Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. FOUR scored 71.0, JKHY scored 72.5 — JKHY leads.
Compare another set
FOUR
Shift4 Payments, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
71
$39.85 · $3.1B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
1.5
JKHY leads
JKHY
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.
Information Technology Services · Quality-Growth
72.5
$149.63 · $10.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestJKHY21.4x
Fastest growthFOUR+32.4%
Strongest balance sheetJKHY0.04
Highest qualityJKHY95 / 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)
FOUR
stronger →← stronger
JKHY
54
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
95
86
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
65
77
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
62
FOUR is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
FOUR
JKHY
$433mC
FCF
$695mC+
+32.4%A
Rev
+7.1%B
2.62D
D/E
0.04A-
63.3xC
P/E
21.4xB+
0.29A
PEG
1.82C+
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
FOUR
JKHY
59% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
39% below
~-8%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-5%/yr
+89%
1-yr DCF upside
+55%
+144%
5-yr DCF upside
+63%
+250%
10-yr DCF upside
+77%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
FOUR
Why this score
Buying back stock
JKHY
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
The companies
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.
JKHYJack Henry & Associates, Inc.
Information Technology Services · $149.63 · beta 0.56
Why now
Information Technology Services · market cap $10.5b. Down 23% from 52-week high of $193.39 — deep drawdown territory. 18 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $189.72 (implying +27% upside).
Moat
Net margin 20% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 25% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 138% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
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 FOUR and JKHY diverge
On the headline score the gap is 1.5 points in favor of JKHY. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
QualityFOUR 53.6 · JKHY 94.9JKHY +41.3
GrowthFOUR 86.3 · JKHY 65.1FOUR +21.2
ValueFOUR 77.4 · JKHY 61.6FOUR +15.8
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 JKHY or FOUR the better stock?
JKHY scores higher: JKHY 72.5, 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 JKHY and FOUR differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where JKHY leads by 41 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 JKHY 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.