Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) and Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Critical Contrast

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Corpay shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Shift4 Payments and Corpay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shift4 Payments	5.02%	40.19%	6.61%
Corpay	24.37%	37.83%	7.26%

Volatility and Risk

Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.68, suggesting that its share price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corpay has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Shift4 Payments and Corpay, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shift4 Payments	0	6	15	1	2.77
Corpay	0	5	9	0	2.64

Shift4 Payments presently has a consensus price target of $96.95, suggesting a potential upside of 51.04%. Corpay has a consensus price target of $375.43, suggesting a potential upside of 21.21%. Given Shift4 Payments’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Shift4 Payments is more favorable than Corpay.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Shift4 Payments and Corpay”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shift4 Payments	$3.33 billion	1.71	$229.60 million	$2.13	30.14
Corpay	$3.97 billion	5.45	$1.00 billion	$14.73	21.03

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

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats Corpay on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions. The company also offers suite of technology solutions, such as Lighthouse, a cloud-based business intelligence tool that includes customer engagement, social media management, online reputation management, scheduling, and product pricing, as well as reporting and analytics; integrated POS for merchants business; and Skytab, a mobile payment solution. In addition, it provides marketplace technology that enable seamless integrations into third-party applications, which includes online delivery services, payroll, timekeeping, and other human resource services. Further, the company offers merchant management, training and education, marketing management, and incentives tracking solutions. Additionally, it provides merchant underwriting, onboarding and activation, training, risk management, and support services; and software integrations and compliance management, and partner support and services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About Corpay

Corpay, Inc. operates as a payments company that helps businesses and consumers manage vehicle-related expenses, lodging expenses, and corporate payments in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers vehicle payment solutions, which include fuel, tolls, parking, fleet maintenance, and long-haul transportation services, as well as prepaid food and transportation vouchers and cards. It also provides corporate payment solutions consisting of accounts payable automation; virtual cards, cross-border solutions; and purchasing and travel and entertainment card products, as well as lodging payments solutions for employees who travel overnight for work purposes; traveling crews and stranded passengers from airlines and cruise lines; and insurance policyholders displaced from their homes due to damage or catastrophe. In addition, the company offers gifts and payroll cards. It serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers. The company was formerly known as FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Corpay, Inc. in March 2024. Corpay, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.