Illinois Foundation Doubles Down on Shift4 Payments, Buys $5 Million in Stock

According to its SEC filing dated Feb. 13, 2026, the University of Illinois Foundation increased its holding in Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) by 67,000 shares during the fourth quarter of 2025. The estimated transaction value was $4.73 million, calculated using the mean closing price within the quarter. The quarter-end value of the position increased by roughly $2.55 million, reflecting both the additional shares purchased and price changes during the period.

This buy brings the fund’s stake in Shift4 Payments to 3.95% of its 13F reportable AUM after the fourth quarter of 2025.

As of Feb. 12, 2026, Shift4 Payments shares were trading at $54.57, down 54.6% over the past year and underperforming the S&P 500 by 66 percentage points.

Metric	Value
Price (as of market close 2026-02-12)	$54.57
Market Capitalization	$4.90 billion
Revenue (TTM)	$3.88 billion
Net Income (TTM)	$194.80 million

Shift4 Payments:

Offers integrated payment processing, omni-channel card acceptance, POS solutions, eCommerce platforms, fraud prevention, and business analytics tools.
Serves merchants across retail, hospitality, eCommerce, stadiums, and entertainment venues in the United States.
Leverages proprietary software and integrated solutions to deliver secure, seamless payment experiences across physical and digital channels.

Shift4 Payments operates at scale as a technology-driven payments provider, supporting over 4,000 employees and a diversified merchant base. The company leverages proprietary software and integrated solutions to deliver secure, seamless payment experiences across physical and digital channels. Its competitive edge lies in end-to-end platform integration, broad industry reach, and a focus on innovation within payment infrastructure.

One quarter after buying 116,000 shares of Shift4 Payments, the University of Illinois Foundation added another 67,000 shares, making the company its seventh-largest holding. The timing of the purchase is interesting, as Shift4 continues to trade roughly 56% below its 52-week high, suggesting that the foundation sees the stock as a buy-the-dip opportunity. For the most part, I’d tend to agree.

While the payments space is hyper-competitive, I think Shift4 stands out thanks to its leadership position across numerous verticals. It is the No. 2 provider of payment solutions in the restaurant industry (trailing only Toast). It is also the No. 1 in hospitality, global luxury retail, and sports and entertainment in the U.S. (such as stadiums). Anchored by these core markets, Shift4 now operates in over 75 countries and has grown revenue by 37% annually over the last five years — all while maintaining (and improving) profitability.

Management expects to generate adjusted free cash flow (FCF) of roughly $500 million in 2025, making the company’s growth very affordable at just 10 times forward FCF. That said, Shift4 has spent $5.5 billion on acquisitions since 2020, so investors will want to check in on their progress when the company reports earnings on Feb. 26. I’ll be watching these earnings closely, but will most likely continue adding to Shift 4, just like the foundation did, throughout 2026.

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Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Nvidia and Shift4 Payments. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia, Shift4 Payments, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Illinois Foundation Doubles Down on Shift4 Payments, Buys $5 Million in Stock was originally published by The Motley Fool