Visa Inc.
V · NYSE
Next quarter
Expected to report Oct 27, 2026 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $3.43 EPS for Sep 2026 across 12 estimates, ranging $3.38 to $3.45.
V Jun 2026
- 2.79%
- +0.58%
- $3.23
- $3.32
- —
- —
Highlights
- Earnings beat: Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $3.32, $0.09 above the $3.23 consensus, a 2.79% surprise; GAAP EPS was $2.97.
- Revenue growth: Net revenue rose 14% year over year to $11.63 billion, up from $10.17 billion a year ago and 3.6% from $11.23 billion in Q2 FY2026.
- Spending remained resilient: Payments volume increased 10% and processed transactions rose 10% year over year to 71.7 billion; cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe grew 12%.
- Value-added services accelerated: Revenue from value-added services increased 33% to $3.8 billion, contributing to 45% growth in other revenue to $1.5 billion.
- Profit growth lagged revenue: GAAP net income rose 7% year over year to $5.63 billion, while operating expenses increased 19% to $4.76 billion; operating income rose 11% to $6.88 billion.
- Underlying earnings: Non-GAAP net income increased 8% to $6.30 billion and non-GAAP EPS rose 11% from $2.98; non-GAAP operating expenses climbed 17% to $3.88 billion.
- Litigation continued to shape reported results: Visa recorded a $237 million interchange litigation provision in the quarter and deposited $250 million into its U.S. litigation escrow account; nine-month litigation accruals totaled $1.29 billion.
- Capital returns stayed heavy: Visa repurchased 14.5 million shares for $4.9 billion and paid $1.27 billion of dividends during the quarter; $28.4 billion remained authorized for repurchases at June 30.
- Strategic expansion: Visa completed its $1.5 billion acquisition of Argentina-based Prisma and Newpay, adding issuer processing, real-time payments, ATM and bill-payment capabilities.
Analysis
Visa’s fiscal third quarter was a strong top-line and volume print, with earnings modestly ahead of expectations but profitability affected by investment and restructuring costs. Non-GAAP EPS of $3.32 exceeded the $3.23 consensus by 2.79%, while net revenue rose 14% year over year to $11.63 billion. GAAP net income increased 7% to $5.63 billion and non-GAAP net income rose 8% to $6.30 billion. Compared with Q2 FY2026, revenue increased from $11.23 billion, but net income declined from $6.02 billion and operating income fell from $7.23 billion to $6.88 billion.
The operating engine remained healthy: payments volume grew 10%, cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe rose 12%, and processed transactions increased 10% to 71.7 billion. Value-added services were a notable growth contributor, up 33% to $3.8 billion. However, GAAP operating expenses rose 19%, led by personnel and marketing, including $563 million of severance costs and higher spending around major sporting events. Visa also recorded a $237 million litigation provision, although this was below the $615 million provision in the year-ago quarter. Capital deployment remained substantial, with $6.2 billion returned through repurchases and dividends.
Core payments growth
Visa’s underlying payments activity continued to support double-digit revenue growth. Payments volume for the June quarter increased 10% on a constant-dollar basis, while cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe, the key driver of international transaction revenue, rose 12%. Total cross-border volume grew 13%, and processed transactions reached 71.7 billion, up 10% from 65.4 billion a year earlier.
- Spending mix: Consumer credit volume grew 8% in the June quarter, consumer debit increased 9%, and commercial volume rose 11% on a constant-dollar basis.
- Geographic mix: International revenue increased 16% to $7.22 billion, outpacing U.S. revenue growth of 12% to $4.41 billion.
- Digital and travel exposure: Management attributed volume growth to resilient consumer spending, continued digital-commerce expansion, and cross-border ecommerce and travel activity.
Revenue mix
Net revenue increased 14% to $11.63 billion, with growth across the major revenue streams despite client incentives rising 18% to $4.68 billion. Data processing remained the largest contributor at $6.04 billion, up 17%, while service revenue rose 14% to $4.92 billion. International transaction revenue grew more slowly, up 6% to $3.85 billion, partly reflecting currency volatility and business mix.
- Value-added services: Revenue rose 33% year over year to $3.8 billion, driven by Issuing Solutions, Acceptance Solutions and Advisory and Other Services.
- Other revenue: Revenue increased 45% to $1.50 billion, benefiting from growth in Advisory and Other Services and selected pricing changes.
- Forward revenue visibility: Remaining performance obligations were $5.6 billion at June 30, with Visa expecting approximately half to be recognized over the next two years.
Costs and reported earnings
Revenue growth translated into slower profit growth because expenses rose faster than sales. GAAP operating expenses increased 19% to $4.76 billion, reducing the operating margin to approximately 59.1% from 60.7% a year earlier and 64.4% in Q2 FY2026. Non-GAAP operating expenses rose 17% to $3.88 billion, leaving non-GAAP net income up 8% and EPS up 11%.
- Personnel: Expense increased 40% year over year to $2.46 billion, reflecting severance, higher headcount and compensation costs, including acquisition-related additions.
- Marketing: Expense rose 54% to $649 million, driven by client campaigns and sponsorship activity associated partly with the FIFA World Cup 2026.
- One-time items: Visa excluded $563 million of severance costs, $237 million of litigation provision, $78 million of acquired-intangible amortization and acquisition-related costs in calculating non-GAAP results.
Interchange litigation
Litigation remained a material financial and operational backdrop, even though the quarterly provision declined from the prior year. Visa recorded a $237 million provision tied to the interchange multidistrict litigation versus $615 million in Q3 FY2025. For the nine months, litigation provisions totaled $1.29 billion, including $1.13 billion related to the U.S. covered litigation, while payments for legal matters reached $3.14 billion.
- Escrow funding: Visa deposited $250 million into its U.S. litigation escrow account during the quarter; the account held $888 million at June 30.
- Nine-month funding: Total deposits into the U.S. litigation escrow account were $875 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2026.
- Case status: The amended settlement for the injunctive relief class received preliminary approval in June, while challenges involving the damages class and additional merchant claims remained outstanding.
Capital allocation and expansion
Visa continued to return substantial cash while funding acquisitions and network investment. During the quarter it repurchased approximately 14.5 million Class A shares for $4.9 billion and paid $1.27 billion in dividends. The board declared another quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, and $28.4 billion remained available under repurchase authorizations at quarter-end.
- Cash generation: Operating cash flow was $16.34 billion for the nine months, compared with $16.82 billion in the prior-year period.
- Strategic acquisition: Visa paid $1.5 billion in February for Argentina’s Prisma and Newpay, which provide issuer processing, real-time payments, ATM and bill-payment infrastructure.
- Funding position: Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities totaled $13.9 billion at June 30, while total debt had a carrying value of $23.86 billion.
