In the past few months, payments company Shift4 bought point-of-sale vendor Revel Systems and German software firm Vectron Systems AG, and signed a roster of clients that includes numerous professional and college sports teams along with a renowned national park.

The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based payments processing company plans to make more moves in order to branch out into new industries and find new revenue streams, CEO Jared Isaacman told investors during an earnings call Thursday.

There moves signal Shift4’s ambitious plan to dominate the payments space the way Elon Musk’s space company now dominates space travel, Isaacman told investors.

“It’s no secret I’d like to see Shift4 become the SpaceX of payments,” he said.

Musk and Isaacman are friends and have a professional relationship. The Shift4 founder said in 2022 that he would pay for three SpaceX flights.

To accomplish his company’s goal, Isaacman said Shift4 is planning more acquisitions, although he revealed few details about any upcoming deals.

He did say that Shift4 will be strategic about future purchases, and wants to buy companies that will give the payments firm a foothold in new industries.

The $250-million purchase of Atlanta, Georgia-based point-of-sale vendor Revel, completed in June, gave Shift4 a bigger presence in the restaurant space, Isaacman said.

Similarly, future acquisitions will be made “for the purposes of entering new markets,” he told investors during remarks on Thursday’s earnings call.

“We are not going to sit on our hands and wait for an opportunity to come our way,” he said.

He also touted Shift4’s expanding roster of professional sports customers. It now includes the Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana University, Isaacman said. In addition, Shift4 is shifting into other entertainment realms, and is now working with Yellowstone National Park.

The company is also making inroads in other parts of the world. Shift4 has begun processing payments in Sierra Leone, and has plans to enter around a dozen other African nations, the CEO told analysts on the call.

The recent acquisitions, the international expansion and the new clients had analysts upbeat about Shift4.

“Volumes continue to benefit from growth in the core verticals but are increasingly gaining contribution from major wins in the sports & entertainment vertical, where ticketing wins are becoming more consistent,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Daniel Perlin wrote in a note to investors Thursday. “Shift4 is seeing strong traction in its international expansion.”

The company’s second-quarter net income rose 48% to $54.5 million, compared to $36.8 million in the same period in 2023. Revenue for the quarter surged 30% to $827 million, compared with $637 million for the same period last year.

By Patrick Cooley on Aug 9, 2024
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