Jana Pushes Fiserv to Double Cost Cuts With Palantir

Activist investor Jana Partners is pressing Fiserv to move faster on cost reduction and technology transformation, arguing that the payments company can more than double its planned savings and use Palantir software to improve efficiency.

Jana Calls for Bigger Cost-Cutting Targets

Jana Partners has increased pressure on Fiserv as the payments technology company reviews its businesses and looks for ways to improve financial performance. In a letter reviewed by Reuters, the activist investment firm urged Fiserv to raise its cost-saving target substantially and accelerate the changes planned under its Project Elevate program.

Fiserv currently has a target of generating $500 million in cost savings by 2029. Jana argues that the company should more than double that goal to approximately $1.25 billion.

The activist investor also wants Fiserv to make the more ambitious target public when the company reports its third-quarter earnings. Jana’s argument is that management should set targets high enough to produce a meaningful improvement in profitability rather than establish goals that are easier to achieve but deliver less value.

The pressure comes at a difficult time for Fiserv. The company’s market value has fallen sharply over the past year, while its stock recently reached its lowest closing level in more than a decade.

Fiserv Faces Pressure to Improve Performance

Fiserv has been undergoing a strategic review as it attempts to respond to weaker investor sentiment and concerns about its financial outlook. Takis Georgakopoulos became chief executive in June and has said the company is reviewing its businesses and could pursue additional divestments.

The review follows reports that Fiserv was considering a sale of its payments infrastructure business, which handles debit card transactions. Jana has supported the possibility of such a transaction as part of a broader effort to simplify Fiserv’s portfolio.

However, Jana’s latest letter indicates that the activist investor believes portfolio changes alone will not be enough. It is calling for faster execution on both costs and technology.

The situation illustrates a broader challenge facing large financial technology companies: maintaining large technology systems while controlling expenses, improving productivity and adapting to rapidly changing payment infrastructure.

What Is Project Elevate?

Project Elevate is Fiserv’s cost-reduction and efficiency program. The company has targeted $500 million in savings through 2029, but Jana believes the opportunity is significantly larger.

According to the activist investor, Fiserv should focus on savings that ultimately reach the company’s bottom line. That distinction matters because reductions in spending do not automatically translate into stronger profitability if savings are reinvested elsewhere or offset by rising expenses.

Jana is therefore pushing Fiserv to establish larger, clearly defined targets and make management accountable for delivering them.

The investment firm has also criticized what it describes as repeated forecasting errors and reductions in financial guidance. From Jana’s perspective, setting a conservative target could allow the company to meet its goal without addressing the full potential for efficiency improvements.

Why Jana Wants Fiserv to Use Palantir

A major part of Jana’s proposal is the use of technology from Palantir to accelerate Fiserv’s transformation.

Jana believes Palantir’s software could help Fiserv identify inefficiencies across its technology operations, reduce spending associated with legacy systems and streamline its technology infrastructure.

The letter specifically points to opportunities to retire technology debt and rationalize spending with older technology vendors. For a large company operating complex payment systems, legacy technology can create significant costs because multiple systems, vendors and processes may have accumulated over many years.

Jana is effectively arguing that technology should not simply be treated as an expense category. Instead, it could become a tool for identifying and delivering additional savings.

Palantir’s Role in Corporate Transformation

Palantir has increasingly promoted its software as a platform for organizations seeking to connect data, automate workflows and improve operational decision-making. Its technology has been used across government and commercial environments.

Jana’s recommendation to Fiserv is also consistent with the investment firm’s previous involvement with companies where it has advocated the use of Palantir.

Mercury Systems, a specialized defense contractor, announced a strategic partnership with Palantir in August. The partnership was aimed at automating factory operations, improving material planning and accelerating deliveries.

Jana Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager Scott Ostfeld is a director at Mercury Systems, giving the investment firm direct familiarity with the company’s technology strategy.

Jana Has Experience With Payments Companies

Jana’s campaign at Fiserv is not its first major involvement in the payments industry.

The hedge fund previously pushed Fiserv competitor Fidelity National Information Services, or FIS, to separate its Worldpay payments business. FIS completed the separation in 2024.

That experience gives Jana a particular focus on how large financial technology companies organize their businesses and allocate capital. At Fiserv, the firm’s strategy combines portfolio review, cost reduction and technology modernization rather than relying on a single transaction.

The approach also reflects a common theme among activist investors: identifying areas where they believe management can increase efficiency or unlock value more quickly than the existing strategy would.

Fiserv’s Portfolio Review Could Lead to More Divestments

Fiserv has already indicated that its business portfolio is under review. Georgakopoulos has said the company could make additional divestments as management evaluates its operations.

Portfolio reviews can involve selling businesses that are considered less strategically important, reducing complexity or reallocating resources toward areas with stronger growth opportunities.

For Fiserv, such decisions could become an important part of its broader transformation. Jana had previously pushed the company to conduct a formal review of the entire business rather than considering asset sales individually.

The latest letter suggests that Jana wants the review to be accompanied by measurable operating changes, particularly in technology and costs.

