VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS & COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES ★
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Sunday, January 11, 2026
Global Payments Inc.
GPN · New York Stock Exchange
Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.
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Overview
Global Payments Inc. is a payments technology provider operating primarily through Merchant Solutions (merchant acquiring, POS/software, and integrated/embedded payments) and Issuer Solutions (issuer processing and related software). Its moat leans on scale and a broad partner distribution ecosystem in merchant acquiring, and on long-term, mission-critical issuer processing contracts. The markets it serves are competitive and pricing is often negotiated, so retention, software attach, and service quality matter more than raw take-rate. In April 2025, the company announced agreements to acquire Worldpay and divest its Issuer Solutions business to FIS, with closing expected in the first half of 2026 (later guided to Q1 2026).
Primary segment
Merchant Solutions
Market structure
Competitive
Market share
—
HHI: —
Coverage
2 segments · 6 tags
Updated 2026-01-10
Segments
Merchant Solutions
Merchant acquiring and integrated payments (card-present and e-commerce)
Revenue
76.1%
Structure
Competitive
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Issuer Solutions
Issuer processing platforms for card programs (credit/debit/prepaid) and related services
Revenue
24.6%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Moat Claims
Merchant Solutions
Merchant acquiring and integrated payments (card-present and e-commerce)
Revenue share is based on FY2024 segment revenues (Note 18). Segment revenue shares sum slightly above 1.0 because of intersegment eliminations reported separately in the segment note.
Ecosystem Complements
Network
Ecosystem Complements
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Broad partner distribution (financial institutions, ISVs/VARs, and other tech-based providers) helps originate merchants and embed payments inside software platforms.
Erosion risks
- Partner disintermediation or multi-homing
- Software platforms building or owning payments rails
- Industry consolidation reduces referral flow
Leading indicators
- Technology-enabled channel revenue share
- Referral partner retention and renewal outcomes
- Net new integrated and embedded partners
Counterarguments
- Most partner relationships are non-exclusive and can switch processors
- Large platforms may prefer a single global processor with different economics
Data Workflow Lockin
Demand
Data Workflow Lockin
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Vertical software, POS, reporting, and operational tooling integrated with payments create workflow switching costs (especially for SMB and vertical-focused merchants).
Erosion risks
- Payment orchestration layers reduce processor lock-in
- Commoditization of POS hardware and software
- SMB churn in downturns
Leading indicators
- POS/software attach rate to processing
- Merchant churn and win-back rates
- Net revenue retention in software-led verticals
Counterarguments
- Many merchants can switch processors with modest effort, especially for e-commerce
- ISVs can route volume to multiple processors to optimize economics
Scale Economies Unit Cost
Supply
Scale Economies Unit Cost
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Large processing scale supports spreading fixed costs (platform, security, compliance, and ops) and sustaining investment; planned Worldpay acquisition would further increase scale if closed.
Erosion risks
- Cloud infrastructure lowers fixed-cost advantage for smaller entrants
- Aggressive price competition compresses take rates
- Integration and cybersecurity risks from acquisitions
Leading indicators
- Segment operating margin trend
- Cost of service as percent of segment revenue
- Worldpay acquisition closing/regulatory milestones
Counterarguments
- Several rivals have comparable or greater scale (e.g., Fiserv, Worldpay, Adyen, Stripe)
- Scale alone does not guarantee pricing power in acquiring
Issuer Solutions
Issuer processing platforms for card programs (credit/debit/prepaid) and related services
As announced April 17, 2025, Global Payments agreed to divest Issuer Solutions to FIS concurrently with acquiring Worldpay; closing expected in 1H 2026 (company later guided to Q1 2026).
Long Term Contracts
Demand
Long Term Contracts
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Issuer processing revenue is tied to multi-year processing contracts with minimums, penalties, and SLAs, creating contractual stickiness and revenue visibility versus spot pricing.
Erosion risks
- Repricing pressure at renewal
- Large issuer insourcing or vendor consolidation
- Segment divestiture to FIS changes ownership and integration priorities
Leading indicators
- Major contract renewals and RFP outcomes
- Conversion and deconversion pipeline timing
- Platform modernization milestones and client adoption
Counterarguments
- Customers can renegotiate aggressively near expiration
- Large issuers have bargaining power and can dual-source or insource
Switching Costs General
Demand
Switching Costs General
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Core issuer processing is mission-critical; portfolio migrations are complex, which creates switching costs, but customers can evaluate alternatives or insource at renewal.
Erosion risks
- Cloud-native processors and standard APIs reduce migration friction
- Core banking providers bundling processing
- Modernization disruptions prompting early termination
Leading indicators
- Announced deconversions or early terminations
- Client complaints and service-level penalties
- Competitive win/loss rates in RFPs
Counterarguments
- Switching events happen (deconversions) and can be large when they occur
- New entrants can win on modern tech, faster product cycles, or pricing
Compliance Advantage
Legal
Compliance Advantage
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Operating regulated, high-availability payment platforms at scale requires mature security/compliance and fraud capabilities; this can deter smaller entrants, though it is not a full barrier for well-funded competitors.
Erosion risks
- Major security incident undermines trust and triggers churn
- Regulatory change increases cost-to-serve for all players
- Large competitors invest heavily and match compliance capabilities
Leading indicators
- Regulatory findings or enforcement actions
- PCI/cybersecurity incidents and downtime
- Fraud loss rates and chargeback trends
Counterarguments
- Compliance is table-stakes for serious providers
- Does not prevent price-based competition among top-tier processors
Evidence
Strong, long-lasting relationships.
Company cites long-standing relationships with financial institutions and software/VAR partners as a competitive strength, supporting partner-driven distribution and embedded payments.
Streamline business operations.
Merchant Solutions includes business management software and reporting/operations tools, implying workflow integration beyond commodity processing.
Multi-channel, global technology infrastructure.
Management describes a scalable global processing infrastructure that drives operating efficiencies, consistent with scale economies in processing.
Expects the Transactions to close in the first half of 2026.
Provides transaction structure and timing, relevant for near-term business mix and integration/closing risk.
Annual minimums, early termination penalties.
Issuer processing revenues are described as long-term contracts with minimums, penalties, and SLAs, supporting contract-based retention and revenue stability.
Showing 5 of 7 sources.
Risks & Indicators
Erosion risks
- Partner disintermediation or multi-homing
- Software platforms building or owning payments rails
- Industry consolidation reduces referral flow
- Payment orchestration layers reduce processor lock-in
- Commoditization of POS hardware and software
- SMB churn in downturns
Leading indicators
- Technology-enabled channel revenue share
- Referral partner retention and renewal outcomes
- Net new integrated and embedded partners
- POS/software attach rate to processing
- Merchant churn and win-back rates
- Net revenue retention in software-led verticals
Curation & Accuracy
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