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Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2025
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
Organization
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (“Shift4 Payments” or “the Company”) was incorporated in Delaware in order to carry on the business of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries. The Company is a leading independent provider of software and payment processing solutions in the United States (“U.S.”) based on total volume of payments processed. During the third quarter of 2025, the Company completed the $2.7 billion acquisition of Global Blue Group Holding AG (“Global Blue”), a leading payments and technology platform, primarily providing tax-free shopping (“TFS”), dynamic currency conversion, and payments solutions to the world’s largest retail brands. The Company’s financial statements include Global Blue’s results since July 3, 2025.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company are unaudited. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”) and the applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial information. These financial statements do not include all information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. The December 31, 2024 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet was derived from audited financial statements as of that date, but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.
In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments consisting only of normal recurring adjustments necessary to state fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with U.S. GAAP applicable to interim periods. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year or future periods. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (the “2024 Form 10-K”).
The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Shift4 Payments, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Shift4 Payments, Inc. consolidates the financial results of Shift4 Payments, LLC, which is considered a variable interest entity. Shift4 Payments, Inc. is the primary beneficiary and sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC and has decision making authority that significantly affects the economic performance of the entity. As a result, the Company consolidates Shift4 Payments, LLC and reports a non-redeemable noncontrolling interest representing the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC held by Rook Holdings Inc. (“Rook”). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
The assets and liabilities of Shift4 Payments, LLC represent substantially all of the consolidated assets and liabilities of Shift4 Payments, Inc. with the exception of certain cash balances, amounts payable under the Tax Receivable Agreement (“TRA”), and the aggregate principal amount of $690.0 million of 2025 Convertible Notes and $632.5 million of 2027 Convertible Notes (together, the “Convertible Notes”) and 10,000,000 shares (representing a $1,000.0 million initial liquidation preference) of Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock that are held by Shift4 Payments, Inc. directly. As of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, $126.9 million and $52.0 million of cash, respectively, was directly held by Shift4 Payments, Inc. As of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the TRA liability was $362.1 million and $365.5 million, respectively. In connection with the issuance of the Convertible Notes, Shift4 Payments, Inc. entered into Intercompany Convertible Notes with Shift4 Payments, LLC, whereby Shift4 Payments, Inc. provided the proceeds from the issuance of the Convertible Notes to Shift4 Payments, LLC in the amount of $1,322.5 million. In connection with the issuance of the Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, Shift4 Payments, Inc. received an issuance of 10,000,000 units of Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Mirror Units (“Mirror Units”) from Shift4 Payments, LLC, in exchange for Shift4 Payments, Inc. providing the proceeds from the issuance of the Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock to Shift4 Payments, LLC in the amount of $1,000.0 million. Shift4 Payments, Inc., which was incorporated on November 5, 2019, has not had any material operations on a standalone basis since its inception, and all of the operations of the Company are carried out by Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries.
Change in Presentation of Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Prior period balances have been adjusted to present “Inventory” within the line item “Prepaid expenses and other assets” within its unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows to conform to the current period presentation.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company elected to change its presentation of the cash flows associated with “Settlement activity, net” from “Operating activities” to present them as “Financing activities” within its unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Prior period balances have been adjusted to conform to the current period presentation.
The following table presents the effects of the change in presentation within the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2024:
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024
As Previously ReportedAdjustmentAs Adjusted
Cash flows from operating activities
Settlement activity, net$(14.4)$14.4 $— 
All other operating activities369.3 — 369.3 
Net cash provided by operating activities$354.9 $14.4 $369.3 
Cash flows from financing activities
Settlement activity, net$— $(14.4)$(14.4)
All other financing activities950.6 — 950.6 
Net cash provided by financing activities$950.6 $(14.4)$936.2 
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant estimates inherent in the preparation of the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include estimates of fair value of acquired assets and liabilities through business combinations, fair value of contingent liabilities related to earnout payments, deferred income tax valuation allowances, amounts associated with the Company’s tax receivable agreement with Rook and certain affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (together, the “Continuing Equity Owners”), allowance for doubtful accounts, income taxes, and non-redeemable noncontrolling interests. Estimates are based on past experience and other considerations reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Significant Accounting Policies
The Company’s significant accounting policies are discussed in Note 1 to Shift4 Payments, Inc.’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024 in the 2024 Form 10-K. Other than as noted below, there have been no significant changes to these policies which have had a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes during the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
Net Investment Hedge
The Company is exposed to foreign currency risk primarily from its net investment in foreign subsidiaries whose functional currencies are different from the U.S. dollar. During the three months ended September 30, 2025, to manage this exposure and mitigate the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, the Company designated its €680 million (or $798.1 million in U.S. dollars) of Euro-denominated 5.500% Senior Notes due 2033 (the “2033 Euro Notes”) as a net investment hedge in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. This hedge is intended to offset changes in the carrying amount of the Company’s net investment in Global Blue attributable to foreign currency exchange rate movements. The change in the fair value of the 2033 Euro Notes attributable to changes in the spot foreign exchange rate is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income to offset the translation adjustment arising from the hedged net investment in Global Blue. During the three months ended September 30, 2025, the amount recorded to accumulated other comprehensive income was immaterial.
