Payments Stocks Still Swayed By Earnings

Headed into the waning days of winter, payments stocks still were moved, up and down, by earnings reports.

The biggest gainer on the week, percentage-wise, was Worldpay Group, which tacked on 5.4 percent for the week. The company said that transactions were up 14 percent year over year, boosting profit to £264 million in 2016. Management said also that the global nature of the business meant that the impact of Brexit was muted and that the United States, which accounts for roughly 25 percent of the top line, would be among key focuses in the next few years.

The next biggest gainer was Mitek, which said that that a crowdfunding platform had selected the company’s Mobile Verify technology to improve new customer onboarding experiences and meet both Know Your Customer and anti-money-laundering requirements. The technology lets users scan and submit ID documents for real time verification.

Among declining issues Planet Payment shares slipped more than 10 percent after the international payments processing firm reported sales of just under $14 million, a decline year on year when the Street had expected a small gain, to $16 million, for the quarter. Management, however, said that global travel trends would be a positive factor in the year ahead.

Verifone slid more than 6 percent on the week as earnings beat expectations by a penny, but the company also said that a security breach may have compromised retail payments systems, if only in a limited fashion.