by Matt Rej
Ten major payment processors announced earnings so far this month. This information is crucial for merchants using these providers, as the results contain deep insights into potential rate changes in the future.
I’ve pulled some key numbers from each processor below, along with my insider take on what this means for merchants moving forward.
Takeaways from Toast’s 4Q25 Results
Toast announced its Q4 2025 Earnings Report earlier this month, on February 12th. Here are some of the key numbers that stood out to me:
- Revenue up 22% (vs. 25.1% previous qtr)
- 58 bps net take rake (vs. 61 basis points previous qtr)
- 8,000 new locations added (vs. 7,500 previous qtr)
- Market share for SMB and mid-market restaurants in US has roughly doubled in 3 years
- Scaling market share continues to remain a priority
Toast has been a growth machine over the last several years.
Adding 8k locations in Q4 puts their total at roughly 30,000 new locations for the year, which is a new record for them. And on the earnings call, leadership is predicting that 2026 will be another record year for location adds.
I found it interesting that Toast CFO Elena Gomez specifically said that Toast has been “absorbing higher tariff costs” related to its hardware.
I think this aligns with the company’s overall growth mission. But I don’t know if it’s something they can do forever. And if hardware costs remain high on their end, I think they’ll eventually have to be passed through to merchants.
Other highlights from the earnings call include:
- Toast IQ is a priority and adoption has been strong
- 1+ million queries in less than 4 months since its launch
- AI remains a priority and opportunity
Merchants should also keep an eye out for a new drive-thru product that Toast is planning to release at some point in 2026.
Global Payments 4Q25 Earnings Summary
Global Payments released its fourth quarter earnings on February 18th.
Beyond the revenue numbers, much of the call’s focus was about integrating Worldpay (following last month’s acquisition) and scaling its Genius product for enterprise.
- Adjusted net revenue up 1.4% (vs. 3% previous qtr)
- Adjusted operating margins down 30 bps (vs. up 110 bps previous qtr)
- ~5% adjusted net revenue growth expected for FY 2026
- ~150 bps operating margin expansion for FY26
Global just completed one of the largest acquisitions in the history of payment processing. So obviously, getting Worldpay into their systems as smoothly as possible will be a priority.
With growth numbers less-than-stellar, I find it interesting that Global still predicts they’ll have a strong year. Despite “modest” growth in the first half of the year.
Where will that revenue come from?
I know that Global has ambitious goals for its Genius product. But if history gives us any indication, I’d expect rate increases from Global and its subsidiaries (including Worldpay) at least once in 2026.
Highlights from PayPal’s 4Q25 Results
The biggest news from PayPal’s earnings call was that the board fired CEO Alex Chriss. The company underperformed by a longshot, and Chriss ran out of chances.
- FX-Neutral revenue up 3% (vs. 5% previous qtr)
- Transaction revenue up 3% (vs. 6% previous qtr)
- Branded checkout TPV up 1% (vs. 5% previous qtr)
- 1% growth in international revenue (vs. 7% previous qtr)
- 1% growth in total active accounts
PayPal’s branded checkout numbers were the most disappointing, and finding ways to fix this was a top priority on the earnings call.
Overall, it’s never a good sign for merchants when a processor’s numbers fall short of expectations. Their strategy moving forward includes plans to:
- Scale value-added services
- Prioritize merchants making up top 25% of branded checkout volume
- Invest in biometrics, new features, and a new app
The VAS emphasis really stands out to me. I think they’re going to be upselling lots of their existing customers using both PayPal and Braintree (and I already pointed this out shortly after I heard the call).
Enrique Lores will begin his role as the new CEO of PayPal on March 1st. We’ll continue to keep our eyes on his actions once he takes a seat in that chair at the head of the table.
Key Fiserv 4Q25 Earnings
Fiserv’s earnings from 4Q25 were released on February 10th. Overall, the company’s growth remained stagnant or slumped in several key categories:
- No organic revenue growth (vs. 1% previous qtr)
- 1% growth in merchant solutions organic revenue (vs. 5% last qtr)
- -2% growth in financial solutions organic revenue (vs. -3% last qtr)
- -4% growth in banking organic revenue (vs. -7% last qtr)
- Adjusted operating margins down 800 bps compared to previous year
Despite poor performance basically everywhere, Clover continues to perform well:
- Clover revenue was up 12% (vs. 26% previous qtr)
- 27% penetration in Clover VAS.
- Clover PracticePay is on track to launch in 1Q26.
Clover’s growth was notably slower in 4Q25 vs. 3Q25, but it was still double digits and the clear shining star in an otherwise disappointing call for investors.
Fiserv has yet to announce any rate increases in 2026. But with numbers like this, I’ll be shocked if we don’t see this soon. Last year, we saw increases in March and September-November. So another Spring/Fall pacing might be ahead.
Leadership focused on its “One Fiserv Action Plan” to guide decisions in 2026. One thing that may have tipped their hand signaling a rate increase around this initiative was when CEO Michael Lyons said they want to “increase average revenue per customer” which is typically corporate-speak for raising prices.
