Fiserv's third-quarter results were shaped largely by an accounting charge tied to businesses it acquired in earlier years. The Milwaukee company processes payments for merchants and runs core systems for banks. A non-cash goodwill impairment of about $6.5 billion drove a GAAP loss of $11.17 per share, while adjusted earnings reached $1.75 per share, the company said. A goodwill write-down marks acquired businesses down on the books and consumes no cash.
The outlook Fiserv left unchanged on Tuesday is far humbler than the one it began the year with. When it named Takis Georgakopoulos chief executive, Fiserv reaffirmed its May outlook of 1% to 3% organic revenue growth for 2026; Tuesday's release held to an organic revenue outlook of a 1% decline to flat and adjusted earnings of $7.20 to $7.40 per share, targets first given on the second-quarter call. Management is counting on revenue picking up in the fourth quarter.
Cost-cutting is where the new figures came in. Fiserv doubled its Project Elevate savings target to $1 billion from $500 million and plans to buy back $500 million of stock in the fourth quarter, the release said. The larger goal came out of a portfolio review that found more room to run operations efficiently. The buyback will draw on an existing repurchase authorization and starts sooner than the company had planned, a shift its finance chief tied to growing confidence in the business.
Investors looked past the write-down. Shares rose in premarket trading after adjusted earnings and revenue beat analyst estimates, MarketWatch reported, following a sharp slide earlier in the year. Analysts on the call asked when the additional savings would lift margins and how Fiserv would retire products without disrupting customers. Management said the incremental savings would largely arrive after 2027 and deferred a more detailed discussion of the 2027 benefit until its next earnings call. Whether the fourth quarter delivers the growth management has pointed to is the next test.