Analyzing Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) and XBP Global (NASDAQ:XBP)

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) and XBP Global (NASDAQ:XBP) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Shift4 Payments and XBP Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shift4 Payments	2.63%	33.55%	5.01%
XBP Global	113.74%	1,710.19%	165.81%

Volatility and Risk

Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, XBP Global has a beta of -0.39, meaning that its stock price is 139% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Shift4 Payments and XBP Global”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shift4 Payments	$4.18 billion	0.80	$119.00 million	$0.84	49.91
XBP Global	$148.33 million	0.17	$1.10 billion	($2.20)	-0.96

XBP Global has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Shift4 Payments. XBP Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shift4 Payments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Shift4 Payments and XBP Global, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shift4 Payments	2	10	11	0	2.39
XBP Global	1	0	1	0	2.00

Shift4 Payments presently has a consensus price target of $71.62, suggesting a potential upside of 70.82%. XBP Global has a consensus price target of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 135.85%. Given XBP Global’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe XBP Global is more favorable than Shift4 Payments.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.7% of XBP Global shares are held by institutional investors. 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 31.4% of XBP Global shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats XBP Global on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions. The company also offers suite of technology solutions, such as Lighthouse, a cloud-based business intelligence tool that includes customer engagement, social media management, online reputation management, scheduling, and product pricing, as well as reporting and analytics; integrated POS for merchants business; and Skytab, a mobile payment solution. In addition, it provides marketplace technology that enable seamless integrations into third-party applications, which includes online delivery services, payroll, timekeeping, and other human resource services. Further, the company offers merchant management, training and education, marketing management, and incentives tracking solutions. Additionally, it provides merchant underwriting, onboarding and activation, training, risk management, and support services; and software integrations and compliance management, and partner support and services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About XBP Global

XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. provides bills, payments, and related solutions and services in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bills & Payments and Technology. The Bills & Payments segment focuses on optimizing how bills and payments are processed by businesses of all sizes and industries. This segment also offers automation of accounts payable and accounts receivables processes and seeks to integrate buyers and suppliers, as well as engages in digital transformation business. The Technology segment engages in the sale of recurring software licenses and related maintenance, and hardware solutions, as well as provision of related maintenance and professional services. In addition, the company offers XBP platform that provides a secured network allowing billers, consumers, and businesses to communicate and transact; XBP Omnidirect, a cloud-based platform that provides enterprise level client communication management; and Reaktr.ai for cybersecurity, data modernization and cloud management, and generative AI. Further, it provides request to pay solutions; enterprise information management solutions; robotic process automation solutions; digital mailroom and records digitization solutions; business process management and intelligent workflow automation solutions; integrated communications solution; banking and financial industry solutions and services; cross-border payments; digitization of checks; confirmation of payee; and mortgage and loan management solutions. The company is based in Egham, the United Kingdom. XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Exela Technologies, Inc.