Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman is expected to remain with the company now that he won't be running NASA, according to analysts who follow the payment processor.
While the company had named Taylor Lauber as his replacement, that succession plan was only set to kick in if Isaacman shifted to NASA. But President Donald Trump over the weekend nixed Isaacman as a nominee to lead NASA, so there may be no need for Shift4 to change CEOs.
Isaacman will stay at Shift4 in some capacity, predicted Stephens analyst Charles Nabhan. "The big question is whether he's going to be CEO or if he's going to be chairman," Nabhan said.
Isaacman, who founded the company, has also served as Shift4’s board chairman. He has been a close associate of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was part of Trump's cabinet until exiting last week.
Isaacman was also set to give up his super-voting shares upon his confirmation as NASA administrator, but now that he won't be joining the space agency, he can maintain his controlling stake in the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based payments firm, according to Hal Goetsch, an analyst for B. Riley Securities.
Isaacman has been the controlling shareholder for the payment processor since it went public in 2020. Lauber, who is president, said in a May earnings call that Isaacman would convert his class C and class B shares into class A shares — a move that would give him one vote per share — after which the CEO would have 25% of outstanding class A shares.
Even if he doesn't return to his duties as CEO, he will still control the company, Goetsch said. Between his Class A, B and C shares, Isaacman had a 76% voting power stake in Shift4, according to an April 30 proxy filing.
"Anything that happens at Shift4 has to go through him," Goetsch said in an interview.
Not everyone, however, is convinced Isaacman will maintain his extra voting rights. "That's another topic of debate," Nabhan said. "I still think it's a possibility (that he will give up his super-voting shares), and I've spoken to some investors who believe that as well."
Trump picked Isaacman to lead NASA in December, but abruptly pulled his nomination over the weekend with little explanation.
Trump reversed course on Isaacman after reviewing the CEO’s past donations to Democrats, such as former Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, according to a report from the New York Times.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee had approved Isaacman’s nomination and he was waiting on a vote, possibly as soon as this week, in the full Senate. He was expected to sail to confirmation with around 70 votes, said Goetsch, who said it would be “terrific news” if Isaacman instead continued to lead the company.
Shortly after Isaacman's nomination, a company spokesperson said Shift4 President Taylor Lauber would take over as CEO once Isaacman was confirmed.
Spokespeople for Shift4 did not respond to requests for comment on the company's current plans.
Lauber and Isaacman are longtime friends and colleagues and shouldn't have trouble coexisting, no matter what roles they end up in, Nabhan said