The Company assesses hedge effectiveness based on changes in the spot rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro on the notional amount of the debt compared with changes in the spot rate applied to the carrying amount of the net investment. The hedging relationship has been deemed highly effective during all periods presented.
Accounts Receivable Factoring
A portion of the Company’s TFS operation in Europe is party to a factoring agreement to sell certain receivables to an unrelated third-party financial institution on a non-recourse basis. These transactions are accounted for in accordance with ASC Topic 860, Transfers and Servicing, and result in a derecognition in accounts receivable because the factoring agreement transfers effective control over the receivables, and related risk, to the buyer. The Company’s only continuing involvement with the sold receivables is providing collection services related to the transferred assets. In addition, the Company has an ongoing obligation to repurchase receivables in the event of representation or warranty violations or other disputes. Cash received from the factoring agreement is recorded as an increase to cash and a reduction to accounts receivable in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, and presented through the change in accounts receivable within operating activities in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Factoring interest and fees are included in “General and administrative expenses” in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The Company factored approximately $76 million of receivables between July 3, 2025 and September 30, 2025. Factoring fees were immaterial for the three months ended September 30, 2025.
Pension and Post-Retirement Benefits
The Company’s net obligation in respect of defined benefit pension plans is calculated separately for each plan by estimating the amount of future benefit that employees have earned in return for their service in the current and prior periods; that benefit is discounted to determine its present value, and the fair value of any plan assets is deducted. The discount rate is the yield at the balance sheet date on high-quality corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits will be paid, and that have maturity dates approximating to the terms of the Company’s obligations. The calculation is performed by a qualified actuary using the projected unit credit method. Remeasurement gains and losses arising from experience adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are charged or credited to equity in other comprehensive income in the period in which they arise. All prior service costs are recognized immediately in the income statement.
Revenue Recognition
ASC 606: Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) provides a single model to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle of ASC 606 is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of control of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company recognizes revenue using a five-step model resulting in revenue being recognized as performance obligations within a contract have been satisfied. The steps within that model include: (i) identifying the existence of a contract with a customer; (ii) identifying the performance obligations within the contract; (iii) determining the contract’s transaction price; (iv) allocating the transaction price to the contract’s performance obligations; and, (v) recognizing revenue as the contract’s performance obligations are satisfied. Judgment is required to apply the principles-based, five-step model for revenue recognition. Management is required to make certain estimates and assumptions about the Company’s contracts with its customers, including, among others, the nature and extent of its performance obligations, its transaction price amounts and any allocations thereof, the events which constitute satisfaction of its performance obligations, and when control of any promised goods or services is transferred to its customers.
The Company provides its merchants with an end-to-end payments offering that combines its payments platform, including its proprietary gateway and breadth of software integrations, and its suite of technology solutions. The Company primarily earns revenue through volume-based payment and transaction fees, as well as subscription revenue for its software and technology solutions.
Payments-Based Revenue
Payments-based revenue includes fees for payment processing and gateway services. Payment processing fees are primarily driven as a percentage of payment volume. They may also have a fixed fee, a minimum monthly usage fee and a fee based on transactions. Gateway services, data encryption and tokenization fees are primarily driven by per transaction fees as well as monthly usage fees. Included in payments-based revenue are fees earned from the Company’s international payments platform, strategic enterprise merchant relationships, TFS services, and alternative payments methods, including cryptocurrency and stock donations.
The Company satisfies its performance obligations and recognizes transaction fees upon authorization of a transaction by the merchant’s bank. These transaction fees represent the full amount of the fee charged to the merchant, including interchange and payment network costs paid to the card brands pursuant to the transactions the Company facilitates through the network while performing an end-to-end payment obligation.
The Company’s performance obligation is to stand-ready to provide payment processing services for each day during the duration of the payment processing agreement. Providing payment processing services involves multiple promises including: 1) payment processing, 2) gateway services including tokenization and data encryption, 3) risk mitigation, and 4) settlement services. The Company considers each of these promises to be inputs to produce a combined output of providing a fully secured and integrated end-to-end payment processing service to a merchant. Further, the combination of these services is transformative in nature in that the significant integration allows for front-end and back-end risk mitigation, merchant portability, third-party software integrations, and enhanced reporting functionality. The Company applies the right to invoice practical expedient to payment processing services as each performance obligation is recognized over time and the amounts invoiced are reflective of the value transferred to the customer.
