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Buy Day today: Good (62) Broad market participation · no major macro event
V

Visa Inc. Class A

Financial Services · Credit Services · listed since 2008

369.90$ -0.3% vs. previous close Closing price · As of: Sep 17, 2026
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Assessment

Our Rating

A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.

Quality confirmed Delivers but evades

Business model, numbers and balance sheet hold up to our review. Whether the current price supports an entry is a separate question — it hangs on the price, not on the company.

Why this colour

The company itself is demonstrably strong: a 60.0 percent operating margin in fiscal 2025, operating cash flow of $23,059 million exceeding reported profit, interest coverage of roughly 37 times, and a network of close to 5 billion payment credentials and 175 million merchant locations that no competitor rebuilds quickly. There is no going concern warning, no negative equity, no existential dependence on a single counterparty and no accounting or governance breach. The burdens identified — a rising incentive ratio, a drained escrow account, ongoing litigation and regulation of the core price — are serious but operational and regulatory in nature, and they do not threaten the substance of the business. The price question is separate: at roughly 32 times trailing earnings as of July 29, 2026 the stock is expensively paid for, with a lot of future already in the price. That is a valuation argument, not a quality argument, and it does not move the rating. The decision is yours.

What the thesis turns on

Assessment: Opportunities & Risks

Visa takes a cut of almost every card payment on earth without carrying credit risk, and in fiscal 2025 kept a little over half of every reported dollar as profit. Ahead of that revenue line, however, $15,751M went to its own bank partners, and the share keeps rising. The bill for the interchange cases has so far been carried by an escrow account and a second class of stock rather than by class A shares; that account held only $888M as of June 30, 2026. Not investment advice.

Earning power

In fiscal 2025, $40,000M of net revenue produced $23,994M of operating income (60.0%) and $20,058M of net income (50.1%). Operating cash flow of $23,059M exceeded reported profit — the margin is backed by actual cash, not valuation effects (period ended September 30, 2025).

Business model and balance sheet

Visa carries no credit risk and is expressly not a financial institution (10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026). As of June 30, 2026 the balance sheet showed $35,178M of equity against $23,858M of debt, with interest coverage of roughly 37 times over the first nine months. No substance risk identified.

Client incentives

Client incentives rose from 26.0% of gross revenues in fiscal 2022 to 28.3% in fiscal 2025, and stood at 28.1% over the first nine months of fiscal 2026. Each percentage point equals roughly $558M of net revenue on a fiscal 2025 basis. Visa itself names no target level.

Litigation buffer

The U.S. escrow account fell from $2,990M (September 30, 2025) to $888M (June 30, 2026), with $2,977M going to merchants. Meanwhile more than 100 European merchant claims remain open, a new U.S. class action was filed April 21, 2026, and fresh European suits arrived in April, May and June 2026 (10-Q, Note 16).

Share structure

As of June 30, 2026 all classes as converted totaled 1,880M class A equivalents against 1,702M reported class A shares — 178M, or 10.5%, of latent dilution, down from 14.1% on September 30, 2025. After the May 2026 exchange, future adjustments hit class B-3 four times as hard as class B-1.

Regulation and competition

Interchange caps exist in the United States (Regulation II, vacated by a court in August 2025), the European Union (30/20 basis points), Australia and, since July 2025, New Zealand. Several countries favor domestic systems by regulation. The price of the core business is therefore set by authorities, not by the market (10-K fiscal 2025, Item 1A).

Worth Noting

Hook: stocktake of the 100 largest U.S. stocks by market capitalization dated July 28, 2026. Visa ranked 15th and had no analysis. Not a scanner hit.

Data basis: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (filed July 29, 2026), Forms 10-K for fiscal 2025 and 2024, and the Form 8-K earnings release of July 28, 2026. Fundamental data as of July 29, 2026.

Fiscal year caution: Visa's fiscal year ends September 30. "Fiscal 2025" denotes October 2024 through September 2025, not the calendar year 2025.

