Shift4 Payments (FOUR) Competitors

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) and Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility & risk, IQV or FOUR?

IQVIA has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer IQV or FOUR?

IQVIA currently has a consensus price target of $224.95, suggesting a potential upside of 16.69%. Shift4 Payments has a consensus price target of $116.70, suggesting a potential upside of 10.33%. Given IQVIA's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe IQVIA is more favorable than Shift4 Payments.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IQVIA	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Shift4 Payments	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is IQV or FOUR more profitable?

IQVIA has a net margin of 8.61% compared to Shift4 Payments' net margin of 6.50%. Shift4 Payments' return on equity of 32.97% beat IQVIA's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IQVIA	8.61%	29.16%	6.96%
Shift4 Payments	6.50%	32.97%	7.17%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in IQV or FOUR?

89.6% of IQVIA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of IQVIA shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, IQV or FOUR?

IQVIA has higher revenue and earnings than Shift4 Payments. IQVIA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shift4 Payments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IQVIA	$15.50B	2.15	$1.37B	$7.34	26.26
Shift4 Payments	$3.33B	2.81	$229.60M	$2.96	35.73

Does the media refer more to IQV or FOUR?

In the previous week, IQVIA had 10 more articles in the media than Shift4 Payments. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for IQVIA and 16 mentions for Shift4 Payments. IQVIA's average media sentiment score of 1.16 beat Shift4 Payments' score of 0.19 indicating that IQVIA is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
IQVIA	16 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Shift4 Payments	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats IQVIA on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.