Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $69.77, but opened at $79.55. Global Payments shares last traded at $79.2030, with a volume of 4,083,219 shares.

The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 16.92%.Global Payments’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. Global Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.800-14.000 EPS.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.04%.

More Global Payments News

Here are the key news stories impacting Global Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and upgraded 2026 outlook — GPN reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $3.18 (beat/meet) and set FY‑2026 guidance of $13.80–$14.00, above consensus; management framed 2026 as a double‑digit EPS growth year. Business Wire earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Large capital returns — the board approved a $2.5B buyback program (including ~$550M accelerated repurchases) and declared a quarterly dividend, which supports share-price upside and EPS accretion. Blockonomi buyback coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases — Wells Fargo raised its target to $105 with an Overweight rating (largest upside cited), and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods nudged its target to $90, both signalling renewed analyst confidence. Benzinga price target notes
• Positive Sentiment: Technical strength — GPN has cleared the 20-, 50- and 200‑day moving averages in recent sessions, a bullish sign that attracted momentum traders. 20-day breakout 50-day breakout 200-day breakout
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance mixed — some firms (e.g., UBS) are keeping Hold/Neutral ratings, calling the 2026 outlook conservative and flagging medium‑term upside tied to synergies and capital returns. TipRanks / UBS note
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed underlying fundamentals — Q4 EPS showed improvement but revenue growth was modest and some commentary highlighted higher costs; investors are weighing margin recovery vs. elevated expense trends. Zacks earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put activity and hedging — option flow showed ~7,593 puts bought (≈112% above typical volume), which can indicate hedging by longs or outright bearish bets that pressure intraday moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking after rapid rally — the stock ran up sharply on the combination of buyback/guidance; today’s pullback on heavy volume looks like position rotation rather than a change to the company story.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Global Payments from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Global Payments to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.90.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 10,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.42 per share, with a total value of $846,116.64. Following the acquisition, the director owned 59,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,828,450.26. This represents a 21.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David Lawrence Green sold 11,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total value of $927,884.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 68,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,999.04. This represents a 14.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Michels Family Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Michels Family Financial LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 27,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $1,331,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Global Payments by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.41. The firm has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Global Payments Company Profile

Global Payments Inc (NYSE: GPN) is a worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions that enables commerce for merchants, issuers and enterprises. The company develops and operates payment processing networks, point-of-sale systems and cloud-based software that facilitate electronic transactions across in-store, online and mobile channels. Its services span merchant acquiring, payment gateway services, omnichannel commerce platforms, and solutions for recurring and subscription billing.

Global Payments offers a range of products and services including integrated payment terminals and point-of-sale software, e-commerce and gateway technologies, fraud prevention and tokenization tools, and business analytics and reporting.