Is Global Payments Stock Underperforming the Dow?

Valued at a market cap of $19.2 billion, Global Payments Inc. (GPN) is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments.

Companies worth $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and GPN fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the software - infrastructure industry. The company distinguishes itself by its integrated commerce strategy that embeds payment processing directly into industry-specific software for over 6 million merchant locations. Its core strengths include a massive global scale and a dominant presence in high-growth verticals like education, hospitality, and healthcare through its Genius POS platform.

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This payment solution provider has slipped 33.1% from its 52-week high of $100.56, reached on Mar. 26, 2025. Shares of GPN have declined 17.3% over the past three months, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average's ($DOWI) 2.4% drop during the same time frame.

Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of GPN are down 13%, compared to DOWI’s 2.3% fall. In the longer term, GPN has fallen 28.6% over the past 52 weeks, considerably lagging behind DOWI’s 13.2% uptick over the same time frame.

To confirm its bearish trend, GPN has been trading below its 200-day moving average over the past year, with slight fluctuations, and has remained below its 50-day moving average since early March.

On Feb. 18, shares of GPN skyrocketed 16.5% after its Q4 earnings release. Due to a modest increase in both merchant solutions and issuer solutions revenue, the company’s adjusted revenue increased 1.4% year-over-year to $2.3 billion, meeting consensus estimates. Moreover, its adjusted operating margin expanded 80 basis points to 44.7%, triggering an even more impressive 11.6% rise in its adjusted EPS to $3.18, which also met analyst expectations.

GPN has notably lagged its rival, Block, Inc. (XYZ), which rose 4.6% over the past 52 weeks and dropped 8.1% on a YTD basis.

Despite GPN’s recent underperformance, analysts remain moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy” from the 32 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $101.81 suggests a 49.6% premium to its current price levels.

On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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