October’s Market Tumult Ensnares Most Processor Stocks

The stock-market volatility in October, which saw the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index decrease 7.8% by the end of the month, spared few of the publicly held payment processors tracked by Barrington Research, a Chicago-based investment firm.

In its monthly report, Barrington Research says only Puerto Rico-based Evertec Inc., Euronet Worldwide Inc., and Russia-based Qiwi plc posted positive price results for the month, with the 23 other companies experiencing lower stock prices by Oct. 31.

October’s overall activity was riddled with big dips, especially among technology companies. Payments processors were not immune.

“It was just really the overall volatility of the downside in the market,” Gary F.  Prestopino, managing director at Barrington Research, tells Digital Transactions News. Most of these payments companies didn’t report earnings in October, which suggests the downswings could have been more affected by the overall market.

Square Inc. recorded the largest decrease, going from $99.01 on Sept. 28 to $73.45 on Oct. 31, a 25.82% drop. First Data Corp. fell from $24.47 to $18.74, a 23.42% decrease. Rounding out the top three decliners is Everi Holdings, $9.17 to $7.20, a 21.48% decrease.

Euronet was the top gainer. Its stock price went from $100.22 to $111.18, a 10.94% increase. Euronet announced in October that. beginning next year. Visa Inc. will allow dynamic-currency conversion for consumers using international ATMs. Euronet operates 41,000 ATMs globally.

Evertec’s stock increased from $24.10 to $26.08, an 8.22% rise. Qiwi’s stock went from $13.18 to $13.20, a 0.23% increase.

Prestopino says the outlook is “still very good. The outlook is very good and people are spending money, incomes are going up.”

The market likely will resume an upward trend following Tuesday’s mid-term national election, he says. “There’s no reason it shouldn’t.”