Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 39.27%. Shift4 Payments’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. Shift4 Payments updated its FY 2026 guidance to 5.500-5.700 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Shift4 Payments’ conference call:

• Q1 results were in line with guidance — GRLNF of $549M (+49% YoY), Adjusted EBITDA $234M (+39%, 43% margin), and Adjusted free cash flow $88M (+26%); full?year guidance unchanged (26%–31% GRLNF growth).
• International expansion is scaling — the new Shift41 product is live in 7 countries and on track for 15 by year?end, Global Blue integration is on track, and the company has a pipeline of ~70,000 SMB prospects plus newly signed luxury retailers.
• Payments momentum remains strong — payments?based revenue less network fees grew 25% YoY (Americas +15%, worldwide +51%), and organic GRLNF (ex?acquisitions) rose 11% despite ~400 bps drag from deprecated legacy streams.
• Travel disruptions from the Middle East conflict weighed on tax?free shopping (TFS), with an estimated $4M–$6M headwind in March and roughly $20M embedded in Q2 guidance; TFS is also seasonally cash?consumptive in H1.
• Capital allocation and leverage focus — repurchased 5.5M shares in Q1 (about $600M of the $1B program), term?loan repricing left pro forma net leverage at ~3.7x, and management intends to keep leverage ?3.75x while deleveraging through the year.

Shift4 Payments Stock Up 9.2%

Shares of NYSE:FOUR traded up $3.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $46.81. 2,885,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,752. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Shift4 Payments has a 52-week low of $39.90 and a 52-week high of $108.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 44.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jared Isaacman acquired 43,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.75 per share, for a total transaction of $2,005,085.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,410,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,540,760.25. The trade was a 3.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 385,757 shares of company stock worth $17,666,153 in the last ninety days. 25.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Shift4 Payments by 18.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Shift4 Payments by 29.6% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Shift4 Payments during the second quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Shift4 Payments by 4.4% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FOUR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Shift4 Payments from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research lowered Shift4 Payments from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Shift4 Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Shift4 Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.76.

Key Headlines Impacting Shift4 Payments

Here are the key news stories impacting Shift4 Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat — Shift4 reported revenue of $1.12B vs. Street ? $1.09B, showing 49% YoY growth, which supports the company’s growth story and payments-volume momentum. Revenue & Call
• Positive Sentiment: Upside guidance — Shift4 set FY?2026 EPS guidance of $5.50–$5.70, above consensus of ~$5.39, giving investors a clearer, stronger outlook that likely drove buying. Guidance Details
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — BTIG reiterated a Buy and set a $70 price target (~49.5% above the current price), adding confidence from the sell?side that the stock has upside. BTIG Reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call available — The full Q1 2026 earnings call transcript is published for investors who want detail on merchant trends, margin drivers, and product commentary. Useful for investors doing deeper diligence. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss and YoY decline — GAAP EPS was $0.97 vs. consensus $0.99 and below last year’s $1.07, a reminder that profitability metrics softened even as revenue surged. EPS Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Low margins & leverage — Net margin remained thin (?2.8%) and the company carries high leverage (debt/equity ~4.66), which raises sensitivity to interest rates and margin pressures despite strong revenue growth. Financials & Metrics

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company’s platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company’s core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.