Global Payments misses earnings estimates amid Worldpay deal | PaymentsSource

Global Payments says it’s getting results from restructuring its point of sale system, but some analysts are concerned that heavy competition in restaurant and retail verticals will stunt its growth. 

Global Payments completed its launch of its Genius point-of-sale system during the second quarter as it redefines the payment firm‘s product set, Global Payments CEO Cameron Bready said Wednesday morning during the call. Genius is Global Payments new cloud-based software-enabled point of sale designed for retail and restaurants.  

“The launch of Genius marks an important milestone in our journey to streamline our solutions, unifying all the Global Payments point-of-sale products into an intuitive and highly configurable new platform, while establishing a stronger and more recognizable brand in the market,” Bready said. 

POS relaunch

The Atlanta-based payments firm launched Genius for restaurants in late May, and has seen sequential growth in the “mid-teens” from April to July. Global Payments completed its retail launch in June, and has posted a 37% year-over-year growth rate in its U.S. direct channel. 

Bready said it onboarded more than 1,000 A&W restaurants in Canada onto Genius during the quarter, and inked a multiyear deal with the Minnesota Twins and Target Field to provide payments services for food and beverage transactions. It also extended its partnership with the Dallas Cowboys and AT&T Stadium, and stood up new partnerships with the Tampa Bay Lightning and two Premier League football teams in the United Kingdom. 

Global Payments also secured approval from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to move ahead with its planned acquisition of Worldpay, which is tracking for completion in the first half of 2026. The Worldpay acquisition is a key piece of Global Payments restructuring strategy because it will be able to sell its Genius products directly to Worldpay merchants, Bready said. 

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Vasundhara Govil called the results “one step in the right direction” in a research note. 

Global Payments earnings, by the numbers

Global Payments’ net income hit $241.64 million, a decline of 35.5% year over year and well below analysts’ consensus of $393.1 million. Diluted earnings per share came in at 99 cents per share, below the expected $1.62. 

“GPN delivered a solid print which shows stabilization in trends and some early momentum in the Genius rollout that is driving optimism around exiting 2025 with a better trendline,” Govil said.   

Revenue including the company’s issuer solutions business, which the company divested from as part of its Worldpay acquisition, landed in line with analysts’ expectations at $2.36 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, according to S&P Capital IQ. Merchant services revenue excluding issuer solutions was $1.96 billion, a 0.7% decrease from the same reporting period last year. 

Some analysts worry that Global Payments’ restructuring efforts are coming at a time when the software-integrated point-of-sale market is getting crowded. 

“We are encouraged that Global is moving forward with its software-integrated POS, but we believe innovations will prove too little, too late in an increasingly competitive market,” William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey said in a research note. 

“The company launched Genius for restaurants and retail in the second quarter, several years after Clover, a few quarters after Square upgraded solutions, and at least a year after Shift4 began aggressively marketing SkyTab,” Jeffrey said. 

Bready maintains that Global Payments can set itself apart by offering Genius in international markets where its competitors don’t have access. 

“Unlike many of our competitors, we have a significant opportunity to continue expanding Genius in international geographies and to capitalize on the strong secular growth trends and POS demands in regions like Europe,” Bready said. “This is one of the most exciting aspects of the Genius growth story.”