FOUR vs ACIW vs GPN Stock Comparison

Shift4 Payments, Aci Worldwide and Global Payments Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FOUR Shift4 Payments, Inc.
$44.77 +19.2% 1M -32.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.97B
P/E
67.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.78B
Div. yield
–
Payment Processing Technology
ACIW Aci Worldwide, Inc.
$59.19 +15.6% 1M +25.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.36B
P/E
28.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.82B
Div. yield
–
Payment Processing Technology
8 wins
GPN Global Payments Inc
$95.90 +16.7% 1M +19.9% 1Y
Market cap
$26.12B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$10.23B
Div. yield
0.01%
Payment Processing Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Aci Worldwide leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Aci Worldwide 8, Global Payments 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFOURACIWGPNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.97B $6.36B $26.12B GPN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 67.9x 28.2x -28.0x ACIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.1x 21.4x 7.5x GPN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.4% +7.0% +32.5% GPN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.9% 12.4% -9.1% ACIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.9% 10.8% 2.3% ACIW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.5x 1.9x 4.8x ACIW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -32.9% +25.0% +19.9% ACIW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.9%/yr +12.9%/yr -6.9%/yr ACIW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 66.2% 34.8% 41.7% ACIW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 67/100 49/100 ACIW

Percentile Scorecard

FOURACIWGPN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisFOURACIWGPN
Valuation 85 #16 of 99 76 #25 of 99 72 #28 of 99
Growth 69 #30 of 94 66 #33 of 94 26 #70 of 94
Profitability 67 #30 of 90 80 #19 of 90 64 #33 of 90
Financial Health 19 #85 of 105 61 #42 of 105 23 #81 of 105
Shareholder Returns 82 #12 of 63 55 #29 of 63 58 #27 of 63
Overall 64 67 49
  • FOUR ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • ACIW ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • GPN ranked among 109 companies in Fintech

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodFOURACIWGPNSPY
1 month +19.2%+15.6%+16.7% -1.0%
3 months -16.1%+2.4%+9.6% -0.4%
6 months +4.4%+36.8%+37.7% +4.5%
Year to date -28.9%+23.8%+23.9% +12.4%
1 year -32.9%+25.0%+19.9% +13.6%
3 years -7.5%+145.7%-15.7% +76.4%
3 years, per year -2.6%+35.0%-5.5% +20.8%
5 years -26.1%+83.0%-29.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year -5.9%+12.9%-6.9% +10.4%
10 years —+248.0%+35.4% +267.7%
10 years, per year —+13.3%+3.1% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureFOURACIWGPNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 66.2%34.8%41.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 69.8%36.4%35.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.370.320.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.500.720.48 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.7%-44.2%-58.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.3%-1.6%-3.7% -1.6%
52-week high $73.78$60.18$99.62 $779.14
52-week low $35.57$38.47$62.47 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleFOURACIWGPN
P/E now vs peer median 81.0xmedian 21.9x 26.6xmedian 21.9x -27.7xmedian 21.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.3x 3.3xmedian 2.3x 2.5xmedian 2.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 16.4x 18.8xmedian 16.4x 11.6xmedian 16.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 17.4x 19.2xmedian 17.4x 31.0xmedian 17.4x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.7x 4.0xmedian 1.7x 1.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.37median 0.91 0.56median 0.91 0.60median 0.91

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsFOURACIWGPN
Revenue $4.78B $1.82B $10.23B
Gross profit $1.72B $893.35M $6.54B
Operating income $387.50M $338.68M $1.27B
Net income $122.40M $225.69M -$873.78M
Free cash flow $433.00M $311.41M $822.72M
R&D – $179.52M –
EPS (diluted) $0.55 $2.22 $-3.46
Cash & equivalents $356.00M $167.40M $5.41B
Total debt $4.51B $822.18M $23.56B
Shares (diluted) 79.64M 101.68M 270.12M
Enterprise value -$331.47M $5.63B $3.91B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricFOURACIWGPN
P/E 81.0x 26.6x -27.7x
P/FCF 16.1x 19.2x 31.0x
P/Operating cash flow 11.7x 18.2x 15.4x
P/S 1.5x 3.3x 2.5x
P/B 4.0x 4.0x 1.1x
P/Tangible book -5.9x 4.0x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.9x 18.8x 11.6x
EV/EBIT 28.7x 19.6x 34.4x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 3.7x 4.3x
EV/FCF 25.7x 21.3x 53.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.7x 20.1x 26.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.37 0.56 0.60