Why Cost Savings Matter for Fiserv

Cost savings can have a direct effect on a company’s profitability when they reduce operating expenses without damaging revenue-generating capabilities. For a technology-driven payments company, however, cutting costs can be complicated.

Payment processing requires reliable infrastructure, cybersecurity, compliance systems and continuous technology investment. Excessive cuts could potentially undermine those functions, while inefficient legacy systems can make operations unnecessarily expensive.

That creates a balance between reducing waste and maintaining the infrastructure required to process transactions reliably.

Jana’s proposal focuses on finding savings through technology modernization and vendor rationalization rather than simply reducing spending across the organization.

What Palantir Could Mean for Fiserv’s Technology Strategy

If Fiserv follows Jana’s recommendation, Palantir could become part of a broader effort to analyze and simplify the company’s technology environment.

The potential areas identified by Jana include reducing technology debt, reviewing legacy vendors and creating greater accountability for efficiency opportunities.

Technology debt generally refers to the accumulated cost and complexity created when older systems remain in place rather than being upgraded or replaced. Over time, maintaining those systems can require specialized personnel, multiple vendors and additional integration work.

Modernizing such systems can require significant upfront investment, meaning the financial benefits may not appear immediately. Jana is nevertheless arguing that the long-term savings opportunity could be large enough to justify more aggressive action.

Jana Wants Fiserv to Move Faster

The central message of Jana’s latest campaign is speed. The activist investor believes Fiserv has already identified opportunities to improve its business but needs to execute more aggressively.

That includes setting a larger cost-saving target, accelerating the portfolio review and making greater use of technology to identify operational efficiencies.

Jana also wants the company’s board to take responsibility for ensuring that potential savings are actually captured rather than lost through organizational inertia.

The investment firm said the board should pursue larger cost targets that contribute directly to the company’s bottom line and use technology such as Palantir to improve accountability.

What Happens Next for Fiserv?

Fiserv’s upcoming third-quarter earnings report could provide investors with more information about management’s plans. Jana wants the company to use that opportunity to announce a larger cost-saving target.

The company could also provide updates on its portfolio review, potential divestments and the implementation of Project Elevate.

Whether Fiserv adopts Jana’s proposed $1.25 billion target or pursues a different approach remains a matter for the company’s management and board.

The response will be closely watched because the dispute involves more than a single cost-cutting program. It touches on Fiserv’s business portfolio, technology strategy, capital allocation and efforts to rebuild investor confidence.

Why the Fiserv-Jana Dispute Matters

The campaign highlights the growing importance of operational efficiency in financial technology. Payments companies operate at enormous scale, meaning relatively small improvements in technology or processing costs can potentially have a significant financial effect.

At the same time, the industry is undergoing rapid technological change. Companies must invest in infrastructure, cybersecurity, automation and data capabilities while competing on cost and reliability.

Jana’s proposal therefore combines two objectives: reducing current expenses and using technology to change how those expenses are managed over the longer term.

For Fiserv, the key question will be whether it can deliver meaningful savings while continuing to invest in the systems and services that support its payments businesses.

Jana’s Broader Activist Strategy

Fiserv is one of several companies currently facing pressure from Jana Partners. The investment firm is also pushing Cooper Companies to replace its chief executive and board chairman and examine strategic interest in its contact lens business.

Jana is separately urging Six Flags Entertainment to explore a potential sale.

These campaigns reflect the firm’s broader activist investment strategy, in which it seeks changes in corporate structure, leadership, operations or strategic direction.

At Fiserv, the campaign has evolved from a call for a comprehensive portfolio review into a broader push for deeper cost reductions and faster technology modernization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Jana Partners asking Fiserv to do?

Jana Partners is asking Fiserv to more than double its planned cost savings, accelerate its transformation program and use Palantir technology to identify additional operational efficiencies.

How much cost savings does Fiserv currently target?

Fiserv has targeted approximately $500 million in cost savings by 2029 through its Project Elevate program.

How much savings does Jana want Fiserv to target?

Jana has argued that Fiserv could target approximately $1.25 billion in savings, more than double the company’s current $500 million goal.

Why does Jana want Fiserv to use Palantir?

Jana believes Palantir’s technology could help Fiserv streamline its technology environment, reduce technology debt, rationalize legacy vendor spending and improve accountability for efficiency opportunities.

What is Project Elevate at Fiserv?

Project Elevate is Fiserv’s cost-saving and efficiency initiative, under which the company has targeted $500 million in savings by 2029.

Who is Fiserv’s current CEO?

Takis Georgakopoulos became Fiserv’s chief executive in June 2026 and has said the company is reviewing its businesses and could pursue further divestments.

Has Jana previously targeted a payments company?

Yes. Jana previously pushed Fidelity National Information Services to separate its Worldpay payments business. The separation was completed in 2024.

What could happen next at Fiserv?

Fiserv is expected to provide further information through its business review and quarterly financial reporting. Investors will be watching for updates on cost savings, potential divestments and the company’s technology transformation strategy.