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

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 42.00% and a net margin of 2.63%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Down 9.3%

Shift4 Payments stock traded down $4.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.47. 1,758,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,838. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.44. Shift4 Payments has a fifty-two week low of $39.90 and a fifty-two week high of $108.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.90, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jared Isaacman bought 43,827 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.75 per share, with a total value of $2,005,085.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,410,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,540,760.25. This trade represents a 3.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 385,757 shares of company stock worth $17,666,153 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Shift4 Payments by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $1,285,000. Galaxy Group Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $561,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FOUR. Seaport Research Partners lowered Shift4 Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Shift4 Payments from $81.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Shift4 Payments from $104.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Shift4 Payments from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Shift4 Payments

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

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.