AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-3: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 5/6 · 31/10/2026
Moat63
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 3/4 · Multi-year processing contracts, minimum fees, capitalized implementation activity and continued Wells Fargo processing demonstrate a current switching-cost advantage in important workflows. Its breadth and comparative strength remain unquantified; implementation spending does not directly measure customer migration costs.
durability · 2/4 · Multi-year processing arrangements appear in both 2023 and 2025 disclosures, and minimum commitments provide persistence. However, unquantified renewals, possession rights in qualifying hosted software arrangements and intensifying competition limit confidence beyond existing contract periods.
customer dependency · 3/4 · Loan, deposit, payment and card processing serve central operating functions. Implementation activity and continued Wells Fargo processing after alliance non-renewal support meaningful embeddedness. Dependency is assessed from these workflows and contractual behavior; customer migration disruption is not directly measured.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · First-half 2026 processing revenue remained approximately flat and Wells Fargo processing persisted. Nevertheless, organic revenue declined 4%, processing costs increased and both segments' operating performance weakened. Resilience is mixed; the disclosures do not establish customer departures as the cause.
Pricing power—
Insufficient evidence for every rubric criterion; no category score is inferred.
realized pricing · — · Management describes value-based pricing, but the catalog provides no realized price changes or price-volume-mix bridge. Approximately flat processing revenue and declining overall organic revenue cannot isolate pricing outcomes. Margin deterioration likewise does not establish price cuts or failed repricing.
retention · 2/4 · Multi-year commitments, issuer-stated high renewals and continued Wells Fargo processing support repeat demand. Approximately flat first-half processing revenue provides indirect operating evidence. Customer-level renewal rates and churn remain unavailable, and stable aggregate revenue can conceal customer gains and losses.
margin resilience · 1/4 · The processing cost ratio improved in 2024, then deteriorated in 2025. First-half 2026 processing costs rose against approximately flat processing revenue, and both segments suffered substantial margin compression. Lower license and analytics sales and higher personnel costs explain part of the weakness; price concessions are unproven.
contractual freedom · 2/4 · Fixed or monthly minimum fees protect agreed contractual economics, while scope and price modifications are described as mutually agreed. Broad unilateral repricing rights are not demonstrated. Potential difficulty passing through network fee increases limits flexibility, but this risk disclosure does not establish realized concessions.
Predictability100
5 consecutive published annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 100.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 2.08
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 2.58
- observedAnnualPeriods
- 5.00
Financial strength17
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, an original issuer-reported unadjusted EBIT reconciled to net income, income tax and signed net interest, or reported pretax profit plus reported gross interest expense. Reported EBIT is distinct from GAAP operating income and gross interest. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 17.93
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 3.06
- interestCoverageGrade
- 25.46
- currentRatioGrade
- 22.56
- Debt / FCF (x)
- 6.75
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- 4.85
- Interest coverage (x)
- 3.80
- Current ratio (x)
- 1.03
Capital allocation86
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income, an original issuer-reported unadjusted EBIT reconciled to net income, income tax and signed net interest, or EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported gross interest expense; the issuer-reported EBIT is distinct from GAAP operating income and gross interest; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. ROIC remains undefined for nonpositive invested capital; the explicit asset-return alternative does not change the ROIC chart. Missing financial inputs alone never trigger an alternative. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 10.66
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -5.21
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 1.76
- cashConversionGrade
- 100.00
Management44
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · First-half 2026 operating cash flow of $2.082 billion exceeded $956 million of capital expenditures. Repurchases declined sharply, debt repayments exceeded proceeds and commercial paper borrowings decreased. Falling cash generation, higher investment and $329 million of transformation expense leave allocation outcomes mixed; transformation returns remain unproven.
incentive alignment · 2/4 · Zero 2025 cash incentive payouts and 63.4% vesting of completed 2023 PSUs demonstrate performance sensitivity. Ownership requirements support alignment, though unvested RSUs count and some officers remain on track. Transition compensation and replacement-PSU provisions allowing target vesting regardless of performance temper alignment; actual settlement is unestablished.
