Court Fights To Rumored M&A: Welcome to Earnings Season Week 2

From the latest on a Justice Department’s antitrust case against a major card network to a B2B fleet card processor’s merger-and-acquisition ambitions, we learned a lot this week from payments company quarterly earnings. To bring it all together, PYMNTS.com has summarized the quarterly earnings covered this week, with many of the articles drawing from top public-company executives’ discussions on their performance and payments trends and strategies with analysts and investors.

Each quarter, the CEOs of public companies get to talk to analysts and investors about what their firms have done to drive revenues and, in some cases, change the payments industry landscape. But it also provides an opportunity for them to clarify their positions on various issues as well.

Below is a summary of what we learned this past week from some of the top public companies that now or could play a significant role in payments. You can find a summary of the previous week’s earnings by clicking here.

American Express

American Express is the midst of trial during which the U.S. Department of Justice is claiming the network is violating antitrust law. What’s Amex allegedly doing wrong, and what do company executives think about the DOJ’s claims? Click here to find out.

Fiserv

Fiserv has benefited from various large contract wins, which helped boost Q2 earnings. Find out which companies are now working with the banking-technology giant and what CEO Jeffery Yabuki had to say about the quarter’s performance by clicking here.

Fleetcor

B2B fleet card company Fleetcor Technologies Inc. is in buying mode, with rumors circulating that it has a bead on rival Comdata. Click here to learn what Ronald Clark, Fleetcor chairman and CEO, had to say about the firm’s M&A ambitions and on how much the company is willing to spend.

MasterCard

MasterCard’s performance often is tied to how well the economy is doing. The payment card network had another good quarter. Click here to learn what Ajay Banga, MasterCard’s president had to say about the latest trends and what concerns him about the latest economic turnaround.

Western Union

Western Union is working hard to get with the times, as it’s moving more to the digital space from its traditional cash in/cash out business strategy. But the latest earnings were somewhat disappointing. Click here to learn what Hikmet Ersek, Western Union’s president, CEO and director, had to say about the company’s performance and where it sees its digital ambitions heading.

WEX

B2B fleet card specialist WEX Inc. is looking to diversify into new markets, and it hopes its recent acquisition of Evolution1 will propel its growth ambitions in the health care market. Click here to learn what Melissa Smith, WEX president and CEO, had to say about where the company’s virtual cards, now used primarily among online travel agencies, might help in the settlement of