Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

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Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GPN." As of February 19, 2019, there were 2,116 shareholders of record.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The information regarding our compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance is set forth in "Item 12—Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters" of this Annual Report.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares our cumulative shareholder returns with the Standard & Poor's Information Technology Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the 2016 fiscal transition period and the years ended May 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014. The line graph assumes the investment of $100 in our common stock, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Standard & Poor's Information Technology Index on May 31, 2013 and assumes reinvestment of all dividends.

COMPARISON OF 5-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*

Among Global Payments Inc., the S&P 500 Index

and the S&P Information Technology Index

*$100 invested on May 31, 2013 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.



	Global Payments		S&P 500 Index		S&P Information Technology Index
May 31, 2013	$	100.00	$	100.00	$	100.00
May 31, 2014	143.14		120.45		123.89
May 31, 2015	218.13		134.67		147.20
May 31, 2016	324.92		136.98		151.80
December 31, 2016	290.37		148.08		168.59
December 31, 2017	419.54		180.41		234.05
December 31, 2018	431.79		172.50		233.38

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

There were no unregistered sales of equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2018.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Information about the shares of our common stock that we repurchased during the quarter ended December 31, 2018 is set forth below:



Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased (1)	Approximate Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (2)
					(in millions)
October 2018	784	$	114.94	—
November 2018	967	103.87		—
December 2018	315,260	99.37		—
Total	317,011	$	99.43	—	$	387.8


(1)	Our board of directors has authorized us to repurchase shares of our common stock through any combination of Rule 10b5-1 open-market repurchase plans, accelerated share repurchase plans, discretionary open-market purchases or privately negotiated transactions.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2018, pursuant to our employee incentive plans, we withheld 2,028 shares at an average price per share of $107.99 in order to satisfy employees' tax withholding and payment obligations in connection with the vesting of awards of restricted stock, which we withheld at fair market value on the vesting date.


(2)	On February 6, 2018, our board of directors approved an increase to our existing share repurchase program authorization, which raised the total available authorization to $600 million. As of December 31, 2018, the approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under our share repurchase program was $387.8 million. On February 5, 2019, the board of directors increased its authorization to repurchase shares of our common stock to $750 million, inclusive of prior share repurchase programs authorized by the board and repurchases made thereunder. The authorizations by the board of directors do not expire, but could be revoked at any time. In addition, we are not required by any of the board's authorizations or otherwise to complete any repurchases by any specific time or at all.

(2)

On February 6, 2018, our board of directors approved an increase to our existing share repurchase program authorization, which raised the total available authorization to $600 million. As of December 31, 2018, the approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under our share repurchase program was $387.8 million. On February 5, 2019, the board of directors increased its authorization to repurchase shares of our common stock to $750 million, inclusive of prior share repurchase programs authorized by the board and repurchases made thereunder. The authorizations by the board of directors do not expire, but could be revoked at any time. In addition, we are not required by any of the board's authorizations or otherwise to complete any repurchases by any specific time or at all.

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