FIS vs SEIC: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: FIS is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FIS and SEIC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FIS and SEIC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. is a global financial-technology company that provides the software and services banks, capital-markets firms, and merchants run on. It operates mainly through two segments, Banking Solutions (core processing, digital banking, payments, and related software for financial institutions) and Capital Market Solutions (trading, treasury, lending, and risk technology for buy-side and sell-side firms). FIS serves more than 20,000 clients across over 130 countries and processes trillions of dollars in transactions each year, which makes it more of an embedded infrastructure vendor than a consumer-facing brand. Because its software is woven into clients' daily operations, revenue is heavily recurring and switching costs are high.

Full FIS guide

SEI Investments Company (Nasdaq: SEIC) provides technology, outsourced operations, and asset-management services to the wealth and investment industry through four segments: Investment Managers, Private Banks, Investment Advisors, and Institutional Investors. It runs platforms and back-office administration for asset managers, banks, and financial advisors, and it also manages and distributes its own investment products. As of March 2026 the company managed, advised, or administered roughly $1.9 trillion in assets, split between about $554 billion of assets under management and roughly $1.29 trillion of assets under administration. Much of the revenue is recurring, tied to asset levels and long-term processing contracts, which gives the business a sticky, fee-based profile.

Full SEIC guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FIS drivers: Sticky, recurring banking software; Capital Markets momentum.
• SEIC drivers: Asset-based fee growth; Outsourcing and platform wins.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The main risk is that FIS is a mature, slower-growing business competing against strong rivals, so growth can disappoint if bank IT spending softens or clients delay projects. For SEIC, sEI's fee revenue is tied to asset values, so a sustained market downturn or client outflows would pressure results.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FIS if you believe its drivers more; SEIC if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FIS and SEIC guides.

FIS. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. The January 2026 close of the Issuer Solutions acquisition and Worldpay sale makes reported and pro forma growth figures diverge sharply, so read guidance carefully and check which basis a number uses. FIS trades as a mature, cash-generative software and payments company, so investors tend to weigh recurring-revenue durability, margin expansion, and deleveraging progress more than headline growth.

SEIC. SEIC traded around the mid-$90s in July 2026 with a market cap near $11.5 billion and a mid-teens P/E, a valuation consistent with a steady, cash-generative compounder rather than a high-growth name. Q1 2026 revenue grew about 13% year over year to roughly $622 million with operating margin near 30%. The company pays a semi-annual dividend (about $0.52 per share declared in May 2026) and has raised it for more than a decade.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): FIS shows revenue (ttm) ~$10 to 11 billion (2025 revenue was roughly $10.7 billion; segment mix shifts after the January 2026 Issuer Solutions and Worldpay transactions), 2026 revenue growth guidance ~mid-single-digit pro forma (roughly 5% to 6%), with much larger reported/adjusted growth reflecting the Issuer Solutions consolidation, adjusted ebitda margin ~high-30s percent, with guidance for continued margin expansion, market cap ~$20 billion (stock in the roughly $40 range in mid-2026); SEIC shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.4B, 2025 diluted eps ~$5.63, market cap ~$11.5B, p/e ratio ~16x.

FIS and SEIC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FIS and SEIC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.