- Company name
- Fiserv
- Sector
- Financial technology
- About
- Fiserv sells payments and financial technology to banks, credit unions and merchants. It reports two segments. Merchant Solutions processes card payments for businesses and sells Clover, a point-of-sale and business management system for small and mid-size merchants. Financial Solutions runs core account processing, digital banking, card issuing and payment networks for banks and credit unions. Most revenue is recurring, from fees for transactions, accounts and services. In the first nine months of 2026, revenue was $15.52 billion. In the third quarter of 2026, Fiserv put its MoneyPass ATM network, ATM managed services and cash businesses into a joint venture in which it keeps a minority stake, and it sold its student loan servicing business. The stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker FISV.
- Thesis
- Fiserv trades at a discount because its revenue fell, it cut its outlook, and its leaders changed in the middle of a turnaround. Organic revenue fell 3% in the first nine months of 2026, and adjusted EPS fell 19% to $5.38. On August 6, 2026, Fiserv cut its 2026 outlook to organic revenue of minus 1% to 0% and adjusted EPS of $7.20 to $7.40, from growth of 1% to 3% and EPS of $8.00 to $8.30. In Q3 2026, organic revenue was flat, Financial Solutions grew 2%, and Fiserv kept the outlook, but it also recorded a $6.45 billion goodwill impairment. The CEO, Mike Lyons, left on June 15, 2026, to lead Truist, about one month after the Investor Day, and the President left on July 7, 2026. The market doubts the One Fiserv action plan and the medium-term targets that Fiserv set at its Investor Day on May 14, 2026: adjusted revenue growth of 4% to 6% a year from 2027 to 2029, an adjusted operating margin of 37% or more and adjusted EPS of $12 or more in 2029. For the gap to close, organic revenue must stop falling in 2026 and grow again in 2027, Clover must keep growing, core bank clients must stop leaving, and margins must recover while Fiserv keeps its investment-grade rating. Q4 2026 must show the revenue growth that Fiserv expects, and the 2027 outlook in February 2027 must match the medium-term plan. If growth returns in 2027, the gap can close over two to three years. The main risk is that the new leaders cut the targets again.
- Risks
- Revenue fell. Organic revenue fell 3% in the first nine months of 2026, Financial Solutions fell 4% and Merchant Solutions fell 2%. Q3 2026 was flat, so the 2026 outlook needs growth in Q4. If bank clients leave or Clover growth slows, the 2027 to 2029 targets can fail.
Leadership changes add execution risk. The CEO left in June 2026, the President in July 2026 and the Chief Legal Officer in September 2026. Financial Solutions has interim leaders.
Margins fell. The adjusted operating margin was 31.2% in Q3 2026, against 37.0% a year earlier, because of lower revenue and spending on the One Fiserv plan. The Merchant Solutions margin fell to 28.7% from 37.2%. A slow recovery delays the target of 37% or more.
Payments and bank technology are very competitive. Other point-of-sale and payment companies compete with Clover, and new technology and AI can lower prices or move clients to new providers.
Debt was about $27.1 billion at September 30, 2026. Net interest expense was $1,050 million in the first nine months of 2026. Fiserv targets gross leverage of 2.5 to 3.0 times and an investment-grade rating, so lower profit leaves less cash for buybacks.
More goodwill impairments are possible. Fiserv wrote down $6.45 billion of goodwill in Q3 2026 after its share price fell. The 10-Q says that one Financial Solutions reporting unit, with $1.8 billion of goodwill, has a fair value only about 10% above its carrying value.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: $545M
Debt: $27.1B
Net debt: $26.5B
Interest cover: 2.8×
Undrawn credit line: $7.8B, to August 2030
Debt due within 12 months: $1.3B
At September 30, 2026, Fiserv had $545 million of cash and about $27.1 billion of debt: $1.25 billion of short-term debt and current maturities and $25.8 billion of long-term debt. The long-term debt includes notes due in March, June and July 2027, because Fiserv intends to refinance them with commercial paper or its revolving credit facility. At September 30, 2026, Fiserv had $1.06 billion of US commercial paper and $547 million of Euro commercial paper. It had borrowed $240 million of its $8.0 billion revolving credit facility, which runs to August 2030. In the first nine months of 2026, net interest expense was $1,050 million. Interest cover is operating income before the $6.45 billion non-cash goodwill impairment of Q3 2026, divided by net interest expense, for the first nine months of 2026. In the first nine months of 2026, free cash flow was $2.04 billion, against $2.88 billion a year earlier. Fiserv bought back $300 million of shares in the first half of 2026 and none in Q3 2026, and it plans $500 million of buybacks in Q4 2026. At its May 2026 Investor Day, Fiserv set a target to operate at the low end of 2.5 to 3.0 times gross leverage and to keep an investment-grade rating.
