Global Payments Inc Liquidation Value

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) as of March 31, 2026 presents a deeply negative liquidation recovery posture, consistent with the prior period but materially worsened by the January 9, 2026 acquisition of Worldpay and simultaneous divestiture of Issuer Solutions. The company's balance sheet is dominated by intangible assets that carry zero liquidation value under the lens applied here.

Asset side: Total assets of $64.3B are composed primarily of goodwill ($27.1B, zero recovery), finite-lived intangibles net ($20.2B, zero recovery), and PP&E/ROU ($2.0B, 50-70% recovery yielding roughly $1.0-1.4B). Tangible assets with meaningful recovery are limited to cash and equivalents ($5.9B at 100%, though $3.8B is functionally encumbered as settlement-related, merchant reserve, or customer funds per MD&A, leaving approximately $2.1B freely available), accounts receivable ($1.4B at 90-95% = ~$1.3B), notes receivable noncurrent ($829M at fair value $850M, Level 3 discounted cash flow - recovery uncertain in liquidation), and other current assets including prepaid ($1.0B, partial recovery). Settlement assets current ($3.4B) are offset almost entirely by settlement liabilities ($5.8B net negative). Restricted cash ($263M) is encumbered.

Liability side at face value: Long-term debt and capital lease obligations total approximately $22.6B (current + noncurrent combined), including $16.2B senior notes, $3.5B convertible notes ($2.0B 1.5% due 2031 + $1.5B 1.0% due 2029), $1.6B revolving credit facility, $1.1B commercial paper, and $1.0B settlement lines. Current liabilities of $14.7B include $2.6B accrued income taxes current, $3.7B accounts payable and accrued liabilities, $5.8B settlement liabilities, and $1.6B current debt. Noncurrent liabilities include $2.7B deferred tax liabilities, $1.1B other noncurrent liabilities, and $354.9M CVR liability related to Visa preferred shares assumed from Worldpay.

The Worldpay acquisition added ~$10.0B goodwill and approximately $9.0B+ of intangibles (implied by the net intangible step-up), all of which recover at zero. It also layered in $6.2B in new senior notes (November 2025) and $1.0B additional notes (March 2026) at face value on the liability stack. Operating cash flow was negative $289M for Q1 2026, reflecting transaction and integration costs of $387M. A subsequent event $1.0B term loan (April 2026) adds further to the liability stack not yet reflected on this balance sheet.

MFFAIS CLV/LLV is reported at approximately negative $8.9B / negative $7.5B, consistent with the analysis above. Equity book value of $23.8B is almost entirely composed of goodwill and intangibles; under liquidation, equity recovery to common shareholders is substantially negative after applying standard haircuts and settling all obligations at face.