Shift4 vs WEX

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put Shift4 and WEX side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:

Shift4 is the larger business, with $4.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.7B for WEX, about 1.6 times as much.
Shift4 grew revenue faster (25.5%, against 1.2%).
WEX kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.0% operating margin, against 8.4%).
Shift4 turned more of its sales into free cash flow (14.9% FCF margin, against 11.8%).

Who comes out ahead

Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.

Shift4

FOUR

4/9

Revenue growth5-year growthFCF marginShare count change

WEX

5/9

Operating marginNet marginReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA

Side by side

Best in the row

Latest fiscal year	FOUR FY25	WEX FY25
Size
Market cap	$49.0M	$6.5B
Revenue	$4.2B	$2.7B
Free cash flow	$624M	$314M
Net income	$119M	$304M
Growth
Revenue growth	25.5%	1.2%
5-year growth	40.4%	11.3%
Share count change	−20.1%	−13.1%
Profitability
Gross margin	—	58.6%
Operating margin	8.4%	25.0%
Net margin	2.9%	11.4%
FCF margin	14.9%	11.8%
Return on capital	6.5%	—
Return on equity	10.6%	22.3%
Balance sheet
Net debt	$3.6B	−$326M
Net debt / EBITDA	4.6x	−0.3x
Dividends and buybacks	$453M	$800M
Valuation & quality
P/E	—	18.6x
Piotroski F-score	6	7

Ten years

Revenue

FY16

FOUR —

WEX $1.0B

FY17

FOUR —

WEX $1.2B

FY18

FOUR $561M

WEX $1.5B

FY19

FOUR $731M

WEX $1.7B

FY20

FOUR $767M

WEX $1.6B

FY21

FOUR $1.4B

WEX $1.9B

FY22

FOUR $2.0B

WEX $2.4B

FY23

FOUR $2.6B

WEX $2.5B

FY24

FOUR $3.3B

WEX $2.6B

FY25

FOUR $4.2B

WEX $2.7B

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

FOUR WEX

Operating margin

FY16

FOUR —

WEX 15.7%

FY17

FOUR —

WEX 18.7%

FY18

FOUR −2.3%

WEX 25.5%

FY19

FOUR −0.6%

WEX 22.4%

FY20

FOUR −7.5%

WEX −5.9%

FY21

FOUR −3.6%

WEX 18.5%

FY22

FOUR 4.8%

WEX 20.0%

FY23

FOUR 4.5%

WEX 25.4%

FY24

FOUR 7.4%

WEX 26.1%

FY25

FOUR 8.4%

WEX 25.0%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

FOUR WEX

Free cash flow

FY16

FOUR —

WEX −$203M

FY17

FOUR —

WEX $56.2M

FY18

FOUR $23.9M

WEX $313M

FY19

FOUR −$0.2M

WEX $560M

FY20

FOUR −$0.8M

WEX $656M

FY21

FOUR −$5.2M

WEX −$129M

FY22

FOUR $267M

WEX $567M

FY23

FOUR $332M

WEX $764M

FY24

FOUR $493M

WEX $334M

FY25

FOUR $624M

WEX $314M

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

FOUR WEX

Return on capital

FY16

FOUR —

WEX —

FY17

FOUR —

WEX —

FY18

FOUR —

WEX 8.3%

FY19

FOUR —

WEX 7.7%

FY20

FOUR −6.6%

WEX −1.8%

FY21

FOUR −4.6%

WEX 6.3%

FY22

FOUR 7.7%

WEX 11.5%

FY23

FOUR 6.2%

WEX 24.3%

FY24

FOUR 8.1%

WEX 30.8%

FY25

FOUR 6.5%

WEX —

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

FOUR WEX

Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.