Global Payments Rises After Earnings Beat, CEO Announcement

Global Payments Inc. GPN is up more than four percent in after hours trading after announcing its first-quarter earnings results and a new CEO. The company's EPS came to $1.00 versus the Street estimate of $0.95. Earnings per share were up 15 percent from the year-ago period. Revenue arrived at $629.7 million versus the Wall Street estimate of $623.79 million. Sales were up seven percent year-over-year. "We delivered strong first quarter results reflecting solid performance in North America and Europe," Chairman Paul R. Garcia said in a company release. "We continue to focus on expanding our global market position and driving our strategic initiatives forward." Global Payments anticipates that its full-year 2013 EPS will be somewhere between $3.98 and $4.05. The company expects its sales results to be between $2.51 billion and $2.56 billion. In addition to its Q1 earnings and full-year expectations, Global Payments also announced that company president Jeffrey S. Sloan has been named its new Chief Executive Officer. This appointment is effective immediately. Garcia, the former CEO, will remain with the company as Chairman, a position he has held since 2002. "Paul is a true visionary who has shaped this company into one of the leading payments companies in the world," William I Jacobs, Global Payments' Lead Director, said in a company release. "We are immensely grateful for his 14 years of leadership and dedication as CEO, and look forward to his continued guidance as Chairman through fiscal 2014. "Based on Jeff's experience at Global Payments, his nearly 20 years of financial services background and his deep industry knowledge, we are confident that he is the ideal successor to drive sustainable growth over the long term for Global Payments." Global Payments said that Jacobs is expected to succeed Garcia as Chairman when he retires from that role. Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