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Global Payments Inc. is leaning heavily on its Genius point-of-sale technology platform, integrating the massive processor Worldpay, and reckoning with the impact of the Middle East conflict, the Atlanta-based company said early Wednesday.
Global is keen to promote the multi-market Genius technology, which debuted for restaurants in May last year, followed by a general-retail version in June and one for enterprise companies in September. Global has enlisted 30 banks to help sell the system later this year as the company looks to refresh the technology with updates. And, “We’re investing in new features,” said Global president and chief executive Cameron Bready, including a handheld device for table service at restaurants. Bready spoke during a group call to present Global’s second-quarter results.
Global is investing heavily in Genius, Bready told equity analysts on the call, and planning an event in Las Vegas for later this year to pitch the POS product to resellers. He indicated the technology will help define the payments company for some time to come. This is key for the company, as the small-and-medium-size merchant segment accounts for nearly half of Global’s revenue.
“Genius remains central to our long-term strategy,” Bready said, citing investments in new features, including a handheld device. “Clients are willing to pay for Genius,” Bready told analysts on the call, adding that Global will sell the system through 30 bank partners starting later this year. Already, Global has “accelerated the rollout of Genius” to Global’s merchant base, said chief financial officer Josh Whipple, who joined Bready on the call.
Other initiatives at the company include pilots for an agentic-commerce service, Bready said. Global has recruited “major retailers” for the pilots, he said, though he stopped short of listing them while citing the technology as a “major opportunity” for Global. Agentic commerce involves bits of code, called AI agents, that shop and buy products online on behalf of consumers. “We continue to deploy AI across our platforms,” Bready said.
Another major project is the integration of Worldpay, which Global acquired in January from the processor FIS in a deal valued at a net $24.25 billion. Part of the transaction involved the sale of Global’s Issuer Solutions unit to FIS. Now, “the integration of Worldpay is progressing rapidly,” Bready said. Global is looking to the big processor to help recruit and serve small and medium-size merchants while adding that cohort to its overall customer base, he noted. He credited Worldpay as “a more streamlined organization with faster decision-making.”
The factor Global sees as a moderate “headwind” is the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, which have dampened some of the company’s results. “The situation remains volatile and uncertain,” Bready said. “It will continue to impact our travel portfolio. We still feel good for how the business is positioned for the remainder of the year.” Meanwhile, the upheaval has affected a number of businesses in the region, including airlines, hotels, online booking platforms, and car-rental companies.
For the quarter, Global reported $3.16 billion in adjusted net revenue, including Worldpay and excluding Issuer Solutions, up 4% from the same period last year. Adjusted net income came to $934.3 million, up 24%.