Adyen 2H25 Earnings Results
Adyen published its 2H results from 2025 on February 12th. Growth continues to be impressive, but their investments are definitely worth keeping a close eye on, as it could have a trickle-down effect on merchants.
Here are some key numbers:
- FX-Neutral revenues up 21% (same as previous half)
- Processing volume up 12% (vs. 5% previous half)
- Excluding single largest customer, processing volume is up 19%
- 2026 net revenue is expected to grow 20-22% YoY
- Unified commerce volume is up 30% (vs. 35% previous half)
The numbers are strong for Adyen.
One thing that stood out to me is that they hired 203 new full-time employees in the second half of last year. That’s in addition to the 223 they hired in the first half of 2025, bringing their grand total to 425+ for the year.
Moving forward, they also plan to hire 550-650 net new employees throughout 2026.
1,000 new employees over a two-year stretch is definitely noteworthy. And while they have the money to invest, I can’t help but wonder if merchants are going to bear the burden of these costs.
Jack Henry’s 2Q26 Summary
Jack Henry’s FY2Q26 results were released this month. Key takeaways include:
- 6.5% revenue increase (vs. 8.7% previous qtr)
- 9% increase in complementary segment revenue (same as previous qtr)
- Operating margins up 355 bps
- 6.4% to 7.1% revenue growth estimates for FY26 (non GAAP)
Numbers aside, the call noted that the recent consolidation of a competitor has positively impacted the company.
Jack Henry says they’re winning in a market that continues to consolidate. And they’ve outgrown competitors in terms of market share growth.
They’re adding 100-150 new SMB clients per month.
FIS 4Q25 Results Summary
Here are some of the key numbers from the latest FIS earnings call:
- 7.4% adjusted revenue growth (vs. 6.3% previous qtr)
- 8.3% banking adjusted revenue (vs. 6.2% previous qtr)
- Adjusted EBITDA margins down -36 basis points
- 5.6% growth in capital markets adjusted revenue (vs. 6.4% previous qtr)
- 1Q26 estimated results better than FY26 estimates
FIS made a point to focus on AI and banking for 2026. They believe that their proprietary data throughout the entire lifecycle of spend puts them in a position to create AI solutions that competitors can’t replicate. This is particularly the case with their banking strategy.
Key Takeaways From Stripe’s Annual Letter
Stripe published its annual letter on February 24th. Here are some of the highlights and key numbers that jumped out to me:
- $1.9 trillion in payment volume in 2025, 34% YoY growth.
- Record year for customers adding Stripe, with 57% based outside of the US.
- 81,000 businesses using Stripe Capital (45% YoY growth)
Numbers aside, it’s clear that Stripe is prioritizing agentic commerce. They’ve partnered with OpenAI to create shopping experiences within ChatGPT, and they’re doing the same thing with Microsoft/Copilot.
Stripe’s vision for agentic commerce includes eliminating web forms with payment and shipping details, before getting even more advanced with descriptive search, preferences, and reasoning.
I think we’re going to see Stripe pushing even more value-added services to both new and existing customers this year.
The letter specifically called out ways they can optimize payments from products like:
- Stripe Radar
- Authorization Boost
- Checkout Suite
But these all cost money for merchants, and generate more revenue for Stripe.
Shift4 Q4 2025 Earnings Recap
Shift4 released its 4Q25 earnings on February 27th. Key takeaways include:
- 51% YoY growth in gross revenue less network fees
- 23% growth in YoY volume
- 19% growth in YoY payment revenue
- 49% growth estimated gross revenue less network fees in 1Q26
- 26-31% estimated gross revenue less network fees in FY26
Shift4 is growing rapidly, which is largely due to last year’s acquisitions of Global Blue and Smartpay.
One key note from the earnings call was how they are noticing the impact of a K-shaped economy, which has been making headlines the last year or so. Shift4 is a huge player in payment processing for hotels and hospitality. And they said higher-end rooms are doing well, while low-end hotels are struggling.
Integrating Global Blue is a top priority moving forward, as is international expansion throughout 2026.
Block 4Q25 Summary (and Major Announcement)
The biggest story from Block is Jack Dorsey’s announcement that 40% of its staff is being laid off, citing AI as the reason. It sent shockwaves throughout the tech world and Wall Street, as it’s being spun as a sign of similar layoffs to come from other companies.
In terms of Block’s earnings:
- 24% increase in gross profit (vs. 18% previous qtr)
- 7% increase in Square gross profit (vs. 9% previous qtr)
- 10% increase in Square GPV (vs. 12% previous qtr)
- $2.8B estimated gross profit for 1Q26
- 21% estimated operating margins in 1Q26
It’s unclear how the mass layoffs could impact merchants using Square. It’s also unclear whether Dorsey is a genius for this move or simply needed a quick way to meet investor expectations for growth.
They now have partnerships with over 100 ISOs who are helping to scale direct sales. And while ~4k jobs are being cut, it seems as though the ~140 field service sales reps are still being prioritized. As Block’s NVA growth from sales reps increased by 62% in 4Q25 (higher than the 40% target).