By Mackenzie Tatananni

Shares of financial software provider Global Payments headed for their largest same-day percentage increase in nearly a year on Wednesday. There's more to the move than quarterly earnings.

Global Payments posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.18 a share, which narrowly beat the $3.16 Wall Street had expected. Revenue was flat at $1.9 billion. On an adjusted basis, revenue grew 6% to $2.32 billion, in line with analysts' estimates.

While results were largely mixed, an upbeat 2026 outlook appeared to be giving shares a boost. For the full year, Global Payments guided for adjusted earnings in the range of $13.80 to $14 a share, ahead of the $13.58 analysts were anticipating. The company also expects adjusted net revenue growth of roughly 5% in constant currency.

Shares climbed 11% to $77.64 on Wednesday, putting Global Payments on pace for its largest single-day percent gain since a nearly 14% jump on April 9, 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The benchmark S&P 500 ticked up 0.4%.

Global Payments said last month that it had wrapped up its divestiture from its Issuer Solutions business, a development that occurred "well ahead of schedule," CEO Cameron Bready said on Wednesday.

The figure for non-adjusted revenue excludes discontinued operations related to the business, which was acquired by Fidelity Information Services $(FIS)$ last month.

Bready touted 2025 as a period of significant transformation for the company, underscored by the launch of its Genius point-of-sale platform in the second quarter. Aside from the Issuer Solutions divestiture, Global Payments acquired payment processor Worldpay earlier this year.

The purchase "marks a pivotal moment in our evolution," Bready continued. "As we integrate our businesses, our North Star remains driving consistent, durable growth underpinned by an unrelenting focus on our clients."

Counting Wednesday's gains, shares have fallen less than a percentage point in 2026, lagging behind a 0.1% increase for the S&P 500.

Peers Fiserv and FIS haven't fared any better, falling 5.3% and 25% over the same period, respectively. The steep losses at FIS are a direct result of the company's ill-fated acquisition of Worldpay in 2019, only exacerbated by stiff competition in the fintech and merchant services industries.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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February 18, 2026 10:11 ET (15:11 GMT)

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