Global Payments Inc (GPN) stock analysis

P/E against its history

Not enough price and earnings history to compare.

P/E against the industry

Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Global Payments's EV/EBITDA of 11.8 is below its 5-year median of 14.5.

P/B below the industry

Global Payments's price-to-book of 1.15 is below the Miscellaneous Business Services median of 2.48.

Trading below fair value

The share price of $100.23 is below our fair value estimate of $132.71.

Margin of safety over 20%

The price is 24.5% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -5.0% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 144% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew -174% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 19.1% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 48.5% over the last twelve months; the Miscellaneous Business Services median is 9.9%.

Guidance lowered

Global Payments lowered its 2026 Constant currency (CC) adj net revenue outlook on Aug 5, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 61.5% over the last twelve months, against 73.1% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was -5.6% over the last twelve months and averaged 4.3% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 1.6%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity below the industry

Global Payments's return on equity of -5.6% is below the Miscellaneous Business Services median of 6.8%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 19.1% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was -11.2% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 12.9%.

Net margin below the industry

Global Payments's net margin of -11.2% is below the Miscellaneous Business Services median of 3.8%.

High debt

Debt is 97.4% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 34.0% five years ago to 97.4%.

Debt not well covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 3.2% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

Interest not well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 0.8 times; we look for at least 5.

Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

Current assets are 0.82 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 0.69; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Global Payments paid dividends worth 1.0% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.0% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Global Payments yields 1.0%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Earnings cover

Needs dividends paid and net income.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.