Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 39.27% and a net margin of 2.84%.Shift4 Payments’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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 Performance

NYSE:FOUR traded down $4.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.47. 1,758,000 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,285,697. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.66. Shift4 Payments has a 12 month low of $39.90 and a 12 month high of $108.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial set a $50.00 price objective on Shift4 Payments in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore set a $50.00 price target on Shift4 Payments in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Shift4 Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $77.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.00.

Key Shift4 Payments News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Shift4 Payments to $52 from $50, while maintaining a market perform rating, implying modest upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Keefe, Bruyette & Woods price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reiterated its buy rating and kept a much higher $70 price target, signaling confidence in Shift4’s longer-term growth prospects. Benzinga report on BTIG reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Shift4 reported revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, topping estimates of $1.09 billion and rising 49% year over year, showing strong sales momentum. MarketBeat earnings report and transcript
• Positive Sentiment: The company also lifted FY 2026 EPS guidance to $5.50-$5.70, above Wall Street’s $5.39 estimate, suggesting management sees continued earnings strength ahead. MarketBeat earnings report and transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting the Q1 earnings call and transcript, which highlighted robust growth but some headwinds, keeping sentiment mixed. Seeking Alpha Q1 2026 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite revenue strength, Shift4 missed earnings per share estimates at $0.97 versus $0.99 expected, and EPS declined from $1.07 a year ago, which appears to be pressuring the stock. Zacks report on earnings miss

Insider Activity at Shift4 Payments

In other Shift4 Payments news, major shareholder Jared Isaacman purchased 159,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.15 per share, for a total transaction of $7,030,622.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,321,207 shares in the company, valued at $58,331,289.05. This represents a 13.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 385,757 shares of company stock worth $17,666,153 in the last three months. 25.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 282.2% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 747.4% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

About Shift4 Payments

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.