Global digital payment leader Visa (V) reported its latest earnings after the U.S. stock market closed on Tuesday Eastern Time, exceeding the consensus expectations of Wall Street analysts. Driven by strong global consumer spending resilience and robust growth in corporate payment volumes, the company’s total revenue for the second fiscal quarter achieved its largest year-over-year increase since 2022. Fueled by the strong performance, Visa’s stock price rose more than 6% in after-hours trading, although the stock has fallen over 11% so far this year.
U.S. consumer spending in March increased more than expected, partly due to geopolitical wars pushing up gasoline prices and gas station sales, while tax refund policies also supported spending in other areas. For the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 ended March 31, the payments volume metric, which measures overall consumer and corporate spending, jumped a better-than-expected 9%. Over the three months, the company’s total revenue grew 17% year-over-year (16% on a constant currency basis) to $11.2 billion, marking the largest increase since 2022. Adjusted net income for the second fiscal quarter rose to $6.3 billion, or $3.31 per share on an adjusted basis, significantly exceeding the Wall Street analyst consensus estimate of approximately $3.10.
Amid disruptions to global consumer spending plans caused by geopolitical wars in the Middle East, Visa unexpectedly raised its adjusted earnings per share growth guidance for the full fiscal year 2026. This, combined with the rapid expansion of stablecoin settlement volumes and management’s newly authorized $20 billion share repurchase plan, has collectively fueled bullish sentiment among investors toward Visa. Visa’s board of directors formally authorized a new multi-year stock repurchase program of up to $20 billion on Tuesday local time and raised its full-year fiscal 2026 earnings per share guidance to a double-digit range of 11% to 14%, compared to the previous forecast of low double-digit growth of around just over 10%.
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney stated: “Consumer spending remains highly resilient, and our multiple strategic and innovation initiatives are driving strong performance in consumer payments, commerce and money movement solutions, and exclusive value-added services.”
Visa’s cross-border transaction volume in the second quarter grew 12% on a constant dollar basis, slightly below the 13% recorded in the same period last year but above analyst consensus expectations. This metric is seen as a real-time barometer of global trade and travel. McInerney said during the earnings call: “We are closely monitoring any impact from the Middle East conflict.”
In the stablecoin space, Visa is carving out new growth paths. In March, Visa expanded its partnership with Bridge, a developer-focused stablecoin development ecosystem platform, with plans to bring stablecoin-linked card networks to more than 100 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by the end of this year. McInerney revealed: “Our current annualized run rate for stablecoin settlement volume has reached $7 billion, and it’s growing very quickly, increasing by more than 50% from the previous quarter.” In 2023, Visa became one of the first major global digital payment networks to pilot transaction settlements using a stablecoin model.
