Fiserv and Express Scripts Beat and Raised

Fiserv (FISV) just reported third-quarter earnings of $1.03 per share. That beat estimates by six cents per share. That’s up from 86 cents per share in last year’s third quarter.

“Strong performance in the quarter was highlighted by revenue growth acceleration and a 20 percent increase in adjusted EPS,” said Jeffery Yabuki, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fiserv. “Our focus on delivering innovative, high-value client services should drive differentiated client experiences and continued growth.”

For the first nine months of the year, Fiserv has made $2.86 per share. That’s up from $2.48 per share last year.

The company has also raised its full-year guidance. The old range was $3.73 to $3.83 per share. The new range is $3.84 to $3.87 per share. Fiserv earned $3.37 per share last year. The new range implies Q4 earnings of 98 cents to $1.01 per share.

Express Scripts (ESRX) reported third-quarter earnings of $1.45 per share, which was one penny better than estimates. They also narrowed their full-range. Previously, it was $5.46 to $5.54 per share. Now it’s $5.51 to $5.55 per share. Last year, they made $4.88 per share.

“With the rising cost of prescription drugs, we are continuing our mission to make medicine more affordable and accessible for clients and patients,” said George Paz, Chairman and CEO. “Our innovative solutions, focused scale, specialized care and unmatched leadership manages cost more favorably for payers while improving health outcomes of our patients. Effective pharmacy benefit management has never been more critical to ensuring a cost-effective healthcare system in our country, and Express Scripts uniquely delivers.”

“We are confident in the upper range of our expected retention rate, a reflection of the trust clients have in Express Scripts,” said Tim Wentworth, President. “Our core capabilities are differentiated and are in greater demand in the marketplace. Accredo, our specialty pharmacy, is one of our leading differentiators providing the best, most convenient care for patients with complex diseases. Our pharma services organization continues to provide differentiated value to manufacturers who want to bring innovative drugs to market in the safest way possible. It is clear that our unique collection of cost-saving solutions and our business model of client alignment position us well for continued growth.”

Since ESRX has already earned $3.97 per share for the first three quarters of this year (up from $3.50 per share last year), the new guidance implies Q4 earnings of $1.54 to $1.58 per share.

Posted by on October 27th, 2015 at 4:14 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.