Share class caution: only the class A share trades, under the symbol V. Class B-1, B-2, B-3 and C do not trade and never appear in the quoted price, but they do enter diluted earnings per share.

The Form 25-NSE of June 15, 2026 relates solely to the maturing 1.500 percent senior notes due 2026 and is not a delisting signal for the stock.

Read the Full Deep Dive Visa Stock: $55.8 Billion Came In — and $40 Billion Got Reported Visa reported net revenue of $40,000 million for fiscal 2025. Before that line, $15,751 million went to its own bank partners, and the share is climbing. The bill for the interchange cases is paid not by class A shares but by an escrow account and a second class of stock. We read both structures in the quarterly report. Read the analysis →

Stock Watch

This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at V since then.

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Price history

Chart

Interactive price chart (TradingView).

52-week range: 295.50 $ to 384.10 $ · Last price: 369.90 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)

Key figures

Key figures at a glance

Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.

Basics

Market Cap ?The value of the entire company on the market: share price times total shares outstanding. 699.4$B
Shares Outstanding ?Total number of shares issued. Price times share count gives market cap. 1,704m
Float ?Share of stock freely tradable on the market — not locked up in the hands of founders, insiders, or major shareholders. 100.0%
Beta ?Volatility versus the overall market: 1 = moves like the market, 2 = twice as much, under 1 = calmer than the market. 0.8

Performance

Perf. 1M ?Price performance over the last month. 5.10%
Perf. 3M ?Price performance over the last 3 months. 15.80%
Perf. 6M ?Price performance over the last 6 months. -3.40%
YTD Performance (%) ?Price performance since the start of the year (Year to Date). -6.00%
52-Week-High Distance ?How far the price sits below its highest point over the last 52 weeks. 0% means the stock is at its year high. -8.1%
Perf. 1Y ?Price performance over the last 12 months. 7.71%
Perf. 3Y ?Price performance over the last 3 years. 57.00%
Perf. 5Y ?Price performance over the last 5 years. 73.27%
Perf. 10Y ?Price performance over the last 10 years. 383.73%
Perf. Since Inception ?Price performance since the first available trading day (03/19/2008) — with a complete history, that is since the IPO. 2,885.26%

Technical Indicators

MA 38 Days ?Moving average of the last 38 trading days: the smoothed price path. A price above it signals short-term strength. 370.20$
MA 50 Days ?Moving average of the last 50 trading days — the most widely watched medium-term trend line. 366.70$
MA 200 Days ?Moving average of the last 200 trading days — the dividing line between a long-term uptrend and downtrend. 335.80$
RSI (14) ?Relative Strength Index over 14 days, scale 0 to 100: above 70 counts as overbought, below 30 as oversold. A hint on timing, not a verdict on the company. 49.0
Volatility 30 Days ?Price swings over the last 30 trading days, annualized. The higher the value, the more the price fluctuates. 18.8%
Volatility 250 Days ?Price swings over the last 250 trading days (roughly one market year), annualized. 21.9%

Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026

Valuation

P/E ?Price-to-earnings ratio: how many years of profit does the stock cost? The lower, the cheaper the valuation. No earnings means no P/E. 33.2
Forward P/E ?P/E based on expected earnings for the next 12 months instead of past earnings — analysts' bet on the future. 24.7
PEG ?P/E divided by expected earnings growth: puts valuation in relation to growth. Around 1 is considered fair, well above that is pricey. 1.7
P/B ?Price-to-book ratio: market value relative to book equity. 20.6
P/S ?Price-to-sales ratio: market value divided by annual sales. Important for companies that aren't (yet) profitable. 16.3
EV/EBITDA ?Enterprise value including debt (EV) relative to operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — more comparable than P/E because debt counts too. Extreme values arise when EBITDA is near zero. 24.3
Price/FCF ?Market value divided by free cash flow: how many years of freely available cash does the stock cost? More honest than P/E because cash flow is harder to dress up. 33.0

