A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Global Payments (GPN). Shares have added about 4.7% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Global Payments due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Global Payments Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Genius Platform Momentum
Global Payments reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.46, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.45. The bottom line rose 12% year over year.
Adjusted net revenues improved 33.8% year over year to $3.2 billion. The top line missed the consensus mark by 0.4%.
The quarterly earnings benefited from continued adoption of the Genius platform and the company's strategic transformation into a focused commerce solutions provider. However, higher operating expenses partly offset these gains.
GPN's Operating Performance
Adjusted operating income of $1.3 billion increased 25.9% year over year in the second quarter. Adjusted operating margin expanded 70 basis points (bps) year over year on a normalized basis to 42%.
Total operating expenses of $3 billion increased 89.3% year over year in the second quarter. The increase was due to higher selling, general and administrative expenses, and cost of service. Interest and other expenses rose 81.9% year over year to $277.5 million.
GPN's Q2 Financial Position
Global Payments exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $5.4 billion, which decreased from $8.3 billion at 2025-end. Total assets of $63.6 billion rose from $53.3 billion at 2025-end.
Long-term debt amounted to $21.5 billion compared with $19.5 billion at 2025-end. The current portion of long-term debt totaled $925 million at the second-quarter end.
Total equity of $23.8 billion rose from $23.6 billion at 2025-end.
Operating activities used $373.8 million of cash in the first six months of 2026 compared with $1.4 billion provided by operating activities in the prior-year period.
GPN's Capital Deployment Update
GPN repurchased shares worth $1.1 billion in the first half of 2026.
The company declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share, which will be paid out on Sept. 25, 2026, to its shareholders of record as of Sept. 11, 2026.
GPN's 2026 Outlook
Constant-currency adjusted net revenue growth, excluding dispositions, is expected to be 4-5% in 2026.
Constant-currency adjusted EPS growth is expected to be 11-13% in 2026. GPN expects to convert approximately 90% of adjusted net income into adjusted free cash flow.
Annual adjusted operating margin is expected to expand by approximately 150 basis points in 2026.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
VGM Scores
At this time, Global Payments has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with a D. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Global Payments has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
Global Payments is part of the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry. Over the past month, Western Union (WU), a stock from the same industry, has gained 1.3%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2026 more than a month ago.
Western Union reported revenues of $1.01 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -1.3%. EPS of $0.31 for the same period compares with $0.42 a year ago.
Western Union is expected to post earnings of $0.35 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -25.5%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -8.2%.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) for Western Union. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of B.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