execution · 1/4 · Actual 2025 results fell below cash incentive thresholds, followed by first-half 2026 organic revenue decline, substantial operating deterioration and transformation costs. Persistent processing activity partially offsets weak execution. The June CEO appointment and July leadership departure provide no demonstrated turnaround; individual causation is not established.
governance · 2/4 · An existing independent chair and specified board and committee risk oversight establish substantive governance arrangements. A disclosed financial-statement correction and weak operating outcomes temper demonstrated effectiveness. The correction's severity and cause are unknown, so it does not alone establish a material control failure.
Evidence
Processing and services revenue, which in 2025 represented 80% of our total revenue, is primarily generated from account- and transaction-based fees under multi-year contracts that generally have high renewal rates.
2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026-02-19; Business overview, processing revenue and contracts · Filed 19/02/2026
Processing and services revenue, which in 2023 represented 82% of our total revenue, is primarily generated from account- and transaction-based fees under multi-year contracts that generally have high renewal rates.
2023 Form 10-K, filed 2024-02-22; Business overview, processing revenue and contracts · Filed 22/02/2024
The amounts disclosed above as remaining performance obligations consist primarily of fixed or monthly minimum processing fees and maintenance fees under contracts with an original expected duration of greater than one year.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Revenue recognition, remaining performance obligations · Filed 07/08/2026
Capitalized sales commissions and conversion or implementation costs were as follows: December 31, (In millions) 2025 2024 Capitalized sales commissions $ 481 $ 483 Capitalized conversion or implementation costs 558 513 64 Table of Contents Capitalized contract costs are amortized based on the transfer of goods or services to which the asset relates.
2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026-02-19; Contract costs, capitalized conversion and implementation costs · Filed 19/02/2026
In connection with the non-renewal of WFMS, we entered into a multi-year agreement with Wells Fargo to provide processing for current and future merchant clients as well as other services to Wells Fargo’s merchant business.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Wells Fargo processing agreement following WFMS non-renewal · Filed 07/08/2026
The businesses in our Financial segment provide products and services to financial institution, corporate and public sector clients across the world, enabling the processing of customer loan and deposit accounts, digital payments and card transactions.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Financial segment processing functions · Filed 07/08/2026
Consolidated Statements of Income
(In millions, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30,
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2026
2025
2026
2025
Revenue:
Processing and services (1)
$
4,292
$
4,304
$
8,362
$
8,349
Product
1,000
1,212
1,957
2,297
Total revenue
5,292
5,516
10,319
10,646
Expenses:
Cost of processing and services
1,706
1,412
3,316
2,801
Cost of product
689
694
1,386
1,378
Selling, general and administrative
1,888
1,711
3,773
3,393
Net (gain) loss on sale of assets
(6)
3
(89)
(17)
Total expenses
4,277
3,820
8,386
7,555
Operating income
1,015
1,696
1,933
3,091
Interest expense, net
(370)
(365)
(717)
(696)
Gain on early debt extinguishment
154
—
154
—
Other expense, net
(24)
(39)
(2)
(57)
Income before income taxes and income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated affiliates
775
1,292
1,368
2,338
Income tax provision
(156)
(246)
(180)
(436)
Income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated affiliates
11
(16)
15
(24)
Net income
630
1,030
1,203
1,878
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
3
4
5
1
Net income attributable to Fiserv, Inc.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Consolidated Statements of Income, three and six months ended June 30 · Filed 07/08/2026
For arrangements involving hosted licensed software for the customer, a software element is considered present to the extent the customer has the contractual right to take possession of the software at any time during the hosting period without significant penalty and it is feasible for the customer to either operate the software on their own hardware or contract with another vendor to host the software.
2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026-02-19; Revenue recognition, hosted licensed software possession and hosting rights · Filed 19/02/2026
Because of this growth, competition also continues to intensify.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Market discussion, intensifying competition · Filed 07/08/2026
•Organic revenue decreased 4% in the first six months of 2026, with a 1% decline in the Merchant Solutions segment and a 7% decline in the Financial Solutions segment.
Second-quarter 2026 earnings release, filed 2026-08-06; First-half organic revenue results · Filed 06/08/2026
(2)n/m - Not meaningful 40 Table of Contents Three Months Ended June 30, (In millions) Merchant Financial Corporate and Other Total Total revenue: 2026 $ 2,608 $ 2,355 $ 329 $ 5,292 2025 2,644 2,552 320 5,516 Revenue change $ (36) $ (197) $ 9 $ (224) Revenue change percentage (1) % (8) % (4) % Operating income (loss): 2026 $ 781 $ 912 $ (678) $ 1,015 2025 914 1,244 (462) 1,696 Operating income (loss) change $ (133) $ (332) $ (216) $ (681) Operating income (loss) change percentage (14) % (27) % (40) % Operating margin: 2026 30.0 % 38.7 % 19.2 % 2025 34.6 % 48.7 % 30.7 % Operating margin change (1) (460) bps (1,000) bps (1,150) bps Six Months Ended June 30, (In millions) Merchant Financial Corporate and Other Total Total revenue: 2026 $ 4,981 $ 4,657 $ 681 $ 10,319 2025 5,016 4,969 661 10,646 Revenue change $ (35) $ (312) $ 20 $ (327) Revenue change percentage (1) % (6) % (3) % Operating income (loss): 2026 $ 1,407 $ 1,789 $ (1,263) $ 1,933 2025 1,724 2,392 (1,025) 3,091 Operating income (loss) change $ (317) $ (603) $ (238) $ (1,158) Operating income (loss) change percentage (18) % (25) % (37) % Operating margin: 2026 28.3 % 38.4 % 18.7 % 2025 34.4 % 48.1 % 29.0 % Operating margin change (1) (610) bps (970) bps (1,030) bps (1)Represents the basis point change in operating margin.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Segment revenue, operating income and margin comparisons · Filed 07/08/2026
Furthermore, we believe that our strength in distribution, our progress growing software and services, and our value-based pricing as we continue to invest in our operating systems, gives us a solid foundation for growth.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Management assertion concerning value-based pricing · Filed 07/08/2026
Contract modifications occur when we and our customers agree to modify existing customer contracts to change the scope or price (or both) of the contract, or when a customer terminates some, or all, of the existing services provided by us.
2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026-02-19; Contract modifications, agreed scope and price changes · Filed 19/02/2026
From time to time, card associations and debit networks, including the card networks which we own and operate, increase the processing and other fees (including what is commonly called “interchange fees”) that they charge.
2023 Form 10-K, filed 2024-02-22; Risk factors, card association and debit network fee increases · Filed 22/02/2024
It is possible that competitive and other pressures will result in us absorbing a portion of such increases in the future, or not being able to increase our own fees, which would increase our operating costs, reduce our profit margin, limit our growth, and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
2023 Form 10-K, filed 2024-02-22; Risk factors, potential inability to pass through fee increases · Filed 22/02/2024
Cost of processing and services as a percentage of processing and services revenue increased to 34.4% in 2025 compared to 32.2% in 2024.
2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026-02-19; Processing cost ratio, 2025 versus 2024 · Filed 19/02/2026
Cost of processing and services as a percentage of processing and services revenue decreased to 32.2% in 2024 compared to 34.1% in 2023.
