As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the payment processing industry, including Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) and its peers.

Payment processors facilitate transactions between merchants, consumers, and financial institutions. Growth comes from e-commerce expansion, declining cash usage globally, and value-added services beyond basic processing. Headwinds include margin pressure from merchant negotiating power, rapid technological change requiring investment, and emerging competition from technology companies entering the payments ecosystem.

The 4 payment processing stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 49.6% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q4: Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR)

Starting as a payment gateway provider in 1999 and now processing over $200 billion in annual payment volume, Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR) provides integrated payment processing solutions and software that help businesses accept and manage transactions across in-store, online, and mobile channels.

Shift4 reported revenues of $1.19 billion, up 34% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance meeting analysts’ expectations.

Shift4 pulled off the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Still, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 17.5% since reporting and currently trades at $48.54.

Is now the time to buy Shift4? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: EVERTEC (NYSE: EVTC)

Operating one of Latin America's leading PIN debit networks called ATH, EVERTEC (NYSE: EVTC) is a payment transaction processor and financial technology provider that enables merchants and financial institutions across Latin America and the Caribbean to accept and process electronic payments.

EVERTEC reported revenues of $244.8 million, up 13.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.3%. The business had a very strong quarter with full-year revenue and EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

EVERTEC achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 17.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $30.27.

Is now the time to buy EVERTEC? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV)

Powering over 1 billion accounts and processing more than 12,000 financial transactions per second globally, Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) provides payment processing and financial technology solutions that enable merchants, banks, and credit unions to accept payments and manage financial transactions.

Fiserv reported revenues of $4.9 billion, flat year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a mixed quarter as it posted a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but full-year EPS guidance meeting analysts’ expectations.

Fiserv delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 2.5% since the results and currently trades at $61.62.

Read our full analysis of Fiserv’s results here.

Jack Henry (NASDAQ: JKHY)

Founded in 1976 by two entrepreneurs who saw the need for specialized banking software in the early days of financial computing, Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ: JKHY) provides technology solutions that help banks and credit unions innovate, differentiate, and compete while serving the evolving needs of their accountholders.

Jack Henry reported revenues of $611.2 million, up 6.7% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is down 7.7% since reporting and currently trades at $153.32.

Read our full, actionable report on Jack Henry here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

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