Profitability

Gross Margin ?Gross margin: what's left of sales after only direct production costs are deducted — the product's pricing power. 97.7%
EBIT Margin ?EBIT margin: operating profit as a percentage of sales — the earning power of the core business before interest and taxes. 67.4%
Net Margin ?Net margin: what's left of sales as profit after ALL costs, interest, and taxes. 50.8%
Return on Equity ?Return on equity: how much profit does the company generate per year on shareholders' equity? 60.4%
Return on Assets ?Return on assets: how much profit the company generates from its total assets (equity and debt combined). 19.1%

Balance Sheet & Safety

Equity Ratio ?Equity ratio: equity as a share of total assets. The higher, the more resilient the balance sheet. 37.5%
Debt/Equity ?Leverage ratio: financial debt divided by equity. Under 1 is generally seen as solid; negative values mean negative equity. 1.6
Altman Z″ ?Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score. We use the Z″ variant, built from four balance-sheet ratios — it is designed for service companies and non-manufacturers and uses book value instead of market value. On that scale: below 1.1 = danger zone, 2.6 and up = safe zone, in between a grey area. Because the classic Altman Z is calculated differently, the two numbers are not directly comparable. The formula does not fit banks, insurers, or real-estate stocks. 6.41
Piotroski ?Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag. 7 out of 9

Growth

Sales Growth Last Quarter ?Sales growth in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY). 17.10%
EPS Growth Last Quarter ?Growth in earnings per share in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY). 35.50%
Sales Growth (Year) ?Sales growth in the last fiscal year versus the year before. 11.34%
Forward Sales Growth ?Sales growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee. 10.47%
Forward EPS Growth ?Earnings-per-share growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee. 13.10%

Dividend

Dividend Yield ?Annual dividend divided by the current price: what percentage of your investment comes back as a payout each year. 0.72%
Dividend Per Share (TTM) ?Sum of dividends paid per share over the last 12 months. 2.68$
Payout Ratio ?Share of profit paid out as dividends. Over 100% means the company is paying out more than it earns — not sustainable long-term. 21.0%
Years Without a Cut ?How many years in a row the dividend hasn't been cut — a measure of reliability. 17Years
Increase Streak ?How many years in a row the dividend has been raised — the gold standard for dividend payers. 17Years

Quality & Screener

Stage ?Weinstein phases 1 through 4: 1 = basing, 2 = uptrend (the only buy phase), 3 = topping, 4 = downtrend. Measured against the 30-week line. 3
RS Rating ?Relative strength from 1 to 99: an RS of 95 means the stock has outperformed 95% of all stocks. 36
EPS Rating ?Earnings growth rating from 1 to 99 versus all stocks — high values mean above-average earnings growth. 73
Fundamental Rating ?Our own Fundamental Rating: 0 to 100 points with an A+ to F grade. 50 points is the average across the universe, 100 the best possible score. It scores growth, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet safety — every stock percentile-ranked against all others. Grades: A+ from 95, A from 75, B from 55, C from 45, D from 25, E from 5, F below. B (68 out of 100)

Comparison

Industry comparison

The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.

Industry: Credit Services

Industry comparison
Company Market cap ($B) P/E EV/EBITDA Gross Margin % EBIT Margin % Sales Growth (Year) % Perf. 1Y %
Visa Inc. Class A V 699.4 33.2 24.3 97.7 67.4 11.3 7.7
Mastercard Inc MA 500.7 33.9 23.1 100.0 60.8 16.4 -4.9
American Express Company AXP 213.1 19.5 0.0 62.3 21.3 8.4 -6.4
Capital One Financial Corporation COF 124.4 62.2 0.0 100.0 28.6 28.4 -9.1
PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL 45.7 10.1 6.6 40.5 17.0 4.3 -20.3
Synchrony Financial SYF 25.3 7.7 0.0 100.0 48.0 -7.9 2.1
Affirm Holdings Inc AFRM 23.7 63.7 25.7 48.9 8.5 38.8 -22.3
SoFi Technologies Inc. SOFI 21.0 35.7 0.0 83.7 18.3 82.6 -38.4
Ally Financial Inc ALLY 12.5 9.8 0.0 100.0 21.0 -25.8 -5.0
Median of companies shown 45.7 33.2 0.0 97.7 21.3 11.3 -6.4

Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →

Fiscal years

Annual Figures

Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.

Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M

Revenue Operating income Net income

2016 · Revenue: 15,082 $M 2016 · Operating income: 7,883 $M 2016 · Net income: 5,991 $M 2017 · Revenue: 18,358 $M 2017 · Operating income: 12,144 $M 2017 · Net income: 6,699 $M 2018 · Revenue: 20,609 $M 2018 · Operating income: 12,954 $M 2018 · Net income: 10,301 $M 2019 · Revenue: 22,977 $M 2019 · Operating income: 15,001 $M 2019 · Net income: 12,080 $M 2020 · Revenue: 21,846 $M 2020 · Operating income: 14,081 $M 2020 · Net income: 10,866 $M 2021 · Revenue: 24,105 $M 2021 · Operating income: 15,804 $M 2021 · Net income: 12,311 $M 2022 · Revenue: 29,310 $M 2022 · Operating income: 18,813 $M 2022 · Net income: 14,957 $M 2023 · Revenue: 32,653 $M 2023 · Operating income: 21,000 $M 2023 · Net income: 17,273 $M 2024 · Revenue: 35,926 $M 2024 · Operating income: 23,595 $M 2024 · Net income: 19,743 $M 2025 · Revenue: 40,000 $M 2025 · Operating income: 23,994 $M 2025 · Net income: 20,058 $M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Annual Figures
Fiscal Year Revenue ($M) EBIT ($M) Net Income ($M) EPS ($) Operating Cash Flow ($M) Equity ($M) Total Assets ($M)
2016 15,082 7,883 5,991 2.48 5,574 32,912 64,035
2017 18,358 12,144 6,699 2.80 9,208 32,760 67,977
2018 20,609 12,954 10,301 4.42 12,713 34,006 69,225
2019 22,977 15,001 12,080 5.32 12,784 34,684 72,574
2020 21,846 14,081 10,866 4.89 10,440 36,210 80,919
2021 24,105 15,804 12,311 5.63 15,227 37,589 82,896
2022 29,310 18,813 14,957 7.00 18,849 35,581 85,501
2023 32,653 21,000 17,273 8.28 20,755 38,733 90,499
2024 35,926 23,595 19,743 9.73 19,950 39,137 94,511
2025 40,000 23,994 20,058 10.15 23,059 37,909 99,627

Quarters

Quarterly Figures

Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.

Revenue & Profit

Cash Flow

Balance Sheet

Margins

Per Share

Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.

None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.

These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.

The figures could not be loaded right now.

Sales Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · 9,510.0 $M Q4 2025: Q1 · 9,594.0 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 10,172.0 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 10,724.0 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 10,901.0 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 11,230.0 $M Q1

Source: fundamental data

Quarterly Figures
Quarter EPS (Earnings Per Share) EPS YoY (%) Sales ($M) Sales YoY (%) Net Margin (%) OCF ($M) FCF ($M)
2024: Q4 2.58 7.80 9,510 10.10 53.80 5,396 5,051
2025: Q1 2.32 1.40 9,594 9.30 47.70 4,695 4,368
2025: Q2 2.69 12.10 10,172 14.30 51.80 6,730 6,309
2025: Q3 2.62 -1.20 10,724 11.50 47.50 6,238 5,849
2025: Q4 3.03 17.40 10,901 14.60 53.70 6,780 6,402
2026: Q1 3.11 34.30 11,230 17.10 53.60 3,008 2,625

What Do These Terms Mean?

EPS (Earnings Per Share):
Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
YoY (Year over Year):
Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
Sales:
All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
Net Margin:
What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
FCF (Free Cash Flow):
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.

