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Today's Bonus Content
3 Different Fintech Giants: Turnaround, Stability, or Risky Bet?Reported by Peter Frank. Article Published: 4/12/2026. 
Key Points
- Fiserv offers turnaround potential but faces slowing growth and weak investor confidence.
- Global Payments is pursuing a major acquisition that adds scale but introduces execution and integration risk.
- FIS stands out for stable growth and income, with a dividend yield near 4%.
- Special Report: Elon Musk’s $1 Quadrillion AI IPO
The payments industry is booming. So why isn’t everyone benefiting? Companies like Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV), Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) and FIS (NYSE: FIS) collect a toll every time you tap your card, pay an invoice, or move money digitally. Yet each tells a very different story when it comes to financial results and stock performance. One looks like a deep-value turnaround, one just completed a massive acquisition that could transform or complicate its business, and one is a steady dividend grower. Investors looking to capture the payments trend might consider one or all three to build a broader exposure. Fiserv: A Contrarian Bet on a Battered StockFiserv has had a rough run. The stock now trades near levels last seen eight years ago, despite the company still generating billions in free cash flow and maintaining leading positions with banks and merchants nationwide.
Liberation Day wiped over $2 trillion from markets in a single day. Then a 90-day tariff pause added $4 trillion back to the S&P 500. Trump's AI initiatives sent Palantir up over 140%. Trader Larry Benedict says all of that was just the warm-up.
Benedict is calling what comes next 'Project 2026' - a move he believes could send billions, potentially trillions, into overlooked corners of the market. He's identified one ticker sitting at the center of it all, and he's revealing the name today at no cost. Larry is calling it "Project 2026."
For 2025, Fiserv reported revenue of $21.2 billion and operating income of $5.8 billion, powered by its recurring payments-processing business. The fourth quarter showed modest momentum: revenue remained relatively flat, but earnings beat analyst expectations. Revenue grew less than 1% year-over-year to $4.9 billion, and earnings per share were $1.99 — 21% below the year‑ago period but about $0.09 ahead of estimates. The real hit to Fiserv shares, though, came earlier. After hitting a 52-week high of $221.50 per share, the stock plunged in late 2025 when third-quarter results disappointed investors. The company then named two new co-presidents and replaced its chief financial officer. A more recent sell-off followed the year-end numbers and a new growth scare. Management's 2026 guidance — $8.00 to $8.30 in earnings per share with organic revenue growth of 1%–3%, below last year’s increase — reinforced concerns that the company’s restructuring plan could take longer than hoped. Analysts maintain a mostly cautious stance. Of 37 analysts covering the stock, 26 recommend Hold, nine recommend Buy and two recommend Sell. The average 12‑month price target is in the low‑to‑mid $70s. For contrarian investors willing to bet on a turnaround, the risk-reward may be tempting, but patience could be required. Global Payments: Big Acquisition, Bigger Question MarksGPN presents a more complex picture. For 2025, adjusted net revenue rose 2% to $9.3 billion — or up 6% on a constant-currency, pro forma basis — while adjusted earnings per share climbed 11% to $12.22. GAAP results, however, painted a different picture: both revenue and net income declined under that method. At the same time, the company announced a $2.5 billion share repurchase as part of a plan to return $7.5 billion in capital to shareholders through 2027. GPN currently pays a modest quarterly dividend of $0.25, yielding around 1.5% at recent prices. What makes GPN interesting is the transformation it’s pursuing. A defining event was its Worldpay acquisition, which closed in January 2026. The company acquired 100% of Worldpay in a complex cash, stock, and debt transaction worth more than $24 billion and simultaneously divested its Issuer Solutions business back to FIS. That deal positions GPN as a commerce‑focused provider, with management arguing the merchant platform will deliver greater scale, improved cross‑border capabilities, and richer data. Investors, however, are unlikely to see the full financial benefit for some time, and integrations of this magnitude carry execution risks. The company projects net revenue growth of about 5% in 2026 and expects adjusted EPS to increase roughly 13% to $13.80–$14.00 per share. Analyst sentiment is lukewarm. GPN has an overall Hold consensus from 25 analysts, with an average price target in the upper $80s — a reasonable upside from the current mid‑$60s but not a resounding endorsement. Several analysts have lowered their assessments as the stock recently hit a 52‑week low. FIS: Better for Income InvestorsFidelity National Information Services, known as FIS, offers a different profile: steadier growth, rising free cash flow, and an increasingly attractive dividend. After spinning off its stake in the Worldpay merchant business to GPN, FIS reported 2025 revenue of $10.7 billion, up 5%, while adjusted EPS rose 10% to $5.75. Cash flow from continuing operations grew 19%, and the board approved a 10% dividend increase to $0.44 per share. In total, the company returned $2.1 billion to shareholders in the year, including $1.3 billion in buybacks. The outlook for 2026 is also constructive: management projects adjusted revenue growth of around 30% and adjusted EPS growth of 8%–10%. Wall Street is generally optimistic, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The average price target of $69.67 implies nearly a 50% upside from current levels. The dividend yield is now nearly 4%, making FIS one of the more attractive income plays in the space. Risks remain if the broader financial sector slows or large clients pull back, and pricing pressure from big customers could compress margins. But for investors seeking steady returns from a company in financial infrastructure, FIS presents the most balanced risk-reward of the three. Different Ways to Play PaymentsThese three companies offer distinct trade‑offs. All three provide exposure to digital payments, but each occupies a different niche: Fiserv as a potential turnaround, GPN as a growth and scale play after a massive acquisition, and FIS as a dividend-oriented, steadier operator. Investors could bundle all three to diversify exposure to the payments sector, or take a more focused approach — for example, targeting FIS for income, GPN for growth potential, and Fiserv as a contrarian bet if its restructuring gains traction. Although they operate in the same slice of the financial services sector, their similarities largely end there. |
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