SafetyMargin.ioSafetyMargin.io
BlogWatchlistCompare
Compare Stocks › BAC vs GPN

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs Global Payments Inc. (GPN): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-09-17, BAC is undervalued at $58, with a DCF intrinsic value of $142 and a margin of safety of 59%. GPN is undervalued at $86, with an intrinsic value of $239 and a margin of safety of 64%. Of the two, GPN has the wider margin of safety.

BAC
Bank of America Corporation
$57.71
VS
GPN
Global Payments Inc.
$85.89

Rewards

BAC
  • ★Bank of America Corporation scores 100/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.90 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
GPN
  • ★Gross margin of 64.0% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 10% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $3.60 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.

Risks

BAC
  • ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.22 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
GPN
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 4.0x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.88 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
BAC
GPN
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$7.87B
N/A
FCF Yield
34.62%
13.33
Trailing P/E
40.71
10.91
Forward P/E
5.37
Quality & Moat
4.37%
ROIC
2.73%
11.20%
ROE
2.43%
0.00%
Gross Margin
63.96%
0.90
PEG Ratio
0.22
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
0.76
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
N/A
Net Debt / EBITDA
4.05
2.21%
Dividend Yield
1.16%
BAC: 4Ties: 1GPN: 3
BACGPN

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
BAC

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

GPN

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

Learn more →
BAC
$2.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$55.63B
Δ Market Cap
+$131.83B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
GPN
$-2.44
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$3.20B
Δ Market Cap
$-7.81B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

Learn more →
BAC
59.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 59.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $57.71
Fair Value: $142.10
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
GPN
64.1% Margin of Safety
Price is 64.1% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $85.89
Fair Value: $239.15
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
BAC

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

GPN

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $86?

+6.7%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies -11.5%

The market implies +6.7% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding -11.5%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
BAC
100/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by revenue predictability. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
GPN
44/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
BAC
-2.31
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
GPN
-2.67
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

Learn more →
BAC
Insiders 7.0%Institutions 71.3%Retail & Other 21.7%
No. of Institutional Holders4,542
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
GPN
Insiders 0.9%Institutions 112.9%
No. of Institutional Holders1,146
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

Learn more →
BAC
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
GPN
0
Buys (3M)
3
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.29M
JOHNSON JOIA M
Director
$99,345
@ $81.90 · 2026-02-20
BALDWIN ROBERT H B JR
Director
$1.09M
@ $81.16 · 2025-12-11
WATSON PATRICIA A
Director
$99,905
@ $75.06 · 2025-11-07
BALDWIN ROBERT H B JR
Director
$672,800
@ $116.00 · 2024-12-13
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

Learn more →
BAC
0
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $20.17M
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$4.41M
@ $46.94 · 2026-03-12
BRONSTEIN SHERI B
Officer
$2.99M
@ $49.91 · 2026-03-05
SCRIVENER THOMAS M
Officer
$2.49M
@ $49.82 · 2026-03-05
ATHANASIA DEAN C
President
$6.86M
@ $50.21 · 2026-03-03
BORTHWICK ALASTAIR M.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.42M
@ $50.24 · 2026-02-27
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
GPN
0
Sells (3M)
3
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.44M
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$164,123
@ $81.41 · 2025-12-11
GREEN DAVID LAWRENCE
Officer
$927,884
@ $79.99 · 2025-12-03
MCDANIEL CONNIE D
Director
$347,344
@ $77.81 · 2025-11-12
CORTOPASSI ROBERT M
President
$342,080
@ $85.52 · 2025-08-21
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$207,575
@ $83.03 · 2025-08-12
STEELE-BELKIN DARA L.
General Counsel
$172,000
@ $86.00 · 2025-08-07
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$201,975
@ $80.79 · 2025-05-08
CARTER ANDREA M
Officer
$250,015
@ $105.67 · 2024-11-04
GREEN DAVID LAWRENCE
Officer
$3.27M
@ $104.55 · 2024-10-31
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

Learn more →
BAC
FearGreed
😐Neutral(53/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
GPN
FearGreed
😐Neutral(50/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

Learn more →
BAC
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (53)
GPN
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (50)
View BAC Full AnalysisView GPN Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: BAC vs GPN

Is Bank of America Corporation or Global Payments Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, GPN trades at a 64.1% margin of safety (intrinsic value $239 vs. price $86), compared to BAC's 59.4% margin of safety (intrinsic $142 vs. $58).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, Bank of America Corporation or Global Payments Inc.?▼

BAC scores 100/100 (Wide moat), while GPN scores 44/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is Bank of America Corporation in financial distress?▼

BAC's Altman Z-Score of 0.2 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. GPN scores 0.9 (Distress zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Bank of America Corporation or Global Payments Inc.?▼

BAC earns 4.4% ROIC versus GPN's 2.7%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, Bank of America Corporation's or Global Payments Inc.'s?▼

GPN's dividend earns a safety score of 85/100 (Very Safe), compared to BAC's 79/100 (Safe). GPN has raised its dividend for 0 consecutive years.

BAC vs GPN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026? | SafetyMargin.io