FIS shares fell 23.8% as underlying growth guidance crashed and the CFO departed

FIS shares fell 23.8% on Wednesday, moving from a previous close of $38.99 to $29.70, after the payments-technology group published third-quarter results and, in the same release, set a full-year outlook built on growth rates well below the ones it has been reporting on a headline basis.

The move was 11.2x the size of FIS's typical daily move over the past year (2.1%), and the largest in this direction since 3 November 2022. It came on a day when the S&P 500 rose 1.8% and the median move among other covered transaction- and payment-processing companies was 4.6%, leaving the decline specific to FIS rather than a reflection of sector-wide selling.

A headline beat built on acquisition accounting

On a GAAP basis, revenue rose 27% to $3.5 billion and diluted EPS was $0.69, up from $0.50 a year earlier. Adjusted EPS, which strips out acquisition and integration costs, rose 6.6% to $1.61. Most of that growth came from the Total Issuing Solutions business FIS acquired earlier in the year: on a Pro Forma basis, which combines FIS and the acquired business as though they had always been one company, revenue rose just 3.7%, with recurring revenue up 2.5%. Net cash from operating activities was $976 million and free cash flow was $862 million, up 8.0% over the prior-year period; over the trailing twelve months, free cash flow grew 46.6%, a faster pace than the quarter alone produced.

In the same release, FIS set its full-year 2026 outlook at Adjusted EPS growth of 1.2 - 2.4%, well below the 6.6% adjusted EPS growth the quarter itself produced, and at Pro Forma revenue growth of 3.1 - 3.6%, close to the quarter's own 3.7% underlying pace but far below the 27-29% headline revenue growth that acquisition accounting is generating.

FIS's own announcement does not say whether the lowered outlook or the CFO change weighed more heavily on the session's decline.

A growth assumption our model now has to test

Our discounted-cash-flow model for FIS currently assumes trailing growth of 18.3% continues into its first forecast stage, a figure built from the trailing twelve months through the second quarter of 2026, a period that predates this week's Pro Forma guidance of 3.1-3.6%. These are model values under stated assumptions, not a comparison with the share price.

FIS's next quarterly results will show whether Pro Forma revenue growth holds within the 3.1-3.6% range the company has now guided to, or slips further from the acquisition-inflated headline figures reported this week. For the fuller financial history behind this quarter, see Fundamentalytics' FIS company page.