Shift4 Payments (FOUR) Competitors

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) and IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Which has more risk & volatility, FOUR or IQV?

Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.81, suggesting that its stock price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IQVIA has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FOUR or IQV more profitable?

IQVIA has a net margin of 7.88% compared to Shift4 Payments' net margin of 6.11%. Shift4 Payments' return on equity of 37.05% beat IQVIA's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shift4 Payments	6.11%	37.05%	6.88%
IQVIA	7.88%	30.05%	6.77%

Does the media favor FOUR or IQV?

In the previous week, IQVIA had 16 more articles in the media than Shift4 Payments. MarketBeat recorded 41 mentions for IQVIA and 25 mentions for Shift4 Payments. IQVIA's average media sentiment score of 1.00 beat Shift4 Payments' score of 0.98 indicating that IQVIA is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Shift4 Payments	11 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
IQVIA	25 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FOUR or IQV?

IQVIA has higher revenue and earnings than Shift4 Payments. IQVIA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shift4 Payments, 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
Shift4 Payments	$3.33B	2.41	$229.60M	$2.70	33.61
IQVIA	$15.41B	2.11	$1.37B	$6.91	27.67

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FOUR or IQV?

98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.6% of IQVIA shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of IQVIA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate FOUR or IQV?

Shift4 Payments presently has a consensus target price of $114.40, indicating a potential upside of 26.05%. IQVIA has a consensus target price of $228.62, indicating a potential upside of 19.58%. Given Shift4 Payments' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Shift4 Payments is more favorable than IQVIA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shift4 Payments	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
IQVIA	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats IQVIA on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.