Earnings Preview: Global Payments Inc. (GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is currently higher on the session by 1.59%, trading at $42.70. The company is scheduled to report earnings today, after the closing bell. • EstimatesThe Street is looking for Q1 earnings per share of $0.69 on revenue of $438.55 million. These estimates have fallen by $0.03 (-4.167%) over the past 90 days. The Whisper number for GPN is $0.70. • GuidanceThe Street is looking for Q2 EPS of $0.70 on revenue of $436.52 million. The full year 2011 estimates are $2.70 per share on revenue of $1.76 billion; FY 2012 is at $3.10 per share on revenues of $1.91 billion. • Technical PictureGPN has been trending lower over the past twelve months, off from highs near $54.20. In July, however, the stock bounced off of $35.50 and has been rising ever since. Shares of GPN recently moved above both the 50-day and 200-day moving average. if shares can hold current levels a 50/200-day cross will occur, which should further strengthen the bullish case. • VolatilityBoth historical volatility and implied volatility have been down-trending over the past few months after a spike higher in mid-May. Currently HI is at 21% and IV is at 31%. The front month $40.00/45.00 strangle is trading at 58.19%; the November $40.00/45.00 strangle is trading at 30.22%. Vol is skewed toward the puts in both months. Global Payments Inc. is a provider of electronic payments transaction processing services for consumers, merchants, independent sales organizations, financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Asia-Pacific region, the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. The company serves as an intermediary to facilitate payments transactions, and operates in two segments: North America Merchant Services and International Merchant Services.