2024 Form 10-K, filed 2025-02-20; Processing cost ratio, 2024 versus 2023 · Filed 20/02/2025
The decrease in operating income and operating margin in our Financial segment in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 was primarily due to a decrease in high margin license revenue and data and analytics sales and higher personnel costs.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Financial segment margin decline explanation · Filed 07/08/2026
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In millions) (Unaudited) Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income $ 1,203 $ 1,878 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and other amortization 1,050 897 Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 626 673 Amortization of financing costs and debt discounts 25 22 Share-based compensation 235 215 Deferred income taxes (170) (215) Net gain on sale of assets (89) (17) Net gain on early debt extinguishment (130) — (Income) loss from investments in unconsolidated affiliates (15) 24 Originations of merchant cash advances, held for sale (37) — Proceeds from repayments and sales of merchant cash advances, originally classified as held for sale 37 — Distributions from unconsolidated affiliates 19 22 Non-cash foreign currency exchange losses 9 65 Other operating activities 4 (6) Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects from acquisitions: Trade accounts receivable 97 (280) Prepaid expenses and other assets (156) (612) Contract costs (129) (121) Accounts payable and other liabilities (466) (272) Contract liabilities (31) 40 Net cash provided by operating activities 2,082 2,313 Cash flows from investing activities: Capital expenditures, including capitalized software and other intangibles (956) (814) Proceeds from sale of assets 187 — Merchant cash advances, including Clover Capital program (566) — Repayments and sales of merchant cash advances, including Clover Capital program 678 — Settlement anticipation cash advances, net 188 (539) Payments for acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired — (337) Distributions from unconsolidated affiliates 8 13 Purchases of investments (16) (41) Proceeds from sale of investments 15 474 Other investing activities 3 (19) Net cash used in investing activities (459) (1,263) 4 Table of Contents Fiserv, Inc.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, first-half operating and investing activities · Filed 07/08/2026
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (cont.)
(In millions, unaudited)
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2026
2025
Cash flows from financing activities
Debt proceeds
$
2,097
$
3,679
Debt repayments, including redemption and other costs
(2,762)
(2,360)
Net (repayments of) borrowings from commercial paper and short-term borrowings
(708)
1,925
Payments of debt financing costs
(2)
(5)
Proceeds from issuance of treasury stock
22
37
Purchases of treasury stock, including employee shares withheld for tax obligations
(393)
(4,642)
Settlement activity, net
(637)
200
Payment to acquire noncontrolling interest of consolidated subsidiary
—
(22)
Other financing activities
—
22
Net cash used in financing activities
Second-quarter 2026 earnings release, filed 2026-08-06; First-half financing cash flows · Filed 06/08/2026
The operating loss in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 included costs associated with our strategic One Fiserv transformation program of $187 million and $329 million, respectively.
June 2026 Form 10-Q, filed 2026-08-07; One Fiserv transformation expenses · Filed 07/08/2026
Because our results for adjusted revenue and adjusted operating income for 2025 were below threshold, our named executive officers did not receive any payouts under the cash incentive plan.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Actual 2025 cash incentive outcome · Filed 02/04/2026
Performance Goals for 2024 In 2024, the talent and compensation committee established the achievement levels as follows: 2024 PSUs Organic Revenue Growth (40% Weighting) Adjusted Earnings Per Share (20% Weighting) Performance Multiplier Threshold 13% $8.30 50% Target 16% $8.63 100% Maximum 19% $9.00 200% Performance Goals for 2025 In 2025, the talent and compensation committee established the achievement levels as follows: 2024 / 2025 PSUs Organic Revenue Growth (40% Weighting) Adjusted Earnings Per Share (20% Weighting) Performance Multiplier Threshold 8% $9.90 50% Target 11% $10.25 100% Maximum 14% $10.60 200% 2023 Performance Share Units The performance share units granted in 2023, with a three-year performance period ended on December 31, 2025, vested at 63.4% of the target award level based on average organic revenue growth of 103% of target (40% weighting), average adjusted earnings per share growth of 110% of target (20% weighting), in each case, over the three-year period ended December 31, 2025, as well as our total shareholder return versus the S&P 500 Index over the three-year period of 0% of target (40% weighting).
