First Data Q1 Revenue Sails Past Wall Street Views

Financial technology company First Data posted first-quarter earnings results that matched Wall Street’s earnings per share estimates and surpassed revenue expectations.

In a press release, First Data said for the first three months of 2019, the firm reported adjusted EPS of $0.31 a share, up from $0.29 a share in the year-earlier first quarter, matching the consensus. Total segment revenue in Q1 was up 2 percent and up 8 percent on an organic constant currency basis. For the first quarter revenue was $2.32 billion, higher than the $2.09 billion Wall Street was looking for and up 1 percent year over year.

Looking out at the remainder of the year, First Data backed its past forecast for EPS of $1.55 to $1.58 a share, total segment revenue up 5 percent to 6 percent and total segment EBITDA 6 percent to 8 percent higher on a constant currency basis. The company expects to end 2019 with $1.5 billion in free cash flow.

The company is not holding a conference call given its merger with Fiserv. “We delivered a great start to 2019, driven by strong growth across our core global merchant acquiring and card processing businesses,” said First Data Chairman and CEO Frank Bisignano in prepared remarks. “We remain focused on the successful execution of our growth initiatives and developing innovative solutions for our clients, and confident in the value that the merger with Fiserv will create for our clients and our shareholders.”

Earlier this year Fiserv inked a deal to acquire First Data for $22 billion in an all-stock transaction. The deal is slated to close in the second half of this year with Fiserv shareholders ending up with 57.5 percent of the combined company. First Data holders will own 42.5 percent of the company. At the time the transaction was announced the companies said users would benefit from “highly complementary combination” that offers a range of payments and financial services, spanning account processing and digital banking, integrated payments and the Clover POS system, among other products and services.