Fiserv posted second-quarter results that showed continued traction in eCommerce amid an economic recovery that has been strong in the U.S. but uneven in other parts of the world, according to comments made by management on the conference call to discuss earnings.
In terms of headline numbers, adjusted earnings of $1.37 were eight pennies better than the Street expected. Consolidated revenues, on an adjusted basis, were $3.8 billion, up 20 percent, better than the Street forecast at $3.9 billion.
The FinTech revenues were $754 million, compared to $714 million last year. The Payments and Network segment’s adjusted revenues were $1.4 billion, up from $1.3 billion in the second quarter of last year.
The supplemental materials that accompanied earnings showed that strength is continuing into July.
Drilling down into the earnings release, adjusted revenues of $1.7 billion in the Merchant Acceptance segment were up from last year at $1.2 billion. Debit transaction volumes surged 31 percent in the quarter, and Zelle transactions gained 94 percent in the period.
Management said that Fiserv saw 35 percent global merchant growth in the quarter, and noted that merchant acceptance results are above rates seen before the pandemic. Perhaps not surprisingly, eCommerce remains healthy, up 21 percent year over year as measured in volume for the period.
“The shift to digital commerce drove consumer demand for seamless experiences across channels,” said CEO Frank Bisignano. He said that North American purchase volume was up 33 percent in the quarter, led by strength in spending in retail, gas and restaurants.
Bisignano said on the call that for Fiserv as a whole, “the three legs are Clover, Carat and Clover Connect. And all of those were continued investments with continued build-out, and we’re seeing it show up in the clients’ offices,” particularly in the U.S.
Offline momentum is rebounding, management said on the call, with volumes up 46 percent over last year and 19 percent versus the pre-pandemic 2019.
Clover logged 96 percent GPV growth in the quarter, according to the data, where Bisignano said the GPV is $184 billion on an annualized basis, and where Clover Connect has helped spur ISV volumes to surge 122 percent year on year. CFO Robert Hau said on the call that “this quarter was also the highest shipment volume for Clover Hardware, having recently shipped our two millionth Clover device.” He said later in the call that mobile deposits in Q2 grew 12 percent over the prior year, while self-service ATM deposits grew 70 percent over last year.
Bisignano also pointed to Carat, the omnichannel ecosystem, which has helped move $4 billion in and out of wallets through the past 12 months. Hau said that during the quarter, for Carat, “we won 52 new global enterprise eCommerce clients on the platform in the quarter.”
As Bisignano said in his own commentary: “We certainly have seen a broad movement to digital everything. That’s why you hear this talk about the investments we’re making in mobile capability and integrating our digital banking and card management experience. More and more digital transactions, eCommerce, etc. … I believe the pandemic brought forward multiple periods of transition into that space. And I do think it was not transitory. Those changes are here to stay.”
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