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

As of 2026-06-19, BAC is undervalued at $56, with a DCF intrinsic value of $133 and a margin of safety of 58%. GPN is undervalued at $67, with an intrinsic value of $228 and a margin of safety of 71%. Of the two, GPN has the wider margin of safety.

BAC
Bank of America Corporation
$56.20
VS
GPN
Global Payments Inc.
$66.88

Rewards

BAC
  • ★Bank of America Corporation scores 100/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
GPN
  • ★Gross margin of 67.4% 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 4.5x 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

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BAC
GPN
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$7.12B
N/A
FCF Yield
38.94%
13.95
Trailing P/E
24.59
11.13
Forward P/E
4.13
Quality & Moat
3.89%
ROIC
1.81%
10.64%
ROE
2.94%
0.00%
Gross Margin
67.40%
1.02
PEG Ratio
0.19
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
0.72
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
N/A
Net Debt / EBITDA
4.52
1.97%
Dividend Yield
1.46%
BAC: 4Ties: 1GPN: 3
BACGPN

Historical Fundamentals

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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

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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

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BAC
57.9% Margin of Safety
Price is 57.9% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $56.20
Fair Value: $133.45
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
GPN
70.7% Margin of Safety
Price is 70.7% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $66.88
Fair Value: $228.26
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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BAC

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

GPN

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $67?

+5.0%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies -11.9%

The market implies +5.0% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding -11.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

Economic Moat Score

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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

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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

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BAC
Insiders 7.3%Institutions 70.6%Retail & Other 22.0%
No. of Institutional Holders4,373
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 103.3%
No. of Institutional Holders1,163
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

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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

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BAC
0
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $20.17M
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$4.41M
@ $46.94 · 2026-03-12
SCRIVENER THOMAS M
Officer
$2.49M
@ $49.82 · 2026-03-05
BRONSTEIN SHERI B
Officer
$2.99M
@ $49.91 · 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
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$3.66M
@ $39.80 · 2024-08-27
HANS LINDSAY D
Officer
$402,410
@ $36.91 · 2024-08-05
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
GPN
0
Sells (3M)
6
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $2.16M
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
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$166,305
@ $100.73 · 2024-08-08
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

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BAC
FearGreed
😏Greed(74/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

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
😨Fear(33/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

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

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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: Greed (74)
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: Fear (33)
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 70.7% margin of safety (intrinsic value $228 vs. price $67), compared to BAC's 57.9% margin of safety (intrinsic $133 vs. $56).

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 3.9% ROIC versus GPN's 1.8%. 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.