Shift4 Payments (FOUR) Competitors

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

Is IQV or FOUR more profitable?

IQVIA has a net margin of 7.88% compared to Shift4 Payments' net margin of 6.11%. Shift4 Payments' return on equity of 37.05% beat IQVIA's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IQVIA	7.88%	30.05%	6.77%
Shift4 Payments	6.11%	37.05%	6.88%

Which has better valuation & 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	$15.41B	2.10	$1.37B	$6.91	27.60
Shift4 Payments	$3.33B	2.40	$229.60M	$2.70	33.53

Which has more risk & volatility, IQV or FOUR?

IQVIA has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend IQV or FOUR?

IQVIA currently has a consensus target price of $228.62, suggesting a potential upside of 19.88%. Shift4 Payments has a consensus target price of $114.40, suggesting a potential upside of 26.38%. Given Shift4 Payments' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Shift4 Payments is more favorable than IQVIA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IQVIA	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74
Shift4 Payments	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media refer more to IQV or FOUR?

In the previous week, IQVIA had 28 more articles in the media than Shift4 Payments. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for IQVIA and 6 mentions for Shift4 Payments. Shift4 Payments' average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat IQVIA's score of 1.33 indicating that Shift4 Payments is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
IQVIA	26 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Shift4 Payments	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

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

89.6% of IQVIA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of IQVIA shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats IQVIA on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.