Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Jun 27, 2026
GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC (GPN)
A forensic read on GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
B · Sound & dependable
Forensic grade
Grey Zone
Financial health
2.0
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
-3.1%
ROE
$19.1B
Market cap
1.54%
Dividend yield
GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 2.0, placing it in the Grey zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
4%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 4% and rising from 1% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
$866MGoodwill impairments.Took $866M of goodwill writedowns across 2 year(s) (FY2022 ($833M), FY2025 ($33M)) — about 21% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.
-6%Dividend — cut.The payout was CUT ~6% in FY2025 (from FY2024). It still returns some cash, but it is NOT the dependable, rising dividend an unbroken streak implies — weigh the cut when judging reliability.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin18.2%
Debt / Equity0.94x
Free Cash Flow$2.04B
Latest Revenue$7.71B
Return on Equity6.1%
Revenue Growth YoY-0.4%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about GPN's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown