Fiserv shares rally to record on earnings beat, bullish revenue outlook

Shares of Fiserv jumped more than 7% on Wednesday to a record after the payments company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and issued guidance that also topped estimates.

The stock closed at $229.53, exceeding its previous high reached in November, and is now up about 60% over the past year. Fiserv, which went public in 1986, provides digital payments technology to small businesses and financial institutions.

Fiserv reported adjusted earnings of $2.51 in the quarter, exceeding the average analyst estimate of $2.48, according to LSEG. Revenue increased about 7% to $5.25 billion from $4.92 billion a year earlier, topping the $4.96 billion consensus estimate.

Clover revenue jumped 29% from the year-ago quarter and in the full year, reaching $2.7 billion for all of 2024. The Clover product consists of payments hardware and software, and helps businesses streamline receivables and payables.

CEO Frank Bisignano told CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Wednesday that Clover is a key driver of growth, and said Fiserv’s relationships with 3,500 U.S. banks provide an opportunity to deepen market penetration and product offerings. Fiserv completed the $22 billion acquisition of payment processor First Data in 2019.

“The strength of the company is the construction of the company that we built by putting First Data and Fiserv together which others tried, but they then didn’t get there,” Bisignano said. He added that the integration allowed the company to serve small businesses as well as major enterprises such as McDonald’s and Walmart, along with nearly every bank in the country.

Bisignano was nominated by President Donald Trump to head the Social Security Administration. Fiserv in January named Michael Lyons as its CEO-elect and said he would report to Bisignano, who will keep his current role until June 30 or “upon an earlier confirmation by the U.S. Senate.”

For 2025, Fiserv expects revenue growth of 10% to 12%. Analysts were calling for growth of about 8%. The company forecast adjusted earnings of $10.10 to $10.30 for 2025, about in line with Wall Street’s consensus of $10.21.

After the report, Mizuho reaffirmed its buy recommendation, citing Fiserv’s distribution network and Clover’s outperformance.

In a separate report, Mizuho said Fiserv and other payment companies could be beneficiaries of the Trump administration’s tariffs due to higher payment processing from rising prices. The Clover business, in particular, stands to benefit, as transaction volumes increase at restaurants and other small businesses, the firm said.

Still, analysts noted a few risks to Fiserv’s momentum, such as a potential slowdown in new U.S. merchant customers and bank consolidation.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.