VISA sailed past Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday (Apr 23), as consumers shrugged off worries of a slowing economy and high interest rates to swipe cards on travel, entertainment and dining out.
Shares of the world’s largest payments processor rose 3 per cent in extended trading after the results.
US consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient despite higher-for-longer interest rates, with Americans still looking to spend on big-ticket purchases and international travel.
Visa’s payment volume climbed 8 per cent in the quarter. Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe, a gauge of international travel demand, jumped 16 per cent. Processed transactions rose 11 per cent in the second quarter.
Its adjusted earnings per share of US$2.51 beat analysts’ average expectation of US$2.44, according to LSEG data.
Net revenue in the quarter rose 10 per cent to US$8.8 billion, also topping Street expectations of US$8.62 billion.
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Analysts expect payment firms to keep growth intact as bets of an economic slowdown ease. The summer season is also typically strong for travel volumes as people fly both internationally and within the US for vacations.
Credit card giant and processor American Express last week beat expectations for first-quarter profit, thanks to strong spending by its affluent consumers.
Visa expects net revenue growth in “low double-digit” for the current quarter ending Jun 30.
The company kept its forecast for revenue growth in 2024 unchanged at “low double-digit”.
The upbeat earnings come after Visa and rival Mastercard reached an estimated US$30 billion landmark settlement in March to limit credit and debit card fees for merchants, with some savings likely to be passed on to consumers through lower prices.
Though the settlement focused on the payments processing behemoths, analysts said the agreement to reduce and cap interchange fees impacts issuing banks that generate revenue through the charges and will not be financially material to Visa and Mastercard. REUTERS