Fiserv Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Lyons blamed a raft of operational shortcomings for the earnings disappointment that triggered a record rout in the payments giant’s stock last month, rejecting speculation that accounting issues played any role in the company’s recent woes.
Lyons said he had ordered a “rigorous” deep-dive analysis in conjunction with the firm’s annual strategic planning and budgeting processes, which it completed ahead of its earnings release on Oct. 29. The analysis uncovered trouble spots including uneven performance, misplaced priorities, and the fading boost from high-growth markets such as Argentina.
“Nothing had anything to do with accounting,” Lyons said at the KBW Fintech Payments Conference, responding to a question from an analyst who cited speculation around the issue.
Fiserv, once seen as one of the industry’s safest bets, stunned Wall Street late last month by slashing its outlook and announcing leadership changes including naming a new chief financial officer and reshuffling board members. Its sudden plunge, which sent Fiserv’s shares tumbling more than 40%, ranks among the most dramatic in the fintech’s recent history.
The earnings shock drew scrutiny to the tenure of Lyons’ predecessor Frank Bisignano — who left the company in May to take a job in President Donald Trump’s administration. Earlier this month, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden launched a probe into Bisignano’s time as CEO of Fiserv. Bisignano currently serves as Social Security Administration Commissioner and was recently announced as CEO of the Internal Revenue Service.
Lyons said his review revealed how cyclical tailwinds had inflated results. Argentina, which contributed about 10% of Fiserv’s organic revenue growth in 2024, now accounts for just 2% amid heightened inflation. He also acknowledged that several business lines underperformed expectations and that necessary operational investments had contributed to the recent results.
“In the end, we felt obviously, the result was the result, which we’re not happy with,” Lyons said, adding that the analysis “gave us a great understanding of our gaps, our opportunities, strengths of the company, and that’s gone directly into where we’ve set our strategic priorities and where we will allocate capital going forward.”