Compare with other stocks →

Screening

Appears in These Scanners

This stock currently matches 9 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.

Backtested Scanners

Best Hits

Growth

Quality & Balance Sheet

Dividends

Research

Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners

Outlook

Analysts & Price Target

Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.

Consensus Sell 1 = Strong buy … 5 = Strong sell
Analyst Ratings 41
Price Target (average) 419.36$
Distance to price 13.4% The price target sits 13.4% above the current price.

Distribution of Recommendations

Strong Buy 23
Buy 10
Hold 7
Sell 1
Strong Sell 0

Estimates by Fiscal Year

Estimates by Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year EPS Estimate ($) EPS Range ($) Revenue Estimate ($M) Expected Growth Analysts
09/30/2026 13.23 13.10 – 13.50 45,756 15.3% 39
09/30/2027 15.00 14.53 – 15.42 50,787 13.4% 40

Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.

Valuation

What is priced in?

Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.

Today’s market value implies roughly 14.6% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).

What is priced in?
Free cash flow (last twelve months) $21.01B
Market cap $699.43B
Free cash flow in year ten $82.35B
Terminal value as a share of market value 62.0%

For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 17.3% per year.

It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.

A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.

AI classification

AI Rating

Sells AI

Visa verkauft KI-gestuetzte Produkte als eigene Erloesquelle — die Visa-Protect-Suite mit Visa Advanced Authorization, Visa Consumer Authentication Service, Visa Provisioning Intelligence und Visa Deep Authorization sowie die agentische Handelsplattform Visa Intelligent Commerce; dazu wurde im Dezember 2024 der KI-Betrugsschutz-Anbieter Featurespace zugekauft.

View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„For example, Visa Consumer Authentication Service provides an AI-powered, real-time, network-agnostic risk score that enables clients to reduce fraud and false declines for intelligent authentication decisions."

Zum Beispiel liefert der Visa Consumer Authentication Service einen KI-gestuetzten, netzunabhaengigen Risikowert in Echtzeit, mit dem Kunden Betrug und faelschliche Ablehnungen fuer intelligente Authentifizierungsentscheidungen reduzieren koennen.

10-K · 2025-11-06 · View SEC filing

„Visa Intelligent Commerce is an innovative offering in this space that integrates Visa's tokenization technology with authentication and predictive analytics, empowering partners to deploy secure, personalized commerce experiences."

Visa Intelligent Commerce ist ein innovatives Angebot in diesem Bereich, das Visas Tokenisierungstechnologie mit Authentifizierung und vorausschauender Analytik verbindet und Partner in die Lage versetzt, sichere, personalisierte Handelserlebnisse bereitzustellen.

10-K · 2025-11-06 · View SEC filing

„In December 2024, we expanded our Risk and Security Solutions offerings by acquiring Featurespace, a developer of real-time behavioral analytics and AI-powered payments protection technology that helps prevent and mitigate payments fraud and financial crime risks."

Im Dezember 2024 haben wir unser Angebot an Risiko- und Sicherheitsloesungen durch die Uebernahme von Featurespace erweitert, einem Entwickler von Echtzeit-Verhaltensanalytik und KI-gestuetzter Zahlungsschutztechnologie, die hilft, Zahlungsbetrug und Finanzkriminalitaetsrisiken zu verhindern und zu mindern.

10-K · 2025-11-06 · View SEC filing

Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-07-29 · 8-K 2026-07-28 · 10-Q 2026-04-29 · 10-Q 2026-01-30 · 10-K 2025-11-06 · 10-K 2024-11-13

Rated on July 29, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built

Earnings calls

What the Earnings Calls Reveal

We reviewed ten earnings call transcripts from Visa covering 2024-Q2 through 2026-Q3 in chronological order. The financial record is unusually strong: quarterly revenue and earnings guidance was met or clearly beaten almost every time, and full-year guidance has been raised repeatedly since 2025-Q1. What stands out is something else: quantified product commitments vanish from later calls without ever being settled, the forecast for client incentives has erred six times in the same revenue-flattering direction, and for several quarters management has answered questions about segment detail or about updating its own growth framework only in general terms. Judged on the numbers there is little to fault; anyone tracking the product promises has to keep their own ledger.

