First Data Corp
Industry: Computer Services

First Data Corporation is a financial services entity that operates in the four business segments of payment services, merchant services, card issuing services and emerging payments. The payment services segment includes Western Union, Integrated Payment Systems and Orlandi Valuta Cos., and is a provider of nonbank money transfer and payment services to consumers and commercial entities. The merchant services segment is comprised of First Data Merchant Services, TeleCheck and First Data Financial Services. The segment provides merchants with credit and debit card transaction processing services. The card issuing services segment, represented by First Data Resources, provides a comprehensive line of products and processing and related services to financial institutions, issuing Visa and MasterCard credit cards and other debit cards. The emerging payments segment is comprised solely of eONE Global.

Business Summary
First Data Corporation (FDC) provides merchant processing services worldwide. During the year ended December 31, 2004, the Company serviced approximately 4.1 million merchant locations. In the Payment Services segment, the Company provides money transfer and bill payment services through its Western Union and Orlandi Valuta money transfer agent networks, which consist of approximately 219,000 agent locations in more than 195 countries and territories. In the Merchant Services segment, the Company provides merchant and network acquiring and transaction processing services, automated teller machine (ATM) processing and check guarantee and verification services. In the Card Issuing Services segment, the Company provides credit, debit, private-label, smart and stored-value card and debit network issuing and processing services.

Financial Summary
For the nine months ended 30 September 2005, First Data Corporation's revenues increased 6% to $7.77B. Net income from continuing operations decreased 15% to $1.19B. Revenues reflect increased transactions and card accounts on file and the inclusion of Concord EFS for a full quarter. Net income was offset by the absence of a $263.8M gain on the sale of GCA and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses.