Global Payments Inc vs Tidewater Inc — how do they compare? Global Payments Inc trades at $78.2 (market cap $21.40B), while Tidewater Inc trades at $74.6 (market cap $3.72B). The key difference: Global Payments Inc is far larger — about 5.8× Tidewater Inc's market cap, and Global Payments Inc pays a 1.28% dividend while Tidewater Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| GPN | TDW | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $21.40B | $3.72B |
Sector | Industrials | Utilities |
52-Week High | $90.01 | $91.12 |
52-Week Low | $62.47 | $46.32 |
Enterprise Value | $39.11B | $3.83B |
Dividend Yield | 1.28% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Global Payments (GPN) trades at $79.67, up 4.98% today, with a bullish technical outlook and strong earnings beats in recent quarters. The company shows robust operating cash flow of $2.66B in 2025 and benefits from strategic initiatives like the Worldpay integration and AI-powered POS expansions. However, net income margin turned negative at -7.97% for 2026, reflecting margin pressures amid rising costs and competitive fintech landscape.
GPN presents a mixed outlook: analyst consensus is bullish with a $81.56 price target (58% buy ratings), but investors face risks from debt growth (debt-to-asset ratio rising to 41.57% in 2025) and profitability challenges. Near-term catalysts include continued execution on commerce technology deals, while volatility may persist from macroeconomic headwinds.
Tidewater (TDW) trades at $74.93, up 1.3% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages but bearish oscillators suggesting potential overbought conditions. Fundamentally, the company maintains strong profitability with a 22.16% net margin and 24.03% ROE, though recent Q1 2026 earnings of $0.12 per share significantly missed expectations of $0.75. The company reported 2025 revenue of $1.35 billion with net income of $334.66 million, while generating robust operating cash flow of $379.11 million.
The outlook presents mixed signals: strong fundamentals and cash generation support valuation, but recent earnings misses and analyst caution (61.54% hold rating) suggest near-term challenges. Key risks include execution volatility in offshore marine services and potential revenue pressure as 2026 projections show declining figures. The stock appears reasonably valued at 12.63 P/E, offering potential for patient investors despite near-term headwinds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Global Payments is a leading provider of payment processing and software solutions and focuses on serving small and midsize merchants. The company operates in 30 countries and generates about one fourth of its revenue from outside North America, primarily in Europe and Asia. In 2019, Global Payments merged with Total System Services in an all-stock deal that gave Total System Services shareholders 48% of the combined company's shares.
Read more on GPN →Tidewater is the leading global provider of offshore support vessels (OSVs) to the energy industry. With the world's largest fleet of platform supply vessels (PSVs) and anchor handling tugs (AHTS), it provides critical logistics and marine support for offshore oil, gas, and renewable energy projects. Following a period of massive strategic consolidation, Tidewater is now focused on maximizing day rates and free cash flow in a supply-constrained market, positioning itself as a primary beneficiary of the multi-year offshore upcycle.
Read more on TDW →