Financial Review: Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) and Worldline (OTCMKTS:WWLNF)

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) and Worldline (OTCMKTS:WWLNF) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Global Payments has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Worldline has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Global Payments and Worldline’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Payments	19.68%	12.66%	6.12%
Worldline	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Global Payments and Worldline, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Payments	1	15	5	2	2.35
Worldline	0	0	0	0	0.00

Global Payments presently has a consensus target price of $91.75, suggesting a potential upside of 34.00%. Given Global Payments’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Global Payments is more favorable than Worldline.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.8% of Global Payments shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Global Payments shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Global Payments and Worldline”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Payments	$10.11 billion	1.60	$1.57 billion	$7.12	9.62
Worldline	$5.01 billion	0.10	-$321.38 million	N/A	N/A

Global Payments has higher revenue and earnings than Worldline.

Summary

Global Payments beats Worldline on 13 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc. provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services. This segment also provides an array of enterprise software solutions that streamline business operations of its customers in various vertical markets; and value-added solutions and services, such as point-of-sale software, analytics and customer engagement, payroll and reporting, and human capital management. The Issuer Solutions segment offers solutions that enable financial institutions and retailers to manage their card portfolios through a platform; and commercial payments, account payables, and electronic payment alternatives solutions for businesses and governments. It markets its products and services through direct sales force, trade associations, agent and enterprise software providers, referral arrangements with value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Worldline

Worldline SA provides payments and transactional services to financial institutions, merchants, corporations, and government agencies in Northern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Merchant Services; Financial Services; and Mobility & e-Transactional Services segments. The Merchant Services segment offers commercial acquiring, terminal, omnichannel payment acceptance, and digital retail services. The Financial Services segment provides issuing processing, acquiring processing, digital banking, and account payments services. The Mobility & e-Transactional Services segment offers trusted digitization, e-ticketing, and e-consumer and mobility. The company was formerly known as Atos Worldline S.A.S. and changed its name to Worldline SA in April 2014. Worldline SA was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Puteaux, France.