A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Fiserv (FI). Shares have lost about 4.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Fiserv due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Fiserv has reported mixed fourth-quarter 2024 results, wherein earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues missed the mark.
FI’s adjusted earnings per share of $2.51 beat the consensus mark by 1.2% and gained 14.6% year over year. Adjusted revenues of $4.9 billion missed the consensus estimate by 1.1% and declined marginally on a year-over-year basis.
Processing and services’ revenues of $4.3 billion increased 5.8% on a year-over-year basis and beat our estimate of $4.2 billion. Revenues in the Product segment were $991 million, rising 11.1% from the year-ago quarter’s actual and outpacing our estimate of $961.4 million.
Revenues from Merchant Acceptance were $2.5 billion, rising 10.5% year over year and beating our estimate of $2.2 billion. The Financial Solutions segment reported revenues of $2.4 billion, marking a 3% increase from the year-ago quarter and missing our projection of $2.7 billion.
The operating margin for the Merchant acceptance segment was 39.2%, up 150 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis. The adjusted operating margin for the Financial Solutions segment was 51.7%, increasing 330 bps from the year-ago quarter.
Fiserv exited the fourth quarter of 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion, unchanged from the third quarter of 2024. The long-term debt was $23.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with $24.1 billion in the preceding quarter.
FI generated $2.2 million in net cash from operating activities, whereas its free cash flow was $1.9 billion. Capital expenditure was $399 million. The company repurchased 6.1 million shares for $1.3 billion in the quarter.
The company has its 2025 guidance for adjusted earnings per share to $10.1-$10.3.
Fiserv expects its year-over-year earnings growth guidance to 15-17%. FI anticipates its year-over-year organic revenue growth guidance to be 16-17%.
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
Currently, Fiserv has an average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Fiserv has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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