NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gainey McKenna & Egleston announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased the securities of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (“Shift4” or the “Company”) (: FOUR) between November 10, 2021 and April 18, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”).
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Shift4 had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (ii as a result, Shift4 failed to properly account for customer acquisition costs, thereby artificially inflating its net cash provided by operating activities; (iii) accordingly, Shift4 would likely be forced to restate one or more of its previously issued financial statements; (iv) Shift4 employed accounting maneuvers in connection with, among other things, its mass strategic buyout program and sponsor bank merchant settlement account, that were designed to present an inaccurate picture of, inter alia, the Company’s performance, its underlying business quality, and its earnings power; (v) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to negatively impact Shift4’s reputation and business; and (vi) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On October 21, 2022, Shift4 disclosed in an SEC filing that the Company’s Q3 2021, full year (“FY”) 2021, first quarter (“Q1”) 2022, and second quarter (“Q2”) 2022 financial statements should no longer be relied upon and would need to be restated because of a material weakness in the Company’s financial controls, which had caused it to incorrectly treat “customer acquisition costs” as cash used in investing activities rather than cash used in operating activities in its Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. As a result, Shift4 was forced to negatively revise its net cash provided by operating activities to $3 million (down from its originally reported $29.2 million), $30.8 million (down from its originally reported $37.1 million), and $70.8 million (down from its originally reported $85 million) for the year ended December 31, 2021, the three months ended March 31, 2022, and the six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively. On this news, Shift4’s stock price fell $1.21 per share, or 2.67%, to close at $44.16 per share on October 24, 2022.
Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Shift4 should contact the Firm prior to the October 17, 2023 lead plaintiff motion deadline. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Thomas J. McKenna, Esq. or Gregory M. Egleston, Esq. of Gainey McKenna & Egleston at (212) 983-1300, or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected].
Please visit our website at http://www.gme-law.com for more information about the firm.
