FIS (company)
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Predecessor | Systematics; ALLTEL Information Services |
| Founded | 1968 in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Stephanie Ferris (CEO and President), Jeffrey A. Goldstein (Chairman) |
| Products | Banking solutions, payment technologies, transaction processing, data-driven services, Profile banking platform |
| Revenue | $14.51 billion (2024) |
| $3.55 billion (2024) | |
| $1.94 billion (2024) | |
Number of employees | 50,000+ (2024) |
| Website | www |
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS) stands as a prominent American multinational enterprise specializing in financial technology (FinTech). With its headquarters located in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS manages approximately $9 trillion annually by executing nearly 75 billion transactions for a client base exceeding 20,000 worldwide.
The company’s core operations encompass banking solutions, payment technologies, transaction processing, and data-driven services. Its expansion was notably accelerated through the $35 billion acquisition of Worldpay in 2019, elevating FIS to the largest global entity in payments and processing services.
By 2024, FIS employed more than 50,000 individuals and reported revenues totaling $10.1 billion, alongside an operating income of $1.71 billion and net earnings of $1.45 billion. Leadership includes CEO and President Stephanie Ferris and Chairman Jeffrey A. Goldstein. The organizational framework supports extensive international activities and subsidiaries, strengthening its position within the financial services sector.
History
Originally established in Little Rock in 1968 under the name Systematics, the company was later acquired by ALLTEL Information Services. In 2003, it was sold to title insurance giant Fidelity National Financial, which rebranded it as Fidelity Information Services (FIS).
Operations
FIS provides a comprehensive range of financial technology products aimed at retail and investment banking markets. Among its flagship offerings is "Profile," a core banking platform built on the open source GT.M transaction processing database engine maintained by FIS.
Mergers, acquisitions and divestments
FIS has consistently employed an assertive acquisition approach to broaden its market presence and enhance its product portfolio. Significant deals include:
- Acquisition of Alltel Information Services for $1.05 billion (2003)
- Purchase of WebTone Technologies (2003)
- Sanchez Computer Associates for $175 million (2004)
- Aurum Technology (2004)
- BankWare (2004)
- InterCept (2004)
- Kordoba GmbH & Co for $163.2 million (2004)
- Merger with Certegy Inc. valued at $1.8 billion (2006)
- Acquisition of eFunds Corporation (EFD)
- Metavante Corporation purchased for $2.94 billion in stock (2009)
- Compliance Coach, Inc. (2010)
- Capco acquired for $292 million (2010); later sold 60% stake for $477 million in 2017
- Pronet Solutions for $24 million (2012)
- TDWI – rebranded as Platform Securities (2013)
- Acquisition of mFoundry for $120 million (2013)
- CMSI loan origination software provider (2014)
- Reliance Trust Company purchased for $110 million (2014)
- Clear2Pay acquired at $480 million (2014)
- SunGard bought for $9.1 billion (2015)
- Worldpay, Inc. acquisition valued at $43 billion (2019)
- Majority stake in Virtus Partners (2020)
- Payrix acquisition (2022)
- Bond Financial Technologies purchase (2023)
- Torstone Technology acquired (2024)
- Dragonfly Financial Technologies obtained (2024)
- Demica acquisition estimated at approximately $300 million (2024)
This acquisition-focused strategy has been pivotal to FIS’s worldwide growth and diversification across various FinTech domains.
Divestments
Facing pressure from activist shareholders in February 2023, FIS announced intentions to separate its merchant services division, Worldpay, within a year. By July 2023, the company agreed to divest a 55 percent interest in Worldpay to private equity firm GTCR for $11.7 billion, setting the unit’s valuation at $18.5 billion. The transaction was finalized on February 1, 2024, with FIS completing the sale of the controlling stake to GTCR at an overall value of $18.5 billion, which included a $1 billion contingent consideration based on GTCR’s returns. Despite the sale, FIS maintained commercial agreements and formed a joint strategic go-to-market alliance with Worldpay.
Finances
FIS's financial results have experienced variability influenced by acquisitions, divestitures, and organizational restructuring, particularly related to Worldpay. After encountering a revenue downturn in 2022, the company regained stability in 2023 and achieved growth again in 2024.
For the year 2024, FIS announced revenues of $14.51 billion, a modest increase from $14.50 billion reported in 2023. Operating profit saw a notable rise to $3.55 billion, while net earnings improved to $1.94 billion, demonstrating enhanced profitability following the Worldpay separation. The first quarter of 2025 revealed a 3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year and an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21. The firm intends to distribute more than $1.2 billion back to shareholders throughout 2025 via dividends and stock buybacks.
| Year | Revenue in mil. US$ |
Net income in mil. US$ |
Total Assets in mil. US$ |
Price per Share in US$ |
Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2,688 | 197 | 4,189 | 15.77 | 15,000 |
| 2006 | 2,417 | 259 | 7,631 | 18.08 | 16,000 |
| 2007 | 2,893 | 561 | 9,795 | 22.46 | 18,000 |
| 2008 | 3,360 | 215 | 7,500 | 17.28 | 20,000 |
| 2009 | 3,711 | 106 | 13,998 | 18.23 | 25,000 |
| 2010 | 5,146 | 405 | 14,176 | 23.27 | 30,000 |
| 2011 | 5,626 | 470 | 13,873 | 25.85 | 33,000 |
| 2012 | 5,796 | 461 | 13,550 | 29.22 | 34,000 |
| 2013 | 6,063 | 493 | 13,960 | 40.54 | 38,000 |
| 2014 | 6,413 | 679 | 14,521 | 52.41 | 40,000 |
| 2015 | 6,596 | 632 | 26,200 | 62.80 | 55,000 |
| 2016 | 9,241 | 568 | 26,031 | 69.40 | 55,000 |
| 2017 | 9,123 | 1,319 | 24,517 | 86.11 | "53,000" |
| "2018" | "8,423" | "846" | "23,770" | "102.55" | "47,000" |
| "2019" | "10,333" | "298" | "83,806" | "139.09" | "55,000" |
| "2020" | "12,552" | "158" | "83,842" | "141.46" | "62,000" |
| "2021" | "13,877" | "417" | "82,931" | "109.15" | "65,000" |
| "2022" | "14,530" | " -16,572" | "83,290" | "63.00" | "65,000" |
| "2023" | "14,500" | " -6,655" | "76,290" | "65.70" | "53,000" |
| "2024" | "14,510" | "1,450" | "69,820" | "74.30" | "45,000" |
Controversies
On July 3rd of 2007, Certegy Check Services—an FIS subsidiary—revealed a security breach that compromised 2.3 million consumer records initially reported but later updated to 8.5 million records containing confidential financial data. This incident triggered a class-action lawsuit against both CCS and FIS for allegedly compelling consumers to use their check verification services.
In August 2011, eFunds Prepaid Solutions within FIS was targeted by a cyberattack that led to the unauthorized withdrawal of $13 million from ATMs using 22 prepaid cards stolen and linked to one client.
Between January 16 and 17 of 2025, a power failure disrupted operations at numerous banking institutions including Capital One; this outage impaired online and mobile banking services and caused errors in account balances and transaction information.