One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$163.63 our estimate vs market $85.88
Wall Street consensus: $105.33 (-35.6% lower than our fair-value estimate)
48% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Global Payments Inc.
GPN · NYQ · Industrials · Specialty Business Services
Current price
$85.88
52-week range
$61.16 - $95.88
Market cap
$22.73B
Balance sheet
Stretched
2.27x Stretched
Net debt $18.15B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 24.9% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
- Risk Net debt grew 10.1% over 3 years.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 18.6% to 16.1% over 3 years.
What this company does
Global Payments Inc.
Global Payments Inc. is a company that helps businesses accept different types of payments, like credit cards and digital payments, all over the world. Most of their money comes from charging fees when these payments are processed, which is important because it shows how much they are helping businesses make sales.
How the company got here
Global Payments Inc. has a history stretching back to 1967, initially as part of National Data Corporation (NDC). It became an independent, publicly traded company in 2001. Over the years, Global Payments has grown significantly through a series of strategic acquisitions, including companies like Heartland Payment Systems and TSYS, which have expanded its capabilities and market reach. This growth through acquisition has shaped it into a major player in the payment technology and software solutions industry. The company is now a Fortune 500 company, processing billions of transactions annually for millions of merchants and financial institutions worldwide.
What it actually does
Global Payments provides the technology and software that allow businesses to accept payments from their customers. Think of it as the behind-the-scenes engine that makes your credit card swipe, tap, or online purchase go through. They handle everything from authorizing the payment to settling the funds, ensuring that money moves safely and efficiently between buyers and sellers. This includes processing payments made with credit cards, debit cards, and increasingly, digital and contactless methods.
Merchant Solutions
This is the largest part of Global Payments' business, focusing on helping merchants – that's any business that sells goods or services – accept payments. They offer a variety of tools, from point-of-sale (POS) systems that businesses use in their stores to online payment gateways for e-commerce websites. This segment also includes software that helps businesses manage their operations, like inventory and customer relationships, alongside payment processing. Essentially, it's about enabling businesses to get paid by their customers, no matter how or where they choose to buy.
Issuer Solutions
While Global Payments has recently divested its Issuer Solutions business, it was historically a significant segment. This part of the business focused on providing services to companies that issue payment cards, like banks. This included managing the technology behind credit and debit cards, ensuring they were secure and functional for consumers to use. It was about supporting the banks and other financial institutions that put cards into people's hands.
What management is betting on now
Global Payments is currently focused on integrating its acquisition of Worldpay and streamlining its operations to become a more unified commerce solutions provider. A key strategy is the expansion of its 'Genius' platform, which offers AI-powered point-of-sale solutions, aiming to provide businesses with advanced tools to manage commerce. Management is also investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve business operations, drive new revenue streams, and increase productivity. The company is committed to returning significant capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, signaling confidence in its future performance and financial health.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$1.56B
FY2024 Q4
$469.42M
FY2025 Q1
$427.55M
FY2025 Q2
$665.36M
FY2025 Q3
$598.92M
FY2025 Q4
$347.00M
FY2026 Q1
$-550.16M
FY2026 Q2
$426.95M
Revenue
$3.32B
Net income
$12.97M
Diluted EPS
0.05
Operating cash flow
$662.62M
Free cash flow
$426.95M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.97B
Net income
$-1.80B
Diluted EPS
-6.59
Operating cash flow
$-288.82M
Free cash flow
$-550.16M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.33B
Net income
$217.52M
Diluted EPS
0.91
Operating cash flow
$515.21M
Free cash flow
$347.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.01B
Net income
$635.21M
Diluted EPS
2.64
Operating cash flow
$768.73M
Free cash flow
$598.92M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.96B
Net income
$241.64M
Diluted EPS
0.99
Operating cash flow
$817.52M
Free cash flow
$665.36M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.41B
Net income
$305.73M
Diluted EPS
1.24
Operating cash flow
$555.12M
Free cash flow
$427.55M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.52B
Net income
$567.17M
Diluted EPS
2.23
Operating cash flow
$653.43M
Free cash flow
$469.42M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.60B
Net income
$315.12M
Diluted EPS
1.24
Operating cash flow
$1.73B
Free cash flow
$1.56B
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $163.63 vs current price $85.88
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $105.33 (-35.6% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $163.63 a share — about 90.5% above today's price of $85.88, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $18.1B. Interest coverage 2.3x.
Net debt
$18.15B
Interest coverage
2.27x
Global Payments Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 2.3 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
GPN
BASELINE
Global Payments Inc.
Total debt $23.56B Interest coverage 2.27x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt — Interest coverage 3.72x +64% vs GPN Carries about 1.6x more debt cushion than GPN.
Total debt $21.26B Interest coverage 4.50x +99% vs GPN Carries about 2.0x more debt cushion than GPN.
Total debt $14.22B Interest coverage 14.50x +540% vs GPN Carries about 6.4x more debt cushion than GPN.
Total debt $459.08M Interest coverage 55.65x +2,356% vs GPN Carries about 24.6x more debt cushion than GPN.
What you should know
The case for and against GPN
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 24.9% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 1.2% with 26-year payout history.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 10.1% over 3 years.
-
Operating margin compressed from 18.6% to 16.1% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
40.32x
Forward P/E
5.34x
P/B
0.99x
P/S
2.23x
EV/EBITDA
9.31x
PEG ratio
0.20x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
64.0%
Operating margin
16.1%
Net margin
-9.2%
ROE
2.4%
ROA
2.3%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.98x
Current ratio
0.82x
Quick ratio
0.49x
Total debt
$23.56B
Total cash
$5.41B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$9.63B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-2.5%
EPS TTM
2.13
EPS 5Y CAGR
143.6%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.66B
Free CF TTM
$2.04B
FCF margin
21.2%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.2%
Payout ratio
46.9%
Last ex-div date
2026-09-11