GPN vs NNI: How Global Payments and Nelnet Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: GPN is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. GPN and NNI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined GPN and NNI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is one of the largest payment technology companies in the world, providing merchant acquiring, point-of-sale software, and commerce-enablement services to businesses ranging from small shops to global enterprises. On January 12, 2026 the company completed a transformative pair of transactions: it acquired Worldpay (net purchase price around $22.7 billion) from FIS and GTCR, and simultaneously divested its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for roughly $13.5 billion. The result is a pure-play merchant-commerce provider that, combined with Worldpay, processes more than 20% of U.S. payments volume, with strength in the middle market (businesses with roughly $1M to $100M in annual revenue) alongside enterprise and small-business channels.

Full GPN guide

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE: NNI) started life as a student loan company and has spent the last decade turning itself into something closer to a diversified holding company. Four reportable segments carry the business. Loan Servicing and Systems, run through Nelnet Diversified Services, services roughly ~$519.2 billion of Department of Education, Canadian, FFELP, private education and consumer loans for about ~15.2 million borrowers, and holds one of the U.S. Department of Education's Unified Servicing and Data Solution (USDS) contracts awarded in April 2023 (a five-year base with extension options out to ten). Education Technology Services and Payments, better known by its FACTS and Nelnet Campus Commerce brands, handles tuition management, financial aid assessment, student information systems and payment processing for more than ~1,300 higher education institutions and ~11,500 K-12 schools. Asset Generation and Management holds the loan book, and Nelnet Bank is a Utah-chartered internet industrial bank taking deposits and originating private education, consumer and other loans.

Full NNI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• GPN drivers: Worldpay integration and scale; Pure-play merchant focus and Genius platform.
• NNI drivers: Redeploying FFELP run-off cash into higher-yield assets; Nelnet Bank reaching scale.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The Worldpay acquisition loaded the balance sheet with significant debt, raising integration and interest-cost risk in a period of elevated rates. For NNI, concentration is the headline risk: the USDS servicing contract with the U.S.

Pick GPN if you believe its drivers more; NNI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the GPN and NNI guides.

GPN. GPN trades around $82 with a market cap near $22.5 billion, a low forward multiple of roughly 6x its ~$13.90 midpoint adjusted EPS guidance, reflecting skepticism about legacy-processor growth and Worldpay integration risk. Trailing GAAP P/E figures are distorted by the January 2026 transactions and a large discontinued-operations loss, so adjusted metrics are the cleaner lens. The 52-week range runs roughly $61 to $91.

NNI. The trailing P/E is distorted by 2025's one-time ALLO gain and by solar tax equity losses that hit reported income before the tax credits and cash arrive, so price to book is the metric most Nelnet followers use. At roughly ~1.2x stated book the market is assigning modest premium to a balance sheet where the ALLO stake carries at ~$0 and the servicing and payments franchises carry no goodwill reflecting their fee streams. Q2 2026 revenue of about ~$410 million fell roughly ~20.5% year over year and adjusted EPS of ~$1.77 came in below consensus, mostly on the higher credit provision and the absent prior-year gain.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): GPN shows adjusted net revenue (q1 2026) ~$2.86B, adjusted eps (q1 2026) ~$2.96, fy2026 adjusted eps guidance ~$13.80-$14.00, market cap ~$22.5B; NNI shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.5 billion, net income (ttm) ~$302 million (~$8.36 per share), q2 2026 gaap eps ~$1.85, vs ~$4.97 a year earlier (prior year included a ~$175.0M ALLO gain), shareholders' equity ~$3.77 billion, roughly ~$105 per share on ~35.9 million shares.

GPN and NNI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined GPN and NNI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.