Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) books $6.45 billion goodwill hit but keeps its full-year outlook

What happened

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) took a $6.45 billion non-cash goodwill impairment in the third quarter and left its 2026 outlook unchanged.

The company said the charge followed a triggering event tied to sustained drops in its share price and market capitalization. GAAP loss per share was $11.17 in the quarter, against earnings of $1.46 a year earlier.

Adjusted results, which exclude the impairment and other items, were also lower. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.75, down from $2.04 in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted operating margin was 31.2% against 37.0%.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
GAAP revenue, third quarter	$5.20 billion	from $5.26 billion, -1%	Fiserv third-quarter 2026 earnings release (SEC 8-K)
Non-cash goodwill impairment, third quarter	$6.45 billion		Fiserv third-quarter 2026 earnings release (SEC 8-K)
Adjusted earnings per share, third quarter	$1.75	from $2.04, -14.2%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Adjusted operating margin, third quarter	31.2%	from 37.0%, -5.8 percentage points	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Free cash flow, first nine months	$2.04 billion	from $2.88 billion, -29.2%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Project Elevate savings target	$1 billion	from $500 million (prior estimate), +100.0%	Calculated from SEC 8-K

Read more: Fiserv (FISV) company research

Revenue, margins and cash

Revenue slipped. OptimistFi's calculation from the income statement shows third-quarter GAAP revenue of $5.20 billion fell $67 million from the third quarter of 2025. Nine-month GAAP revenue of $15.52 billion fell $394 million from the same period of 2025.

Adjusted revenue was $4.85 billion in the quarter, down 1%, and organic revenue was flat. The segments moved in opposite directions. Organic revenue fell 2% in Merchant Solutions and rose 2% in Financial Solutions. CFO Paul Todd called that a return to organic revenue growth in Financial Solutions.

Profit margins fell in both segments. Merchant Solutions operating margin was 28.7%, down from 37.2% in the third quarter of 2025. Financial Solutions was 38.1%, down from 42.5%.

Cash generation weakened too. Net cash from operating activities was $3.09 billion in the first nine months, compared with $4.12 billion a year earlier. Free cash flow was $2.04 billion, down from $2.88 billion.

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Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Fiserv works if its embedded transaction infrastructure keeps customers from switching and management turns modest growth into cash and per-share earnings. This quarter supports the first half of that argument and strains the second.

On retention, CEO Takis Georgakopoulos said net attrition in banking is down more than 25 percent year to date and that major client wins are now ramping. On conversion, adjusted earnings per share, margins and free cash flow all fell from a year earlier.

The impairment is non-cash, but it followed sustained declines in Fiserv's own share price and market capitalization. The company also lists more non-cash goodwill impairment charges as a possible risk. Goodwill of $30.95 billion remains on the balance sheet as of Sept. 30.

Savings and buyback

Fiserv doubled its projected Project Elevate savings to $1 billion after a portfolio review found more ways to run efficiently.

The company also expects to repurchase $500 million of common stock in the fourth quarter under its existing authorization. Todd said growing confidence lets Fiserv resume repurchases earlier than expected. Purchases of treasury stock, including employee shares withheld for taxes, were $395 million in the first nine months, against $5.70 billion a year earlier.

Savings are working against rising costs. One Fiserv transformation program expenses were $487 million in the first nine months, up from $13 million a year earlier. The company excludes them from adjusted earnings.

What's next

Fourth-quarter results will test two things. One is whether Fiserv completed the planned repurchase. The other is whether revenue speeds up, as Todd said second-half initiatives support.

Organic revenue fell 3% in the first nine months, so the full-year range of a 1% decline to flat depends on that fourth-quarter pickup. Adjusted earnings per share were $5.38 through nine months, against full-year guidance of $7.20 to $7.40. A miss on either would weaken the case. Delivery would strengthen it.

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