Red flags Delivers but evades 10 calls reviewed, 2024-Q2 through 2026-Q3 · As of August 2, 2026

Financial guidance consistently holds

On the numbers that matter most, management delivers. In 2024-Q4 revenue rose 12 percent against its own 'low double digits' call, and earnings per share rose 16 percent against 'high end of low double digits'. In 2025-Q1 revenue was up 10 percent against a 'high single digits' guide and earnings up 14 percent against 'low double digits', alongside a raise to the full-year outlook. In 2025-Q3, revenue up 14 percent and earnings up 23 percent beat guides of 'low double digits' and 'high teens'; in 2026-Q2 the company reported its strongest revenue growth since 2022 at plus 17 percent and raised full-year guidance, then raised it again in 2026-Q3. The one setback in the period concerns a driver, not the result: fiscal 2024 payments volume guidance was cut in 2024-Q2 from 'low double digits' to 'high single digits'. At 8 percent it still landed inside that reduced range per 2024-Q4, but below the company's own expectations. The CFO raised that point himself.

Quantified product targets vanish from later calls

In 2024-Q4 the CEO announced that the account-to-account product Visa A2A would launch in the UK in 2025, starting with bill payments. In 2025-Q1 he confirmed verbatim that the company was 'still on track to launch Visa A2A in early 2025'. By 2025-Q3 only APIs had been released, with a 'formal launch soon' in prospect. After that, Visa A2A does not appear at all in the 2025-Q4, 2026-Q1, 2026-Q2 and 2026-Q3 calls, and no analyst has asked about it since 2025-Q1. The same pattern applies to real-time payment fraud protection: 2024-Q4 promised pilots on ten new real-time networks during 2025, 2025-Q1 softened this to 'up to 10', the fiscal year-end call in 2025-Q4 contains no reckoning at all, and in 2026-Q1 management cites two more countries plus half a dozen planned by year end. The target named in 2025-Q4 for Visa Accept (25 countries) and the Visa Pay pipeline cited there (more than 70 clients) likewise do not reappear in the three following calls. That it can be done differently is shown by the Pismo issuing platform: quantified in 2024-Q4 as more than five countries across four regions during 2025, confirmed on track in 2025-Q2, and explicitly reported as achieved in 2025-Q4.

Client incentives: the forecast always errs one way

Client incentives paid to banks and partners are deducted from revenue, so every shortfall against plan lifts reported revenue. In six of the ten calls reviewed, the CFO explicitly reports incentives as lower than planned: 2024-Q2, 2024-Q4, 2025-Q2, 2025-Q3, 2026-Q1 and 2026-Q2. In 2025-Q4 they were explicitly 'in line with our expectations', and in 2025-Q1 the CFO confirmed as much when asked. For 2024-Q3 and 2026-Q3 there is no comparison against expectations at all, although in 2024-Q3 he described incentives so far that year as likewise lower than assumed. They did not exceed expectations in a single quarter across the entire period. The explanation is almost always the same formula of 'deal timing' and 'client performance adjustments'. When an analyst asked in 2025-Q3 whether the incentive-to-revenue ratio had structurally inflected after a decade of rising, the CFO explicitly declined to answer, saying it was 'honestly not the way that we think about our business'.

