By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
Sept 28 (Reuters) – Activist investor Jana Partners is urging Fiserv to more than double its planned cost cuts and use software firm Palantir’s products to speed up its own technology transformation program, according to a letter sent to the payments company that was viewed by Reuters.
It is the latest salvo from the New York-based hedge fund, which has been invested in Fiserv since late 2025, aimed at boosting the company’s sagging share price. Two months ago, it pushed management and the board to launch a formal review process of the entire company, instead of trying to sell assets piecemeal.
Fiserv has lost more than half of its market value in the last 12 months, with its stock recording its lowest close since February 2016 on September 23.
Chief Executive Takis Georgakopoulos, who stepped into the role in June, said at a recent conference Fiserv was launching a review of its businesses and could make further divestments. This comes after reports in July that Fiserv was weighing a sale of its payments infrastructure business that handles debit card transactions — a move which Jana had welcomed.
Still, the investment firm wants to see more changes more quickly, according to the letter.
A Fiserv representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for Jana declined to comment beyond the letter.
BOLDER STEPS
Fiserv, which is currently valued at roughly $25 billion, has earmarked $500 million in cost savings by 2029 as part of its ‘Project Elevate’. Jana argues that number could be more than doubled to total $1.25 billion and wants management to unveil the more aggressive targets when it releases its third-quarter earnings.
Fiserv’s stock price has suffered from what Jana calls “serial mis-forecasting and guidance reductions,” and warned that the bigger risk would be for the board to set a target that is too low and hit it instead of aiming high and potentially missing the target.
By working with Palantir, Fiserv could streamline its technology, retire technology debt and rationalize spending from legacy vendors, the letter says.
“As Fiserv begins year two of Project Elevate, we believe the board should commit to significantly larger cost targets that fall to the bottom line and explicitly leverage Palantir to drive accountability and ensure opportunities for value creation do not fall victim to the inertia endemic in ‘business as usual,’” Jana’s letter says.
Jana has a history in advising companies it has targeted to use Palantir. Specialized defense contractor Mercury Systems, where Jana Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager Scott Ostfeld is a director, announced a strategic partnership with Palantir in August to automate factory operations, streamline material planning and speed up delivery times for the US military.
Jana is familiar with payments companies, having successfully pushed Fiserv competitor Fidelity National Information Services to separate its Worldpay payments business in 2024.
The hedge fund is also one of the industry’s busiest activist investors. Currently it is pushing medical device and contact lens maker Cooper Companies to replace its chief executive and board chairman and explore strategic interest in its contact lens business, and is urging theme park operator Six Flags Entertainment to explore a sale.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David French and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
