V | Q1 2026

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Overview

• Non-GAAP EPS of $3.17 beats by $0.03.

• Revenue of $10.9B (+14.6% Y/Y) beats by $210M.

KEY Takeaways

• Revenue grew 15% year over year to $10.9B, while EPS also increased 15% to $3.17.

• Global payments volume rose 8%, processed transactions grew 9%, and cross-border volume (excluding intra-Europe) increased 11%.

• U.S. payment volume grew 7%, with credit up 7% and debit up 6%. Plus, e-commerce continues to outpace in-person spending.

• Consumer spending remained resilient across income levels, with no meaningful weakness showing up in lower-income segments.

• Commercial and money movement solutions revenue grew 20% in constant dollars, highlighting accelerating growth outside traditional card payments.

• Value-added services revenue increased 28% to $3.2B and accounted for roughly half of total revenue growth for the quarter.

• Tokenization continues to strengthen Visa’s moat, with over 17.5B tokens in circulation reducing checkout friction and improving conversion and security.

• Investments in agentic commerce, issuer processing, and security reinforce Visa’s position as payments infrastructure rather than just a card network.

• AI-driven fraud and risk tools are seeing strong adoption and remain a key differentiator as commerce moves further online.

• Full-year guidance was reaffirmed, with management expecting growth to moderate from Q1’s unusually strong pace while remaining in the low double digits.

• Regulatory risk remains the primary external overhang, particularly around the Credit Card Competition Act.

NOTES

Visa (V) kicked off fiscal 2026 with a solid first quarter, and the takeaway is pretty straightforward: consumer spending is holding up, volumes are still growing, and Visa’s newer, higher-value parts of the business are doing more of the heavy lifting than ever before.

Revenue grew 15% year over year to $10.9 billion, and earnings per share also rose 15% to $3.17.

Underneath that, global payments volume increased 8% in constant dollars to nearly $4 trillion, while total processed transactions grew 9%.

Cross-border volume (excluding intra-Europe transactions) rose 11%, showing that international travel and global commerce remain healthy.

Management emphasized that spending strength isn’t specific to just higher-income consumers either—growth has been fairly consistent across the board, with no meaningful deterioration at the lower end.

In the U.S., payment volume grew 7%, with e-commerce continuing to outpace in-person spending. Credit volume rose 7% and debit grew 6%.

Visa did note a few specific, non-macro headwinds during the quarter, including the loss of some debit volume from a client shifting activity in-house, a Capital One debit migration, and weather-related impacts.

Where the quarter really stood out was in Visa’s growth engines beyond traditional card payments. Commercial and money movement solutions revenue grew 20% in constant dollars, while value-added services revenue jumped 28% to $3.2 billion.

These areas now represent a meaningful share of Visa’s overall growth, with value-added services alone accounting for roughly half of total revenue growth in the quarter. Management made it clear this wasn’t a one-off spike—client demand across issuing, acceptance, risk, security, and advisory services has been broad-based and strong.

Cross-border revenue itself grew more slowly than cross-border volume, which raised some questions. Management explained that currency volatility was much lower than expected, which reduces the revenue contribution from that line.

They also pointed to “mix” effects—faster growth in areas like Visa Direct, which tend to carry lower yields than traditional card transactions. Still, Visa emphasized that cross-border remains one of its most profitable businesses, even if quarter-to-quarter revenue doesn’t always perfectly track volume.

Strategically, management spent a lot of time talking about how Visa is building on top of the network rather than just expanding it. Tokenization continues to be a major focus, with over 17.5 billion Visa tokens now in circulation—more than three times the number of physical cards.

One practical result of that progress is how much friction has been removed from online checkout. Guest checkout now represents about 16% of Visa’s global e-commerce transactions, down from 44% in 2019, and among Visa’s largest merchants it’s under 4%.

Fewer forms, more saved credentials, and higher conversion rates benefit merchants and consumers alike—and reinforce Visa’s role in digital commerce.

That token infrastructure also underpins Visa’s push into what it calls “agentic commerce,” where software agents can make purchases on behalf of users. Visa already has dozens of partners actively building in this ecosystem and is positioning itself as the trusted payments and security layer if this model gains traction.

While still early, Visa’s message was clear: if commerce becomes more automated, trust and authorization will matter more, not less.

Stablecoins were another topic, but management had a lukewarm tone about it. Visa doesn’t see strong demand for stablecoin payments in developed markets like the U.S. or Europe, where digital payments already work well.

Instead, the opportunity is in regions with currency instability, limited banking access, and cross-border use cases like remittances and business payouts. Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has reached an annualized $4.6 billion, and the company highlighted benefits like seven-day settlement and improved liquidity for partners. Management repeatedly framed stablecoins as additive—not disruptive—to Visa’s core business.

On the infrastructure side, Visa highlighted growing momentum in issuer processing, particularly through DPS and Pismo.

Banks and fintechs around the world are looking to modernize legacy systems and move to cloud-based platforms, and Visa believes this is a long-term opportunity. Management acknowledged these are long sales cycles, but early wins and engagement suggest the strategy is resonating.

Risk and security also remained a key strength. Visa’s AI-driven fraud tools are seeing increased adoption, with meaningful results in transaction screening and fraud prevention, especially in Latin America and Europe. As more commerce shifts online, these capabilities are becoming more central to Visa’s value proposition.

Looking forward to the rest of the year, Visa reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Management still expects adjusted net revenue growth in the low double digits, with operating expenses growing at a similar pace.

Growth will likely moderate from the exceptionally strong first quarter as pricing benefits fade, incentives normalize, and marketing expenses rise in connection with major global events like the Olympics and FIFA.

Regulatory risk still exists too. Management was firm in its opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act, calling it unnecessary and potentially harmful to consumers, rewards programs, security, and innovation. Visa continues to actively engage with policymakers, but this is clearly an external factor investors should keep an eye on.

Overall, Visa’s core payments business still looks great, while its faster-growing services, commercial payments, and security offerings are becoming increasingly important drivers of growth.

The company isn’t just benefiting from resilient consumer spending—it’s consistently expanding its role in how money moves, how payments are secured, and how digital commerce works behind the scenes.

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