Repeated evasion on breakouts and its own growth framework

The same questions go unanswered for years. Asked about the size of individual components of the cross-border business, the CFO said in 2024-Q2 'we don't have specifics to break-out'; asked about growth rates for the DPS and CyberSource platforms, 2024-Q4 brought the reply that metrics are not broken out at that level; asked about the revenue exposure to US debit, also in 2024-Q4: 'that's not something that we disclose'. More consequential is the company's own growth framework from its February 2025 investor day: roughly 9 to 11 percent revenue growth and 16 to 18 percent for value-added services plus commercial and money movement combined. In fact value-added services alone grew 27 percent in 2026-Q2 and 34 percent in 2026-Q3. Asked directly whether that framework should be recalibrated, the CFO prefaced his 2026-Q2 answer by noting the company does not guide to growth pillars; he then gave concrete reasons for the strong quarter in commercial and money movement, but left the multi-year framework question open. In 2026-Q3 he answered the same question only by pointing to strong execution of the investor day strategy. Equally recurrent: why international revenue grows slower than cross-border volume in nine of ten quarters was asked five times between 2025-Q2 and 2026-Q3 and answered every time from the same stock of reasons, namely currency volatility, exchange rates, mix and hedging, two to four of them depending on the quarter and with no indication of how much falls on which.

Tone shifts from driver report to platform narrative

Through 2025-Q2 the prepared remarks are organised largely around business drivers. From 2025-Q3 the vocabulary changes: the company describes itself as a 'hyperscaler' for the first time, and from 2026-Q2 the phrase is 'leading hyperscaler of payments globally'. The word does not appear once in the five preceding calls. The 'Visa as a Service stack', by contrast, dates from the February 2025 investor day, is mentioned on the calls from 2025-Q2 and is first spelled out in four layers in 2025-Q4. In parallel the stablecoin section grows from a single figure in 2025-Q2, namely 200 million dollars cumulative, to an annualised run rate of 7 billion dollars, validator roles on blockchains (2026-Q2) and a proprietary stablecoin platform (2026-Q3). In 2026-Q2 the CEO underpins the growth story with a third-party estimate of 80 to 150 basis points of additional economic growth from AI. In 2026-Q3 come the first self-defined productivity metrics, such as development teams shrinking from more than ten to two to four people and requirement definition going 'from 30 days to 5 days', in the very same call that announces job cuts and 563 million dollars of severance costs. Along the way, the growth pillar 'new flows' was renamed 'commercial and money movement solutions' between 2025-Q1 and 2025-Q2 without a word of explanation; the old term appears in no transcript from 2025-Q2 onward.

Management promises

  • 2024-Q4 — Visa A2A will launch in the UK in 2025, starting with bill payments. Explicitly reaffirmed as 'on track for early 2025' in 2025-Q1. On the July 2025 call the launch was still pending ('formal launch soon'), so the date the company itself named is demonstrably missed. Not mentioned again in the four following calls from 2025-Q4 to 2026-Q3 and never settled. broken
  • 2024-Q4 — Visa Protect for account-to-account payments will be piloted on ten new real-time payment networks during 2025. Softened to 'up to 10' as early as 2025-Q1. The fiscal year-end call in 2025-Q4 cites only the Brazil pilot and no network count; in 2026-Q1 it is two more countries plus half a dozen planned by year end. Management never reported whether the ten networks were reached, so from outside it can be neither proven nor disproven. open
  • 2024-Q4 — The Pismo issuing platform will serve clients in more than five countries across four regions during 2025. Confirmed on track in 2025-Q2 and explicitly reported as achieved in 2025-Q4. One of the few quantified product targets management settles on its own initiative. kept
  • 2024-Q4 — For fiscal 2025, revenue growth in the high single to low double digits and earnings growth at the high end of low double digits. Per 2025-Q4, revenue grew 11 percent and earnings per share 14 percent. Guidance had already been raised in 2025-Q1 and was never cut afterwards. kept
  • 2025-Q1 — After the 213 million dollar restructuring charge, no further charge will follow in fiscal 2025. No further restructuring charge was reported in the 2025-Q2 through 2025-Q4 calls. The next one came only in 2026-Q3 at 563 million dollars, outside the period covered by the statement. kept
  • 2025-Q4 — The micro-seller solution Visa Accept is targeted to launch in 25 countries soon. The product is not mentioned once in the 2026-Q1, 2026-Q2 and 2026-Q3 calls. Without an interim update there is no way for outsiders to check whether or how far the rollout has progressed. open
  • 2025-Q4 — For fiscal 2026, both revenue and earnings growth in the low double digits. After three quarters the company is running ahead. In 2026-Q3 full-year guidance was raised to revenue growth at the low end of low teens and earnings growth at the low end of mid teens. The fiscal year does not end until September 2026. open

Based on public earnings call transcripts. Reviewed: 10 transcripts 2024-Q2 through 2026-Q3.

