Reviewing Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) & Paymentus (NYSE:PAY)

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) and Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Payments	$7.71 billion	2.28	$1.40 billion	($2.04)	-31.49
Paymentus	$1.20 billion	2.16	$66.94 million	$0.57	35.98

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.8% of Global Payments shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Paymentus shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Global Payments shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 87.8% of Paymentus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Payments	-7.99%	13.11%	5.79%
Paymentus	5.78%	13.75%	11.53%

Risk and Volatility

Global Payments has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paymentus has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Global Payments and Paymentus, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Payments	3	18	5	0	2.08
Paymentus	0	3	3	1	2.71

Global Payments currently has a consensus price target of $83.87, indicating a potential upside of 30.56%. Paymentus has a consensus price target of $35.20, indicating a potential upside of 71.62%. Given Paymentus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Paymentus is more favorable than Global Payments.

Summary

Paymentus beats Global Payments on 10 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 Paymentus

Paymentus Holdings, Inc. provides cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers electronic bill presentment and payment services, enterprise customer communication, and self-service revenue management to billers through a software-as-a-service technology platform. Its platform's payment processing includes credit cards, debit cards, eChecks, and digital wallets. It serves utility, financial service, government, insurance, telecommunication, real estate management, education, consumer finance, healthcare, and small business industries. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.