GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC (GPN)

Global Payments Inc. is a leading payments technology company headquartered in Georgia, operating globally across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America with approximately 26,000 team members in 37 countries. The company is a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 member, trading on the NYSE under "GPN." In 2024, Global Payments launched a transformation program to streamline its organization, unify its brand identity, consolidate technology and operations under common leadership, and improve customer experience, with related expenses expected through the first half of 2027. In January 2026, the company completed a major transaction acquiring 100% of Worldpay Holdco, LLC from Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) and GTCR affiliates for approximately $6.2 billion in cash plus 43.3 million shares of Global Payments stock, while simultaneously divesting its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for approximately $7.7 billion in cash plus FIS's ownership stake in Worldpay; both businesses are receiving transition services from each other.

The company also divested Heartland Payroll Solutions to Acrisure for approximately $1.1 billion in September 2025 and AdvancedMD for approximately $1.1 billion in December 2024. Global Payments' core Merchant Solutions segment provides payment technology and software solutions worldwide, including authorization, settlement, funding, chargeback resolution, POS software, and commerce enablement services such as data analytics, payroll, and inventory management, monetized primarily through transaction-based fees and software subscriptions. The company operates through three business pillars: POS and Software Solutions (branded "Genius"), Integrated and Embedded Solutions (embedded payments within partner software), and Core Payments Solutions (direct sales and referral partnerships).

It processes transactions for major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, UnionPay) under both sponsorship and direct membership models. The discontinued Issuer Solutions business, historically a leading provider of commerce solutions for financial institution issuers (core processing, card production, fraud strategy, and related services), was divested as part of the Worldpay transaction. Global Payments competes against a fragmented set of financial institutions, fintechs, and payment providers including Fiserv, FIS, Stripe, Block, Adyen, Worldline, and Nexi, among others.

Its strategic priorities include expanding cloud-based POS and software offerings, growing integrated/embedded payments leadership, scaling core payment channels, investing in AI and commerce enablement innovation, and delivering superior customer experiences, supported by competitive strengths in technology, global distribution, scalable infrastructure, long-term partnerships, and disciplined M&A. The company emphasizes human capital management through its "People, Access and Belonging" strategy, with a workforce split roughly 50% Americas, 22% Europe, and 28% Asia-Pacific. Global Payments operates under extensive regulatory oversight spanning payment network rules, U.S. financial regulations (Dodd-Frank, FTC, CFPB oversight), European payment institution licensing (PSD2, DORA), data privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA), and anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, and sanctions regulations across its global operations.