Payment processing fees are recognized on a gross basis (gross of network fees) as the Company is the principal in the delivery of the payment processing solution to its merchants because it controls the service on its payments platform. The Company also contracts directly with its merchants and has complete pricing latitude on the processing fees charged to its merchants. As such, it bears the credit risk for network fees and transactions charged back to the merchant.
For TFS services, the Company provides a solution that facilitates the VAT refund process for both merchants and travelers. Specifically, the traveler receives a refund of the total VAT paid, less a commission, which varies based on a number of factors such as the merchant, country and amount of purchase. After processing the refund, the Company invoices either the relevant merchant or the government for the full VAT amount, which is paid in full. The merchant then reclaims the VAT from the government and invoices the Company in turn for their portion of the commission. TFS revenue is recognized net, as the Company is considered an agent. TFS revenue is recognized at a point in time, upon receipt of a customs-validated tax refund transaction from the traveler or applicable local customs authority, which establishes the right to a VAT refund.
Subscription-Based Revenue
The Company also generates revenues from recurring fees which are based on the technology deployed by the merchant. This includes statement fees, fees for the Company’s proprietary business intelligence software and other annual fees, and other miscellaneous services such as help desk support and warranties on equipment. Annual fees are recognized as revenue over the respective period the fee covers, which is generally one year or less.
The Company’s SaaS agreements include multiple performance obligations. For such agreements, the Company allocates revenue to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. The Company estimates standalone selling prices based on the fair value of each product and service.
As part of the SaaS fees for its POS systems provided to merchants, the Company identified the following separate performance obligations under ASC 606:
(1)Software: The Company provides a “Hybrid Cloud” agreement which includes on-premise software as well as a cloud component. The on-premise solution interacts with the cloud service to provide an end-to-end integrated solution to the merchant. As the on-premise software and cloud-based service are transformative in nature, they are not distinct performance obligations. The revenue allocated to software from the monthly SaaS fee qualifies as a service and revenue is recognized ratably over time as the performance obligation represents a stand-ready obligation to provide the service.
(2)Hardware: The Company’s standard business practice is to provide hardware to its merchants as a lease. The hardware is typically accounted for as an operating lease and the revenue allocated to this performance obligation is recognized ratably over the contract term. In limited instances, hardware is sold to the customer. These transactions are typically the result of customer preference.
(3)Other support services: The Company offers customers technical support services and the leased hardware. Technical support services include the promise to provide the merchant with software updates if and when available. The Company also provides customers with assurance that its equipment will function in accordance with contract specifications over the lease term. Revenue allocated to this performance obligation is recognized ratably over time as the performance obligation represents a stand-ready obligation to provide the service.
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests
As of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the minority interest ownership percentage in Vectron Systems AG (“Vectron”) was approximately 25%. Following the effectiveness of the domination and profit and loss transfer agreement (the “DPLTA”) on June 23, 2025, the Vectron shares representing the equity interest held by parties other than the Company became redeemable and, therefore, are required to be classified outside of stockholders’ equity until redemption occurs. As a result, the permanent equity noncontrolling interest balance was reclassified to redeemable noncontrolling interests (“RNCI”) and will be remeasured using the current exchange rate at each reporting date. For the duration of the DPLTA’s effectiveness, the RNCI will continue to be presented as redeemable noncontrolling interests outside of stockholders’ equity in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The following table provides a reconciliation between cash and cash equivalents on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows:
September 30, 2025December 31, 2024
Cash and cash equivalents$1,511.5 $1,211.9 
Cash and cash equivalents included in Settlement assets198.2 226.7 
Total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows$1,709.7 $1,438.6 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Accounting Pronouncements Adopted
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes: Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which provides qualitative and quantitative updates to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid disclosures, among others, in order to enhance the transparency of income tax disclosures, including consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation and disaggregation by jurisdiction of income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 became effective for the Company on January 1, 2025. The Company intends to provide these additional disclosures in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income – Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Topic 220): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses, which requires additional disclosure of certain amounts included in the expense captions presented on the Statements of Operations as well as disclosures about selling expenses. ASU 2024-03 is effective on a prospective basis, with the option for retrospective application, for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with early adoption permitted. Besides the additional disclosures noted above, the Company does not believe ASU 2024-03 will have a significant impact on its financial statement disclosures.