Growth

Growth Score

Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.

8 of 10 Growth gem
  • Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 10.9%
  • More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 10.5%
  • Share count grows by less than 3% a year -2.6%
  • Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 65.3%
  • Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 80.4%
  • Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 20.0%
  • Net debt below twice EBITDA 0.1 x EBITDA
  • Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 6,690 m
  • Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 37.2%
  • Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 0.1%

A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail

Quality check

AAQS

9/10 Quality stock

The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).

  • Sales growth 10Y > 5% 11.4%
  • Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 12.7%
  • EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 13.2%
  • Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 21.6%
  • Net debt < 4x EBIT 0.1x
  • EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
  • Max. EBIT decline < 50% 6.1%
  • Return on equity > 15% –
  • ROCE > 15% 37.2%
  • Expected return > 10% 25.3%

View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien

Source: fundamental data

Insiders

Insider Transactions

Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.

Insider Transactions
Date Person Role Type Shares Price Value
Sep 9, 2026 Rottenberg Julie B GENERAL COUNSEL Sell 1,867 368.34 687,691
Sep 9, 2026 Rottenberg Julie B GENERAL COUNSEL Other 1,867 134.76 251,597
Sep 1, 2026 Mcinerney Ryan Chief Executive Officer Sell 5,875 379.65 2,230,444
Sep 1, 2026 Mcinerney Ryan Chief Executive Officer Other 5,875 134.76 791,715
Aug 31, 2026 Rottenberg Julie B GENERAL COUNSEL Sell 2,028 381.35 773,378
Aug 31, 2026 Rottenberg Julie B GENERAL COUNSEL Other 2,028 109.82 222,715
Aug 21, 2026 Taneja Rajat PRESIDENT, TECHNOLOGY Sell 17,927 371.00 6,650,860
Aug 21, 2026 Mcinerney Ryan Chief Executive Officer Sell 5,875 367.87 2,161,236
Aug 21, 2026 Mcinerney Ryan Chief Executive Officer Other 5,875 134.76 791,715
Aug 15, 2026 Andreski Peter M GBL CORP CONTROLLER, CAO Other 1,714 364.15 624,153

View all insider transactions →

The company

About the Company

Visa Inc. ist ein Zahlungstechnologieunternehmen mit Geschäft in den USA und international.

CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)
selling own stock
Employees
34,100
Headquarters
San Francisco, CA
Address
300 Toni Stone Crossing, 94158 San Francisco, United States
Phone
650 432 3200
Website
visa.com
IPO Date
03/19/2008
ISIN
US92826C8394
Stock Split
4:1 on 03/19/2015

Management

Management
Name Title Birth Year
Ryan M. McInerney CEO & Director 1975
Christopher Suh Chief Financial Officer 1970
Rajat Taneja President of Technology 1964
Kelly Mahon Tullier J.D. Vice Chair, Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer and Corporate Secretary 1966
Paul D. Fabara Chief Risk & Client Services Officer 1966
Peter Andreski Senior VP, Global Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer 1973
Jennifer Como Head of Investor Relations –
Julie B. Rottenberg J.D. General Counsel 1969
Frank Cooper III Chief Marketing Officer 1964
Oliver Jenkyn Group President of Global Markets 1973

Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.

Filings

Company Filings (8-K)

An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

  • 07/28/2026 VISA INC. (V): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Other Events; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
  • 07/15/2026 VISA INC. (V): Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗

Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)

Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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