Buy or Sell Fiserv Stock After Its 44% Crash?

Core Insights - Fiserv's stock experienced a significant decline of 44% on October 29, 2025, following disappointing third-quarter earnings and a lowered full-year forecast [2][3] Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share were reported at $2.04, missing the analyst consensus of $2.72, while revenue of $5.26 billion fell short of the $5.56 billion forecast [3] - The company revised its full-year earnings guidance down to a range of $8.50-$8.60 per share from a previous outlook of $10.15-$10.30 [3] - Organic revenue growth slowed to just 1% for the quarter, with particularly weak performance in the Merchant Solutions segment [4] - Fiserv's revenues grew 5.2% from $20 billion to $21 billion over the last 12 months, compared to a 5.4% increase for the S&P 500 [14] Operational Challenges - Management cited a slowdown in cyclical growth in Argentina and the impact of interest rates as contributing factors to the weak performance [4] - There was a sudden senior leadership overhaul and ongoing legal concerns regarding alleged inflated growth tied to the Clover platform, adding to investor uncertainty [4] Valuation Metrics - Fiserv's price-to-sales (P/S) ratio stands at 1.8, compared to 3.2 for the S&P 500, indicating a lower valuation relative to the broader market [7] - The company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 10.9 versus the benchmark's 23.6, suggesting it may be undervalued [7] Profitability and Financial Stability - Fiserv's operating income over the last four quarters was $6.2 billion, with an operating margin of 29%, significantly higher than the S&P 500's 18.7% [14] - The company's balance sheet appears weak, with a debt figure of $30 billion and a high debt-to-equity ratio of 76.5% compared to 21.2% for the S&P 500 [14] Market Resilience - Fiserv stock has shown more resilience compared to the S&P 500 during recent downturns, recovering fully from previous market crises [15]