Global Payments (GPN) Competitors

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) and Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Does the media favor ADP or GPN?

In the previous week, Automatic Data Processing had 2 more articles in the media than Global Payments. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Automatic Data Processing and 8 mentions for Global Payments. Global Payments' average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Automatic Data Processing's score of 0.91 indicating that Automatic Data Processing is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Automatic Data Processing	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Global Payments	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ADP or GPN?

Automatic Data Processing has higher revenue and earnings than Global Payments. Global Payments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Automatic Data Processing, 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
Automatic Data Processing	$18.01B	5.57	$3.41B	$8.96	27.33
Global Payments	$9.65B	2.69	$986.23M	$5.04	20.21

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ADP or GPN?

80.0% of Automatic Data Processing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of Global Payments shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Automatic Data Processing shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Global Payments shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ADP or GPN?

Global Payments received 435 more outperform votes than Automatic Data Processing when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.28% of users gave Global Payments an outperform vote while only 58.85% of users gave Automatic Data Processing an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Automatic Data Processing	Outperform Votes 632 58.85%	Underperform Votes 442 41.15%
Global Payments	Outperform Votes 1067 71.28%	Underperform Votes 430 28.72%

Do analysts rate ADP or GPN?

Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus price target of $255.42, indicating a potential upside of 4.29%. Global Payments has a consensus price target of $149.11, indicating a potential upside of 46.40%. Given Automatic Data Processing's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Global Payments is more favorable than Automatic Data Processing.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Automatic Data Processing	2 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Global Payments	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	21 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74

Is ADP or GPN more profitable?

Automatic Data Processing has a net margin of 19.56% compared to Automatic Data Processing's net margin of 13.40%. Global Payments' return on equity of 93.09% beat Automatic Data Processing's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Automatic Data Processing	19.56%	93.09%	6.69%
Global Payments	13.40%	11.72%	5.36%

Which has more volatility and risk, ADP or GPN?

Automatic Data Processing has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Payments has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ADP or GPN a better dividend stock?

Automatic Data Processing pays an annual dividend of $5.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Global Payments pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Automatic Data Processing pays out 62.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Payments pays out 19.8% 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. Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend for 48 consecutive years. Automatic Data Processing is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Automatic Data Processing beats Global Payments on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.