Fidelity National Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates on Increasing Expenses

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. Quote

FIS’ Q4 Performance

The cost of revenues increased 7% year over year to $1.7 billion in the quarter under review. SG&A expenses of $549 million rose 13.7% year over year. Net interest expenses of $88 million increased 31.3% from the prior-year quarter’s figure.

Adjusted EBITDA was $1.2 billion, which rose 7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 36 basis points (bps) to 42.5% compared to the prior-year period, mainly due to higher corporate expenses.

Full-Year Update of FIS

Adjusted 2025 EPS improved 6.7% from a year ago to $5.57. Total revenues rose 5.4% to $10.7 billion. Adjusted EBITDA improved 4.7% year over year to $4.3 billion.

Q4 Segmental Update of Fidelity National

Revenues from the Banking Solutions unit totaled $1.9 billion, which grew 9% year over year. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.2%. The segment’s results were aided by higher recurring revenues. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved 132 bps year over year to 43.9%, supported by cost management and a favorable revenue mix.

The Capital Market Solutions segment’s revenues advanced 8% year over year to $883 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%. Strong recurring revenue growth benefited the metric. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 57.4% improved 227 bps year over year.

The Corporate and Other segment recorded revenues of $63 million in the quarter under review, which increased 3% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $130 million.

Financial Update (As of Dec. 31, 2025)

Fidelity National exited 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $599 million, which decreased from $834 million at 2024-end. Total assets of $33.5 billion declined from $33.8 billion at the end of 2024.

Long-term debt, excluding the current portion, amounted to $9.1 billion, down from $9.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024. The current portion of long-term debt totaled $1.3 billion. Short-term borrowings totaled $2.7 billion at the end of 2025.

Total equity of $13.9 billion dropped from $15.7 billion at the end of 2024.

Fidelity National Financial generated $2.6 billion in net cash from operations, representing a 19.9% year-over-year increase. Adjusted free cash flow totaled $2.2 billion, up 18% year over year.

Share Repurchase & Dividend Update

Fidelity National Information Services bought back $291 million of shares in Q4 2025. For the full year, the company returned $2.1 billion to shareholders through $1.3 billion in buybacks and $847 million in dividends.

On Jan. 29, 2026, the board raised the quarterly dividend by 10% to 44 cents per share.

1Q26 View

Management forecasts revenues between $3.27 billion and $3.29 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be in the range of $1,275-$1,290 million. Adjusted EPS is estimated to be between $1.26 and $1.30.

FIS’ 2026 Guidance

Revenues are expected to be in the range of $13.77-$13.85 billion for 2026, indicating 30-31% adjusted revenue growth.

Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $5.8 billion and $5.86 billion in 2026, up from $4.3 billion in 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin is anticipated to be in the range of 42.1-42.3%.

Adjusted EPS is expected to be between $6.22 and $6.32, which implies significant growth from $5.57 in 2025.

Free Cash Flow is projected to be between $2.05 billion and $2.15 billion.

FIS’ Zacks Rank

Fidelity National currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

How Did Peers Perform?

Several companies in the business services space, including Mastercard Incorporated MA, Visa Inc. V and Global Payments Inc. GPN, have reported their financial results for the December quarter of 2025. Here’s how they had performed:

Mastercard reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $4.76 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.3%. The bottom line improved 25% year over year. The quarterly results were aided by growing cross-border volumes, an increase in switched transactions and solid growth in value-added services revenues. The upside was partly offset by MA’s elevated operating expenses due to acquisitions and administrative costs.

Visa reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 EPS of $3.17, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.14. The bottom line increased 15% year over year. The quarterly results benefited from higher payments and cross-border volumes. Resilient consumer spending remains a tailwind. The upside was partly offset by V’s increased operating expenses and lower-than-expected processed transactions.

Global Payments reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $3.18, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line rose 12% year over year. Adjusted net revenues improved 1.4% year over year to $2.3 billion. The top line missed the consensus mark by a whisker. GPN’s quarterly earnings benefited from growing strength in the Merchant Solutions business. The positives were partly offset by elevated operating expenses.