by Matt Rej
Six major payment processors announced earnings 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.