Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CPAY scored 81.5, FOUR scored 71.0 — CPAY leads.
Compare another set
CPAY
Corpay, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
81.5
$397.67 · $26.1B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
10.5
CPAY leads
FOUR
Shift4 Payments, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
71
$39.85 · $3.1B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestCPAY24.2x
Fastest growthFOUR+32.4%
Strongest balance sheetFOUR2.62
Highest qualityCPAY88 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueFOUR-59%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CPAY
stronger →← stronger
FOUR
88
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
54
91
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
86
68
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
77
CPAY is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CPAY
FOUR
$1.6bC+
FCF
$433mC
+20.4%A-
Rev
+32.4%A
2.75D
D/E
2.62D
24.2xB+
P/E
63.3xC
0.76A-
PEG
0.29A
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
CPAY
FOUR
23% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
59% below
~3%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-8%/yr
+12%
1-yr DCF upside
+89%
+30%
5-yr DCF upside
+144%
+60%
10-yr DCF upside
+250%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
CPAY
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
FOUR
Why this score
Buying back stock
The companies
CPAYCorpay, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $397.67 · beta 0.89
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $26.1b. 7% off the 52-week high of $427.46. Revenue growing +20%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.76 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $461.00 (implying +16% upside).
Moat
Net margin 23% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 32% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 144% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
D/E 2.75 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Software — competitive moat is durable until it isn't; watch net revenue retention, gross margin trends, and any new market entrant with a fundamentally lower price point.
FOURShift4 Payments, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $39.85 · beta 1.39
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $3.1b. Down 49% from 52-week high of $78.61 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +32% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.29 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 21 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $53.90 (implying +35% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income. Software economics — recurring revenue, embedded customer workflows, and high gross margin all compound the moat once a base account is won. Switching costs are the lever.
Risk
D/E 2.62 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Trailing P/E 63.3x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Down 49% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where CPAY and FOUR diverge
On the headline score the gap is 10.5 points in favor of CPAY. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
QualityCPAY 87.9 · FOUR 53.6CPAY +34.3
ValueCPAY 68.0 · FOUR 77.4FOUR +9.4
GrowthCPAY 90.6 · FOUR 86.3CPAY +4.3
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is CPAY or FOUR the better stock?
CPAY scores higher: CPAY 81.5, FOUR 71.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do CPAY and FOUR differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where CPAY leads by 34 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are CPAY and FOUR scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.