Fiserv Shares Plunge 44% In Record One-Day Drop As Company Gets Wall Street Downgrades On Leadership Changes, Forecast Cuts

• William Blair downgraded Fiserv to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ and noted that it no longer recommends the stock, given a "shocking" third quarter.
• Wolfe Research downgraded Fiserv to ‘Peer Perform’ from ‘Outperform,’ according to TheFly, on the heels of the guidance cut that it says "raised structural concerns."
• Fiserv announced that Paul Todd has been named the company’s Chief Financial Officer, effective October 31, succeeding Robert Hau.

Fiserv Inc. (FI) shares were down nearly 44%, on track for their largest one-day decline on Wednesday, as the company also witnessed multiple Wall Street downgrades following leadership transitions and a cut in annual forecasts.

Wolfe Research downgraded Fiserv to ‘Peer Perform’ from ‘Outperform,’ according to TheFly on the heels of the guidance cut that it says "raised structural concerns." The firm noted that it was "tactically cautious" and previewed a potential guidance cut.

The firm said that the combination of materially weaker third-quarter results across segments, along with acknowledgement of several short-term and unsustainable levers used at the company in recent years that need to be reversed, led Wolfe Research to see "too much uncertainty in the medium-term through a necessary transition period.”

The company stock fell about 44%, hitting its biggest percentage drop ever at $71.22, according to Koyfin. Retail sentiment on Fiserv jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bearish’ territory compared to a day ago, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

William Blair Calls It A “Shocking Q3”

William Blair downgraded Fiserv to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform,’ according to TheFly. The firm noted that it no longer recommends the stock given a "shocking" third-quarter revenue and earnings per share miss and abrupt management transition.

Relatively new CEO Mike Lyons is now in a difficult position to figure out what went wrong, the firm noted, adding that it has "low conviction" in the underpinnings of Fiserv's merchant competitive position.

On Wednesday, the company announced that Paul Todd has been named the company’s Chief Financial Officer, effective October 31, succeeding Robert Hau, who will serve as a senior advisor through the first quarter of 2026.

Buying Opportunity In Fiserv Peers

Wells Fargo said that it sees buying opportunities in Fiserv, Global Payments (GPN), Block (XYZ) and Toast (TOST) with the stocks trading down in sympathy with Fiserv.

Fiserv's issues are largely company-specific and execution related, which is likely benefitting its peers, Wells Fargo said. As such, the firm said it believes read-throughs from the company's earnings report to peers are "misguided" and still expects FIS, Global Payments, Block and Toast to report solid results.

Shares of Fiserv have declined over 65% this year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also See: Caterpillar Sees Strong Growth In Energy Segment Fueled By AI Infrastructure Demand

Share

·

Add us on