Fiserv executives Thursday touted the company’s revised business strategy, promising it will revive revenue growth, despite a slowdown that suddenly cropped up in late 2025.
The Milwaukee-based payments processor, which also provides technology services to banks, has been on the ropes, with its stock down 70% over the past year. CEO Mike Lyons, appointed last year, sought to reassure investors and Wall Street analysts that the business would soon be back on track.
“We recognize the last year has been challenging, and we don't take that lightly,” Lyons said during the investor day presentation. “In response, we've made meaningful change across our leadership, our culture and how we show up for our clients.”
Lyons explained how the company undertook a comprehensive review of the Fiserv operation last year and developed a revised strategy built on the conclusion that the “underlying strength of our franchise was intact.”
The company’s scale of operations, extensive network for distribution of services to customers and its significant cache of data are still the foundation for a strong business, Lyons contended. Part of the key to turning the business around is continuing to embed Fiserv software service in clients’ systems and making its services more hardware agnostic, he said.
Nonetheless, analysts say investors remain skeptical. “Street sentiment remains execution-dependent on [the company’s plan], with investors likely awaiting tangible proof of improvement,” analysts at TD Cowen told clients in a note Thursday.
Fiserv has been trying to recover after a sudden stumble last year in meeting growth goals, particularly for its Clover point-of-sale business. The shortcomings showed up when the company reported third-quarter results that missed analyst expectations.
That became a problem for Lyons just months after he had taken over from ex-CEO Frank Bisignano, who left to lead the Social Security Administration under President Donald Trump. Lyons quickly tried to change up management and set a new course for the company.
Now, Lyons has dubbed 2026 a “transition” year. He noted Thursday that the company is backed by a solid client list including big names such as the bank Wells Fargo, the trading startup Robinhood Markets, card company Synchrony Financial and the retailer Costco Wholesale.
The company also plans to harness the power of artificial intelligence both for its own service offering as well as in-house benefits. To that end, Fiserv issued two press releases Thursday, one announcing a collaboration with ChatGPT owner OpenAI to deliver AI services to its bank clients and another disclosing a plan to work with six financial institutions in developing and deploying AI agents.
At the same time, the company will keep reviewing the business for those parts that might be divested, Lyons said. For instance, Fiserv announced earlier this week that it had agreed to sell a stake in its ATM business to Bridgeport Partners and form a joint venture.
Lyons also noted Thursday that the company’s market share in providing core technology services to banks, currently at about 25%, had slipped. He said Fiserv has been seeking to counteract that development.
“Our work and lots of feedback from our clients has identified very addressable issues, predominantly on the service and product delivery side, and less so on the technology side,” Lyons said.
Fiserv’s co-president and head of merchant solutions, Takis Georgakopoulos, is focused on buttressing the Clover business, which is still an important part of Fiserv’s growth outlook. The goal is to enhance the Clover product suite, maximize distribution, transform customer experiences and pursue international growth, he said Thursday.
“Fundamentally transforming our customer service experience will be key, not just to growth, but to customer satisfaction, word of mouth and retention,” Georgakopoulos said.
