Shift4, which handles card payments for restaurants and hotels, cut its yearly targets as diners and European travelers spend less, and it expects weakness into 2027.
Shift4 Payments, a company that processes card payments at restaurants, hotels and shops, lowered its profit and revenue targets for the year. It said on Thursday that weak spending by diners and travelers is the cause. The company also expects those conditions to last into 2027. Its shares have fallen about 36% over the past year, including a 4.5% drop on Thursday.
Shift4 released its third-quarter results on Thursday. CEO Taylor Lauber called the backdrop "more challenging than we've seen in recent years." The company cut its profit outlook and its gross revenue target for the full year. Chief Financial Officer Christopher Cruz said the company is taking a more cautious approach to its financial planning, because the overall environment makes it hard not to.
Much of the pain is in Europe. Shift4 owns Global Blue, a Swiss firm that helps travelers get tax-free shopping. Shift4 bought it last year for $2.5 billion, including taking on $1 billion in debt. That business is about 20% of Shift4's revenue. The Middle East and southeast Asia are big sources of its travelers, and fallout from the Iran conflict has hurt demand.
In the U.S., the company says people worn down by high prices are dining out less. Shift4 had expected restaurant sales to improve in the second half of 2026. They did not. Cruz said some comparisons with last year turned negative in October.
Restaurant and shop owners rely on their payment company to keep systems running and to keep investing in them. Shift4's numbers also work as a check on spending. Fewer meals and fewer tourist purchases show up in what the company reports.
Some analysts want a clearer plan. William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey wrote that investors still do not know why the Global Blue deal happened. It was made under former CEO Jared Isaacman, who left last year to become NASA administrator. Jeffrey also said Shift4 has not yet shown it can make money from a new payment device rolled out in 15 European countries.
Shift4 also said it will buy Paramount Commerce, a Toronto firm focused on pay-by-bank. That lets customers pay straight from a bank account instead of a card. Paramount serves DraftKings, FanDuel and Telus in Canada. Terms were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to close in the next few weeks.
Shift4 says weak conditions should continue into 2027. It has not said when spending might recover. Lauber noted that employees, management and the founder own about 42% of the company, and said the market is "punishing any misgivings."
Weak diner and traveler spending is now showing up in a major payments company's results, and it expects the softness to last into 2027.
Mastercard describes AI tools that could buy things for you, and says trust is the hard part: who gets to spend your money, and under what rules.
Read more: Mastercard outlines how AI assistants could shop and pay for youFake PayPal emails and texts, some posing as a security report, try to get you to tap a link and type your login. Checking your account directly avoids the trap.
Read more: Got a fake PayPal message? Skip its link and check your account yourselfSecurity firm Flashpoint says criminals are trading in refund tricks, gift card fraud and hacked online stores ahead of the holidays. Shop owners should check their refund steps.
Read more: Scammers are targeting store refunds and gift cards before the holidays