As of Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- Nov 3, 2026: Q3 2026 results: organic revenue and the new outlook. Passed. Watch: Organic revenue inside the outlook of minus 1% to 0% for the year, a stable margin and no new outlook cut pass; another cut or a larger revenue decline fails. Outcome: Organic revenue was flat in Q3 2026, the adjusted operating margin was 31.2% against 31.8% in Q2 2026, and Fiserv kept its outlook of minus 1% to 0% organic revenue for 2026.
Feb 3, 2027 (estimate): Full-year 2026 results and 2027 outlook. Pending. Watch: A 2027 outlook with positive organic revenue growth in line with the 4% to 6% medium-term target passes; a lower target or flat revenue fails.
May 2027 (estimate): Q1 2027 results: return to growth. Pending. Watch: Positive organic growth in both segments passes; another quarter of falling Financial Solutions revenue fails.
- Recent events
- Nov 3, 2026: Fiserv reported Q3 2026 results. GAAP revenue fell 1% to $5.20 billion, and organic revenue was flat. Financial Solutions organic revenue grew 2%, and Merchant Solutions fell 2%. Adjusted EPS fell 14% to $1.75, and the adjusted operating margin was 31.2%, against 37.0% a year earlier. A non-cash goodwill impairment of $6.45 billion gave a GAAP loss of $11.17 per share. Fiserv kept its 2026 outlook, raised its Project Elevate savings target to $1 billion from $500 million and plans $500 million of share buybacks in Q4 2026. The stock rose about 12% that day.
Oct 22, 2026: The board appointed Raj Seshadri, a former Mastercard executive, as a director from November 30, 2026. Henrique De Castro will not stand for re-election at the 2027 annual meeting.
Sep 16, 2026: Adam Rosman resigned as Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Legal Officer, effective September 30, 2026. Eric Nelson, the General Counsel, became Chief Legal Officer on October 1, 2026.
Aug 6, 2026: Fiserv reported Q2 2026 results. GAAP revenue fell 4% to $5.29 billion, and organic revenue fell 5%. Adjusted EPS fell 26% to $1.84. The adjusted operating margin fell to 31.8% from 39.6%. Fiserv cut its 2026 outlook to organic revenue of minus 1% to 0% and adjusted EPS of $7.20 to $7.40, and it kept its medium-term growth targets. It also completed the MoneyPass joint venture.
Jul 7, 2026: Dhivya Suryadevara resigned as President. Andrew Gelb and Srini Krish became interim leaders of the Financial Solutions business.
Jun 23, 2026: Fiserv sold €1.0 billion of senior notes due 2030 and 2034, with a weighted average coupon of 4.0%. In June and July 2026, it bought back $1.41 billion of its notes due 2027 and 2049 for $1.23 billion.
Jun 15, 2026: Fiserv named Takis Georgakopoulos as CEO. He replaced Mike Lyons, who left to become CEO of Truist Financial. Fiserv kept its 2026 outlook that day. The stock fell about 11%.
May 14, 2026: At its Investor Day, Fiserv set medium-term targets for 2027 to 2029: adjusted revenue growth of 4% to 6% a year, an adjusted operating margin of 37% or more, adjusted EPS of $12 or more in 2029, free cash flow of more than $13.5 billion over the three years and gross leverage at the low end of 2.5 to 3.0 times.
May 5, 2026: Fiserv reported Q1 2026 results. Organic revenue fell 4%, and adjusted EPS fell 16% to $1.79. Fiserv kept its 2026 outlook. The stock fell about 9% that day.