Visa's Record Quarter Shows the US Consumer Is Still Spending Like It's Going Out of Style

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Visa (Visa (V)) reported fiscal third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates, and the stock is down a bit in premarket trading. That's just how markets work sometimes — good news isn't always rewarded immediately. But the numbers themselves tell a pretty clear story: the US consumer is still spending money.

Earnings Beat Estimates

Visa reported adjusted earnings of $3.32 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $3.23. Revenue came in at $11.63 billion, above the Street estimate of $11.39 billion. The company also recorded $563 million in severance costs tied to workforce changes as part of an efficiency program aimed at lowering costs and funding future growth initiatives.

Visa returned $6.2 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $4.9 billion in share repurchases and $1.3 billion in dividends. As of June 30, the company had $28.4 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization.

Payments Volume Hits Record

Total payments volume surpassed $4 trillion for the first time in the company's history. That's a lot of swipes, taps, and clicks. US payments volume increased 10% from a year earlier, with credit volume rising 11% and debit volume up 9%. International payments volume also grew 10% on a constant-currency basis.

Cross-border volume, excluding intra-Europe transactions, rose 12% year over year. Cross-border e-commerce volume increased 16%, while travel-related cross-border volume climbed 10%. Processed transactions rose 10% to 72 billion, driven by continued growth across Visa's global payments network.

Service revenue increased 14%, supported by pricing actions and card benefit programs. Data processing revenue rose 17%, helped by pricing, a 34% increase in value-added services revenue, and a higher mix of cross-border transactions.

The FIFA World Cup also gave spending a boost. Cross-border card-present spending in US host cities increased nearly 25% from a year earlier. Inbound cross-border card-present volume rose more than 70% in Mexico and more than 35% in Canada. So if you were wondering whether soccer fans spend money, the answer is yes.

AI, Stablecoins, and Outlook

Visa said it is expanding the use of agentic AI by moving beyond AI-assisted workflows toward autonomous execution across engineering, client services, and product development. The company also launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform, enabling partners to mint, transfer, and manage stablecoins while supporting fiat-to-stablecoin transactions. Visa also joined Open Standard, a consortium developing Open USD, a stablecoin initiative focused on global money movement.

Looking ahead, Visa expects fourth-quarter adjusted net revenue growth at the high end of the low-double-digit percentage range. For fiscal 2026, the company expects net revenue growth at the low end of the low-teens percentage range and adjusted earnings per share growth at the low end of the mid-teens percentage range.

Visa also offered a reassuring assessment of US consumer health, easing concerns about a potential slowdown in spending. Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said spending remained strong across both discretionary and essential purchases, adding that the company has not seen signs of weakness among lower-spending consumers. The comments suggest household spending has remained resilient despite broader economic uncertainty.

V Price Action: Visa shares were down 0.90% at $363.30 during premarket trading on Wednesday.

Stock Market News

Visa's Record Quarter Shows the US Consumer Is Still Spending Like It's Going Out of Style

Get Visa Inc - Class A Alerts

Earnings Beat Estimates

Payments Volume Hits Record

AI, Stablecoins, and Outlook

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