Key Points
Fiserv beat Wall Street's earnings target for the first quarter, but sales came in below expectations.
Investors were betting that Fiserv would see stronger sales momentum.
Management's forward guidance also didn't provide much for investors to get excited about.
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Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) stock is losing ground in Tuesday's trading. The company's share price was down 9.5% as of 2:30 p.m. ET despite the S&P 500 being up 0.9% at the same point in the daily trading sessions and the Nasdaq Composite being up 1.1%.
Fiserv published its first-quarter results before the market opened this morning and reported earnings that were significantly better than Wall Street's expectations. On the other hand, sales for the period came in softer than anticipated.
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Fiserv sinks on mixed Q1 results
Fiserv posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $1.79 on sales of $4.68 billion in the first quarter. Earnings for the period topped the average analyst estimate by $0.21 per share, but sales for the period came in $50 million lower than expected. While the business recorded a strong earnings beat in the quarter, Fiserv's relatively modest sales miss fed into anxieties about the company's growth outlook. Revenue was down 2.3% year over year in the period, and investors are worried about the state of the business's growth engine.
What's next for Fiserv?
With the company's Q1 report, Fiserv reiterated its previously issued guidance for 2026. The company continues to expect that organic growth will come in between 1% and 3% for the year as merchant solutions revenue continue to grow and financial solutions sales come in between down slightly and flat on the year.
Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share are still projected to come in between $8 per share and $8.30 per share. Even though results are expected to improve in the back half of the year, performance in the current quarter is expected to be a relative low point -- and investors aren't excited about the near-term outlook.
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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
