Visa Posts Annual Revenue of $45.9 Billion as Cross-Border Payments Grow 14%
Key Facts
Visa topped analysts’ expectations in its fourth-quarter fiscal results, with payment volume up 9% year over year in constant dollars, according to the results statement attached to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cross-border payment volume, excluding transactions within Europe, rose 14%, while transactions processed by the network increased 10%. The figures showed broader activity across the company’s network at the end of fiscal 2026. Visa recorded net revenue of $45.9 billion for the year, up 15% nominally and 14% in constant dollars. But the stock fell after the results were announced, despite the company beating expectations.
Travel and e-commerce stood out among the drivers of international activity during the quarter. Cross-border travel payment volume rose 13%, while cross-border e-commerce volume increased 17%, according to coverage of the earnings call transcript. Chief Financial Officer Chris Su said cross-border payment growth reflected “strong consumer confidence, strong demand for travel experiences and the expansion of e-commerce.” Visa also said spending patterns across consumer segments remained relatively consistent with previous quarters, and that the highest-spending segment continued to grow at the fastest pace. Su added that the company had seen no signs of weakness in spending by the lowest-spending segment, Reuters reported.
Visitor flows to the United States helped support network activity during the quarter, as the country hosted the FIFA World Cup from June 11 to July 19. Reuters said the event brought large numbers of visitors and coincided with growth in cross-border travel payments. Su said travel to and from the Middle East had returned to levels closer to normal after declining because of the conflict with Iran. Overall, the CFO described spending patterns as consistent across consumer segments, with the highest-spending segment continuing to grow faster. These indicators put the network’s performance in the context of travel activity and consumer spending during the quarter, without the company breaking out the contribution of each factor in the available figures.
On expenses, non-GAAP operating expenses rose 12% in the fourth quarter, an increase in line with expectations, according to the call transcript. Visa attributed the expense growth mainly to higher marketing and personnel costs. Client incentives also jumped 21% to $5.1 billion compared with the previous year. The company said the increase was largely tied to new deals signed between July and September and the start of the fourth quarter. An analyst at Seaport said client incentives came in higher than expected and suggested this may have affected the company’s fiscal 2027 outlook.
Chief Executive Ryan McInerney said Visa generated record annual revenue of $46 billion, up 15%, describing the increase as the strongest in more than 15 years, excluding the post-pandemic recovery and acquisitions. The results statement lists annual net revenue at $45.9 billion, up 15% nominally or 14% in constant dollars. Su said consumer spending remained resilient despite inflationary pressures, attributing this to a strong labor market and wage growth, according to Reuters’ description of the U.S. economy. The annual picture combines revenue growth with continued spending across the network, while client incentives and operating expenses were among the items that increased during the quarter. The available information did not include annual figures for earnings per share or adjusted net income.
Visa expects low-double-digit net revenue growth in fiscal 2027 and earnings-per-share growth ranging from the low to the mid-double digits, according to Reuters coverage and the call transcript. The company said about 25% of payment volume is due for renewal in 2027, compared with about 20% in fiscal 2026. This puts renewals among the issues for next year, alongside the revenue and earnings growth outlook. Management was scheduled to hold an audio webcast to discuss the results on October 27 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time, or 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. After the results were released, the stock fell 1.46% in extended trading to $396, according to Investing.com.
In the regular session on October 27, Visa shares closed at $401.86, down from $404.16 in the previous session, according to EL7 data. That equates to a decline of about 0.57% between the two closes, ahead of the extended-hours move reported by Investing.com. Reuters said the stock lost about 1.4% in extended trading, while it was up 14.6% year to date through the previous close. The after-hours move differs from the change between the two regular-session closes, as each refers to a different trading period. The post-results decline came despite the company beating analysts’ estimates, with coverage focused on the next fiscal year’s outlook and client incentives.