Global Payments’ Worldpay acquisition can accelerate revenue growth after weaker Q1

The news: Global Payments’ adjusted net revenues grew 1% YoY, or 5% YoY on a constant currency basis ex-dispositions, per its earnings release—down from 7% in Q1 2024.

• Merchant Solutions adjusted net revenues grew 1% YoY.
• Issuer Solutions adjusted net revenues increased 3% YoY.

Why it matters: Global Payments made waves when it agreed to acquire Worldpay in a three-way deal with FIS worth a whopping $24.25 billion. As part of this deal, Global Payments will also sell its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for $13.5 billion.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Why it made this deal: Acquiring Worldpay will bring synergies and other cost-saving opportunities, which Global Payments CEO Cameron Bready outlined during the company’s earnings call.

• Worldpay and Global Payments together can offer enhanced capabilities to their merchants as well as their platform partners. The two can also cross-sell products and services across their customer bases.
• Acquiring Worldpay will also help Global Payments expand to new markets like Japan and France.
• The combined entity will also save money by eliminating redundant vendors, software, and organizational structures.

Global Payments is forecasting approximately $600M in annualized run-rate expense synergies.

Our take: The synergies and cost savings from this deal will help Global Payments grow its business and accelerate its revenue growth.

This megadeal could also signal a reversal of the line-blurring that took place across the payments industry as payment players tried to own more of the transaction value chain. This deal redraws some of those lines, making Global Payments a pure-play commerce solutions provider, while FIS leans into the issuer market.