Global Payments (GPN) Competitors

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and media sentiment.

Which has more volatility and risk, MA or GPN?

Mastercard has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Payments has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MA or GPN more profitable?

Mastercard has a net margin of 44.93% compared to Global Payments' net margin of 15.07%. Mastercard's return on equity of 200.01% beat Global Payments' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mastercard	44.93%	200.01%	29.26%
Global Payments	15.07%	12.47%	5.97%

Which has better valuation and earnings, MA or GPN?

Mastercard has higher revenue and earnings than Global Payments. Global Payments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mastercard, 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
Mastercard	$28.17B	18.42	$12.87B	$14.83	38.70
Global Payments	$10.11B	2.09	$1.57B	$5.72	15.23

Do analysts rate MA or GPN?

Mastercard presently has a consensus target price of $634.04, indicating a potential upside of 10.47%. Global Payments has a consensus target price of $103.75, indicating a potential upside of 19.07%. Given Global Payments' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Global Payments is more favorable than Mastercard.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mastercard	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	25 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Global Payments	0 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.35

Do institutionals and insiders believe in MA or GPN?

97.3% of Mastercard shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of Global Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Mastercard shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Global 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.

Is MA or GPN a better dividend stock?

Mastercard pays an annual dividend of $3.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Global Payments pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mastercard pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Payments pays out 17.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Mastercard has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Global Payments is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor MA or GPN?

In the previous week, Mastercard had 58 more articles in the media than Global Payments. MarketBeat recorded 78 mentions for Mastercard and 20 mentions for Global Payments. Mastercard's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Global Payments' score of 1.00 indicating that Mastercard is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Mastercard	68 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Global Payments	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Mastercard beats Global Payments on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.