figures are dated and evergreen: closing price of $93.50 on August 21, 2026; analyst and valuation data as of August 21–24, 2026. For context: the acquired Worldpay is the merchant business FIS obtained in 2019 through its purchase of Worldpay (formerly Vantiv) and carved out in 2024 as Worldpay Holdco, LLC, selling a 55 percent majority to GTCR; FIS kept 45 percent until both stakes passed to Global Payments in January 2026.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at GPN since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 62.50 $ to 94.80 $ · Last price: 85.40 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Specialty Business Services
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Payments Inc GPN | 23.4 | 31.5 | 10.9 | 64.0 | 12.5 | -23.8 | 1.4 |
| Cintas Corporation CTAS | 79.2 | 42.9 | 26.6 | 50.7 | 23.2 | 7.8 | 0.0 |
| Copart Inc CPRT | 27.4 | 18.7 | 13.2 | 49.0 | 37.5 | 9.7 | -36.4 |
| RB Global Inc. RBA | 15.7 | 39.2 | 13.7 | 45.8 | 18.0 | 9.0 | -27.9 |
| Aramark Holdings ARMK | 14.9 | 43.9 | 15.4 | 15.3 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 53.5 |
| UL Solutions Inc. ULS | 13.0 | 26.3 | 15.9 | 50.4 | 18.4 | 6.4 | -3.1 |
| Dolby Laboratories DLB | 5.4 | 24.2 | 13.8 | 87.6 | 29.1 | 5.9 | -17.7 |
| Amentum Holdings Inc. AMTM | 5.0 | 34.0 | 8.2 | 10.5 | 4.1 | 71.6 | -9.2 |
| Unifirst Corporation UNF | 4.7 | 36.2 | 16.6 | 36.7 | 4.2 | 0.2 | 55.3 |
| Median of companies shown | 14.9 | 34.0 | 13.8 | 49.0 | 18.0 | 6.4 | -3.1 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3,371 | 356 | 202 | 1.37 | 659 | 2,631 | 10,664 |
| 2017 | 3,975 | 572 | 468 | 3.01 | 512 | 3,795 | 12,998 |
| 2018 | 3,366 | 793 | 452 | 2.84 | 1,106 | 3,991 | 13,231 |
| 2019 | 4,912 | 1,047 | 431 | 2.16 | 1,391 | 27,856 | 44,480 |
| 2020 | 7,424 | 1,214 | 585 | 1.95 | 2,314 | 27,332 | 44,202 |
| 2021 | 8,524 | 1,756 | 965 | 3.29 | 2,781 | 25,628 | 45,280 |
| 2022 | 8,976 | 1,977 | 111 | 0.40 | 2,244 | 22,304 | 44,809 |
| 2023 | 9,654 | 2,213 | 986 | 3.77 | 2,249 | 22,999 | 50,570 |
| 2024 | 10,106 | 2,285 | 1,570 | 6.16 | 3,533 | 22,281 | 46,890 |
| 2025 | 7,706 | 1,472 | 1,400 | 5.83 | 2,657 | 22,889 | 53,338 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 2.25 | 62.80 | 1,933 | 1,114.30 | 22.50 | 653 | 469 |
| 2025: Q1 | 1.24 | 1.70 | 1,820 | -0.80 | 16.80 | 555 | 428 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.99 | -32.60 | 1,957 | -0.70 | 12.30 | 818 | 665 |
| 2025: Q3 | 2.64 | 113.90 | 2,008 | 0.50 | 31.60 | 769 | 599 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.91 | -59.80 | 1,933 | 0.00 | 11.50 | 515 | 347 |
| 2026: Q1 | -7.49 | -705.80 | 2,970 | 63.10 | -60.60 | -289 | -550 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.05 | -94.90 | 3,321 | 69.70 | 0.40 | 663 | 663 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 8 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Quality & Balance Sheet
Research
Risk & Weakness
- Pradeep Bonde: $ Breakout Bearish
- Stage 4 (Downtrend)
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 4
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 4B-
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. Scanners marked in red are red-flag signals (risk/short scanners) — appearing there is not a seal of approval. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 13.65 | 13.45 – 13.84 | 12,345 | 11.7% | 33 |
| 12/31/2027 | 15.99 | 14.07 – 16.96 | 12,998 | 17.2% | 34 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 12.5% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $822.7M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $23.36B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $2.66B |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 60.1% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 1.7% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Investiert laut eigenem Geschäftsbericht in KI-Fähigkeiten zur Weiterentwicklung der eigenen Zahlungsplattformen (u. a. für „agentengestützten Handel“) und benennt die eigene direkte und indirekte KI-/ML-Nutzung offen als Risikofaktor — kein KI-Verkaufsprodukt, keine existenzielle KI-Bedrohung des Geschäftsmodells.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„investing in AI capabilities and strategic partnerships to position our platforms to support agent-driven commerce"
Investitionen in KI-Fähigkeiten und strategische Partnerschaften, um unsere Plattformen für agentengestützten Handel zu positionieren
10-K · 2026-02-20 · View SEC filing
„any direct or indirect use of AI and machine learning is subject to risks that algorithms and datasets are flawed or may be insufficient or contain biased information"
jede direkte oder indirekte Nutzung von KI und maschinellem Lernen unterliegt dem Risiko, dass Algorithmen und Datensätze fehlerhaft sind oder unzureichende oder verzerrte Informationen enthalten
10-K · 2026-02-20 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2026-02-20 · 10-Q 2026-08-05
Rated on August 24, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years -5.0%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 5.7%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -4.5%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 2.7%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 72.6%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 32.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 3.9 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 4,481 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 3.2%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 0.9%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
8/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 9.6%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 29.9%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 17.1%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 65.6%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 9.2x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 35.6%
- Return on equity > 15% 88.6%
- ROCE > 15% 3.2%
- Expected return > 10% 80.1%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2026 | Cortopassi Robert M | President and COO | Other | 825 | 86.12 | 71,049 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Cortopassi Robert M | President and COO | Other | 2,955 | 88.25 | 260,779 |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Bready Cameron M | Chief Executive Officer | Other | 8,871 | 88.27 | 783,043 |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Bready Cameron M | Chief Executive Officer | Other | 9,703 | 74.66 | 724,426 |
The company
About the Company
Global Payments Inc. bietet Zahlungstechnologie- und Softwarelösungen für karten-, scheck- und digitalbasierte Zahlungen in Nord- und Südamerika, Europa und dem asiatisch-pazifischen Raum an.
- Employees
- 26,000
- Headquarters
- Atlanta, GA
- Address
- 3550 Lenox Road, 30326 Atlanta, United States
- Phone
- 770 829 8000
- Website
- globalpayments.com
- IPO Date
- 01/16/2001
- ISIN
- US37940X1028
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 11/03/2015
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 10/31/2005
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron M. Bready CPA | CEO & Director | 1972 |
| Robert M. Cortopassi | President & COO | 1977 |
| Joshua J. Whipple | Senior EVP & CFO | 1974 |
| Ryan Loy | Chief Technology Officer | – |
| Jennifer Bozeman Whyte | Chief Accounting Officer | 1976 |
| Nathan A. Rozof C.F.A. | Head of Investor Relations | – |
| Dara Steele-Belkin | Chief Legal Officer | – |
| Nichole Viviani | Chief People, Culture & Change Officer | – |
| David Rumph | President of SMB | – |
| Laurent Bossard | Chief Operations & Transformation Officer | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/05/2026 GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC (GPN): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.