FY2024 Results: Cash‑flow Surge and Margin Inflection#

Global Payments reported FY2024 revenue of $10.11B (+4.76% YoY) and net income of $1.57B (+59.27% YoY), driven by a combination of higher-margin software contributions, one‑time items, and significant operating cash conversion that materially improved the company’s free cash flow profile, according to the company’s FY2024 annual filing (filed 2025-02-14) and subsequent earnings commentary Global Payments FY2024 Annual Report. The company converted operating performance into cash at a substantially higher rate: net cash provided by operating activities rose to $3.53B (+56.89% YoY) and free cash flow increased to $2.86B (+79.87% YoY), a swing that is central to management’s narrative about re‑anchoring valuation through capital returns and balance‑sheet repair. Those moves coincided with $1.61B of common stock repurchases in FY2024, the largest annual buyback since the Worldpay integration year, and a modest reduction in total debt to $16.82B while net debt stood at $14.28B at year‑end Global Payments FY2024 Annual Report.
The most market‑visible development in 2024 was margin improvement. Reported operating income rose to $2.33B, producing an operating margin of ~23.05% (2.33B/10.11B), up from 17.78% in 2023 and reflecting consolidation benefits and higher software mix. EBITDA increased to $4.40B, implying an EBITDA margin of ~43.52%, up materially from the 2023 level. Those margin dynamics are a key proof point for the company’s pivot from transaction‑centric processing economics toward “software‑enabled” recurring revenues, a shift that management and activists have repeatedly cited as the path to a valuation re‑rating Global Payments FY2024 Annual Report.
Quality of earnings matters here: the reported rise in net income is backed by strong cash flow — operating cash rose more than +56% and free cash flow nearly doubled. The composition matters, too. FY2023 included heavy acquisition outflows (acquisitions net -$3.75B) while FY2024 showed acquisitions net inflows of +$475.38MM and a much lower investing cash drag. The combination of higher cash generation, lower acquisition spending year‑over‑year, and aggressive buybacks demonstrates management is able to both invest in the strategy and return capital, but the durability of margin gains depends on integration execution and software revenue stickiness Global Payments FY2024 Annual Report.