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what it is
Fiserv runs the plumbing for banks and card payments, so your debit swipe and bill pay often touch its software.
how it gets paid
Last year Fiserv made $21.2B in revenue. merchant acceptance was the main engine at $8.1B, or 38% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 3.6% last year. The 24.91% EPS miss mattered most because it broke the market's trust in management's growth plan.
what just happened
Fiserv's last report missed hard, with EPS at $1.99 versus $2.65 expected.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
100/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
7.7x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
10.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 52/100 — below average
What they do
Fiserv runs the plumbing for banks and card payments, so your debit swipe and bill pay often touch its software.
Fiserv serves about 18,000 financial institutions across 85 countries. Scale → more customers on the same rails → lower per-customer costs. So what: if your bank already runs core processing, bill pay, and card systems on Fiserv, switching is painful and expensive.
How they make money
$21.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +3.6% last year
merchant acceptance
$8.1B
+8.0%
card and debit processing
$4.8B
+4.0%
digital banking and bill pay
$3.4B
2.0%
bank core processing
$3.1B
3.0%
trust and back-office services
$1.8B
+1.0%
The products that matter
processes merchant payments
Merchant Solutions
6M merchant locations
it processes payments for 6 million merchant locations globally. that's the part of the story doing the defensive work while other areas softened.
scale engine
runs banking software
Financial Solutions
organic revenue -3% in Q3
this segment serves financial institutions, but organic revenue fell 3% in Q3. that's not a side note. that's the number sitting inside the valuation discount.
pressure point
moves money on networks
Payments and Network
18,000 financial institutions
it handles card issuing and network activity across a client base of about 18,000 financial institutions. this page does not break out segment revenue, so the customer reach is the proof beat you have.
sticky rails
Key numbers
7.7x
trailing p/e
P/E → how many dollars you pay for $1 of earnings → so what: you are paying a bargain multiple because the market expects trouble.
$96
18-month target
That sits $29.71 above today's $66.29 price. So what: the rerating case is real, but only if execution stops slipping.
27.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business, before interest and taxes → so what: the core engine is still very profitable.
$28.9B
long-term debt
Debt → borrowed money that must be serviced → so what: a slowdown hurts more when nearly half your capital structure is debt.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 40 / 100
- long-term debt $28.9B (45% of capital)
- net profit margin 21.6% — keeps 22 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 18% — $0.18 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — net profit margin looks solid but long-term debt needs watching.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in FISV 3 years ago → it's now worth $6,460.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Fiserv's last report missed hard, with EPS at $1.99 versus $2.65 expected.
Quarterly revenue was about $5.3B, and the weak spot was Financial Solutions. Merchant Solutions held up better, helped by Clover.
$5.3B
revenue
$1.99
eps
27.5%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The 24.91% EPS miss mattered most because it broke the market's trust in management's growth plan.
-
fiserv likely posted disappointing fourth-quarter results.
-
revenues probably declined to approximately $5.2 billion.
-
this sequential deterioration relative to the prior year reflects continued weakness in the financial solutions segment, which saw organic revenue fall 3% in the third quarter amid softness in digital payments and banking.
-
while the merchant solutions segment has held up, driven by the strength of the clover platform, partially offsetting the top-line decline.
-
a weaker top line likely hurt margins, and we estimate adjusted earnings fell to $1.95 per share in the december quarter.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
Fiserv's problem is specific, not abstract: one major segment is already shrinking, debt is real, and the valuation only looks cheap if the weak spot stops spreading.
med
Financial Solutions keeps shrinking
organic revenue in Financial Solutions fell 3% in Q3. if that keeps happening, the company's 3.6% overall growth rate starts looking less like a pause and more like the real ceiling.
with total revenue at $21.2B, there is not much room for one major segment to stay negative while the stock tries to re-rate.
med
the balance sheet buys less patience than bulls want
Fiserv carries $28.9B of long-term debt, equal to 45% of capital. that's manageable in a steady business. it matters more when growth is already modest.
if revenue stays around the current 3.6% pace, debt stops being background noise and becomes part of the multiple.
med
Merchant Solutions stops covering for the rest
the current story depends on merchant strength, especially Clover, offsetting weakness elsewhere. if the 6 million merchant-location engine slows too, the whole case gets thinner fast.
a business with a 21.6% net margin can absorb a lot. two soft areas at once is a different conversation.
revenue grew 3.6% last year, Financial Solutions was already down 3% organically in Q3, and debt is $28.9B. that's why the stock trades at 7.7x, not because the market forgot how to do math.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
key metric
can growth beat 3.6%
$21.2B of revenue growing 3.6% is stable, not exciting. if that number does not move higher, the multiple may stay low for a reason.
segment trend
Financial Solutions weakness
the 3% organic decline in Q3 is the operational problem to track. one more weak read and the "temporary" story gets harder to tell.
balance sheet
$28.9B of long-term debt
45% of capital in debt is fine when execution is clean. it matters more when your slow-growth segment is already slipping.
earnings
merchant strength versus banking softness
next quarter needs the same answer in plain english: Merchant Solutions and Clover holding up faster than Financial Solutions is falling.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts think this stock has more near-term drag than lift.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — middle-of-the-pack risk. not fragile, not defensive.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — there is no heroic reversal in the chart yet.
earnings predictability
100 / 100
management tends to land near guidance. the issue is less surprise and more whether the growth is good enough.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 807 buyers vs. 913 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.5B shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$54
$137
$66
current price
$96
target midpoint · +45% from current · 3-5yr high: $160 (+140% · 25% ann'l return)
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