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFOURACIWGPN
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.4% 7.0% 32.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 28.2% 9.9% 3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 55.7% 4.5% 14.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 42.6% 10.6% 5.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 41.2% 0.1% -33.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 45.3% 34.9% -4.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -55.2% -10.1% -158.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.9% 44.8% -44.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -77.1% -7.1% -158.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -34.2% 48.0% -46.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 16.0% 6.9% -46.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.4% 35.3% -9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.8% 6.0% -66.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 37.8% -19.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFOURACIWGPN
Gross margin 35.9% 49.1% 63.9%
EBITDA margin 19.5% 19.4% 36.8%
Operating margin 8.1% 18.6% 12.4%
Pretax margin 3.2% 16.8% 5.5%
Net margin 0.9% 12.4% -9.1%
FCF margin 9.1% 17.1% 8.0%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 18.1% 16.2%
Return on equity 7.0% 15.1% -3.5%
Return on assets 1.4% 7.3% -1.3%
Return on invested capital 4.9% 10.8% 2.3%
Return on capital employed 5.5% 14.3% 2.5%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.8x 1.5x -1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 4.3% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFOURACIWGPN
Debt / assets 51.9% 26.6% 37.1%
Debt / equity 2.6x 0.5x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.5x 1.9x 4.8x
Debt / FCF 10.4x 2.6x 28.6x
Liabilities / assets 80.1% 51.6% 62.6%
Equity / assets 19.9% 48.4% 37.4%
Interest coverage 1.5x 6.4x 1.5x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.6x 0.8x
Quick ratio 1.1x 2.0x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.24 4.22 0.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFOURACIWGPN
Dividend yield – – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 9.0% 2.7% 6.2%
Shareholder yield 9.0% 2.7% 7.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -28.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 30.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 1.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -1.7%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusFOURACIWGPN
Forward P/E 8.1xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 7.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.50FY2026 $2.77FY2026 $12.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.4%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.7% +12.6% +18.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.44BFY2026 $1.81BFY2026 $12.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +23.2%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026 +35.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.6% +20.2% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFOURACIWGPN
Held by institutions 87.4% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 358 380 794
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.3% +3.5% +7.4%
Institutions buying 187 198 375
Institutions selling 142 132 308
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.50 1.22

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

FOURACIWGPN
FOUR 1.00 0.46 0.56
ACIW 0.46 1.00 0.49
GPN 0.56 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FOUR, ACIW and GPN?

Global Payments (GPN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Shift4 Payments (FOUR) $2.97B, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) $6.36B, Global Payments (GPN) $26.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, FOUR, ACIW and GPN?

Aci Worldwide (ACIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Shift4 Payments (FOUR) 67.9x, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) 28.2x, Global Payments (GPN) -28.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Global Payments (GPN) is cheapest (Shift4 Payments (FOUR) 8.1x, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) 21.4x, Global Payments (GPN) 7.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Global Payments (GPN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Shift4 Payments (FOUR) +32.4%, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) +7.0%, Global Payments (GPN) +32.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Aci Worldwide (ACIW) has the highest net margin (Shift4 Payments (FOUR) 0.9%, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) 12.4%, Global Payments (GPN) -9.1%). On return on invested capital, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) leads (Shift4 Payments (FOUR) 4.9%, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) 10.8%, Global Payments (GPN) 2.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Aci Worldwide (ACIW) returned the most: Shift4 Payments (FOUR) -32.9%, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) +25.0%, Global Payments (GPN) +19.9%. Over five years, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) compounded fastest (Shift4 Payments (FOUR) -5.9%/yr, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) +12.9%/yr, Global Payments (GPN) -6.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Shift4 Payments (FOUR) 0.00%, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) 0.00%, Global Payments (GPN) 0.01%. Shift4 Payments (FOUR) and Aci Worldwide (ACIW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) has been the steadiest (Shift4 Payments (FOUR) 66.2%, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) 34.8%, Global Payments (GPN) 41.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FOUR, ACIW and GPN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Aci Worldwide (ACIW) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.