Lightspeed Commerce Faces Heightened Competition, Slower Payments Gains -- Market Talk

1259 ET - Lightspeed Commerce's growth momentum faces a tougher second act as competition stiffens and easy expansion gains dry up, according to Morgan Stanley's Meryl Thomas in a note. The analyst assumes coverage with an equal-weight rating and a $9.50 price target. Thomas says that growth-engine locations are expanding double-digits with upmarket momentum, but that it's getting more difficult to keep up the pace due to unpredictable legacy churn trends, European macro and foreign exchange risk and rising hardware costs. She says expansion will now depend on harder-to-drive underlying transaction volumes rather than rapid payments conversion gains. Also, she adds that heavy share buybacks may limit the capital flexibility Lightspeed needs to outpace competitors. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

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September 28, 2026 13:00 ET (17:00 GMT)