Payment processing company Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 34% year on year to $1.19 billion. On the other hand, next quarter’s revenue guidance of $547.5 million was less impressive, coming in 51.6% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.60 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Shift4 (FOUR) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Volume: $59 billion
- Revenue: $1.19 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.19 billion (34% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Pre-tax Profit: $67 million (5.6% margin)
- Adjusted EPS: $1.60 vs analyst estimates of $1.60 (in line)
- Revenue Guidance for Q1 CY2026 is $547.5 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $1.13 billion
- Adjusted EPS guidance for the upcoming financial year 2026 is $5.60 at the midpoint, missing analyst estimates by 13.2%
- Market Capitalization: $3.95 billion
Company Overview
Starting as a payment gateway provider in 1999 and now processing over $200 billion in annual payment volume, Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR) provides integrated payment processing solutions and software that help businesses accept and manage transactions across in-store, online, and mobile channels.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Over the last five years, Shift4 grew its revenue at an incredible 40.4% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth surpassed the average financials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. Shift4’s annualized revenue growth of 27.7% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, Shift4’s year-on-year revenue growth of 34% was wonderful, and its $1.19 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates. Company management is currently guiding for a 35.5% year-on-year decline in sales next quarter.
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Key Takeaways from Shift4’s Q4 Results
We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its full-year revenue guidance missed and its full-year EPS guidance fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock traded down 1.7% to $56.40 immediately after reporting.
Shift4’s earnings report left more to be desired. Let’s look forward to see if this quarter has created an opportunity to buy the stock. We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