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; PSU goals and completed 2023 PSU vesting outcome · Filed 02/04/2026
(5) Represents incremental compensation expense associated with the transition of the company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), comprised of $40 million of former CEO non-cash share-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes, and a $12 million cash replacement award paid to the company’s new CEO appointed in 2025.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Actual 2025 CEO transition compensation expense · Filed 02/04/2026
To emphasize this principle, we maintain a stock ownership policy that requires our executive officers to own equity having a value of at least the following:
Role
Stock Ownership Requirement
Chief Executive Officer
12x annual base salary
Other Executive Officers
4x annual base salary
We believe that these levels are sufficiently rigorous to demonstrate a commitment to long-term value creation, while satisfying our executive officers’ needs for portfolio diversification.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Executive stock ownership policy · Filed 02/04/2026
In assessing our officers’ compliance with stock ownership requirements, we include the value of unvested restricted stock units but we do not count performance share units.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Equity counted toward executive ownership requirements · Filed 02/04/2026
All named executive officers have satisfied the ownership requirements or are otherwise on track to do so within the allotted time period.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Reported executive ownership compliance or progress · Filed 02/04/2026
For the Suryadevara Replacement PSUs and Suryadevara Replacement RSUs, in the event of a termination without cause or resignation for good reason (as defined in the Suryadevara Offer Letter) absent a change of control, the Suryadevara Replacement PSUs will cliff vest at the end of the relevant performance period at target, regardless of actual performance results, and the Suryadevara Replacement RSUs will continue to vest as though a termination of employment did not occur.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Suryadevara replacement award termination provisions · Filed 02/04/2026
Summary of Key Considerations • Fiserv already has an independent board chair.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Existing independent board chair · Filed 02/04/2026
Board of Directors • Maintains primary oversight of strategic, operational, and financial risks • Receives information regarding our financial performance and condition from our chief executive officer and chief financial officer to understand and address current and emerging risks • Discusses with senior management and other business leaders our business strategy, operations and results, as well as developments in our industry, to enable the board to evaluate competitive and operational risks Risk Committee • Reviews and discusses with management key risks, including cybersecurity, business continuity, resiliency, technology, artificial intelligence, privacy and data management, credit, settlement, liquidity, third-party, regulatory compliance, and market risk, including product, geography and competition risks • Annually reviews, jointly with the audit committee, our ERM program, including the identification of top risks • Regularly reviews and approves a list of top enterprise risks, an enterprise risk appetite statement, and the tolerance levels for board-level risk metrics • Reviews and discusses with management the risk appetite relating to top risks, as well as the guidelines, policies and processes for monitoring and mitigating such risks • Reviews and discusses with management the risk governance structure and the guidelines, policies and processes regarding risk assessment and management • Reviews and discusses with management relevant regulatory exams, findings from such exams, and the status of the remediation of any such findings • Monitors the performance of the risk management function Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee • Working closely with management and the board, oversees management of risks associated with director succession, independence, and conflicts of interest, as well as regulatory risks related to our corporate governance programs and policies • Oversees our corporate social responsibility programs, policies, stakeholder engagement, and reporting, including identifying, evaluating and monitoring related trends, opportunities and risks • Oversees our public policy activities and, at least annually, reviews our political contributions and expenditures and political expenditure policy Fiserv, Inc.
2026 proxy statement, filed 2026-04-02; Board and committee risk oversight responsibilities · Filed 02/04/2026
☑ If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.
2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026-02-19; Cover-page indication of correction to previously issued financial statements · Filed 19/02/2026
On June 14, 2026, Takis Georgakopoulos was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Company and as a member of the Board.
Form 8-K, filed 2026-06-15; CEO appointment effective June 14, 2026 · Filed 15/06/2026
Ms. Suryadevara’s resignation as President is effective as of July 7, 2026, and she will remain a non-executive officer employee eligible for her current base salary and benefit plan participation through July 31, 2026, to enable an orderly transition of her duties.
Form 8-K, filed 2026-07-07; Suryadevara resignation and transition employment · Filed 07/07/2026
