Visa Q1 Earnings Rise on Strong Payment Volume

Visa Inc. reported fiscal Q1 2026 results on January 29, 2026, saying its earnings benefited from stronger holiday-season payment volumes and cross-border spending. This mix supported revenue growth and enabled fresh share repurchases and a dividend declaration.

Quarterly Results and Payment Volume Growth

Visa posted net revenue of $10.9 billion for the fiscal first quarter, up 15% year-over-year and 13% on a constant-dollar basis, surpassing consensus estimates near $10.7 billion, the company said in a press release. GAAP net income rose 14% to about $5.9 billion, or $3.03 per Class A share, a 17% increase from the prior year. Non-GAAP net income reached $6.1 billion, with non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.17, both above market forecasts.

Payment volumes grew 8% on a constant-dollar basis in the quarter ended December 31, 2025, totaling roughly $4.5 trillion compared with estimates near $4.4 trillion. Processed transactions increased 9% year-over-year to 69.4 billion. Cross-border activity rose about 12% overall, or 11% excluding Europe.

Service revenue climbed 13% to $4.8 billion, based on the September 30, 2025 payments quarter, while data-processing revenue increased 17% to $5.5 billion. International transaction revenue reached about $3.7 billion, and other revenue rose 33% to roughly $1.2 billion. Client incentives increased 12% to $4.3 billion. CEO Ryan McInerney said, "Our purposeful investments in our Visa as a Service stack continue to position us as a payments hyperscaler to deliver technology and infrastructure that redefine what's possible in payments."

Capital Returns, Legal Provisions, and Outlook

Visa repurchased 11 million shares at an average price of $342.13, spending $3.8 billion, and declared a $0.67-per-share Class A and B dividend payable March 2, 2026, to shareholders of record in February. Total capital returned in the quarter was $5.1 billion.

GAAP operating expenses rose 27% year-over-year to about $4.2 billion, driven partly by a $707 million provision related to an interchange multidistrict litigation case. On a non-GAAP basis, operating expenses increased 16%. The quarter included a $333 million deferred-tax benefit from a U.S. foreign-earnings tax change. The company also deposited $500 million into a litigation escrow account for certain cases.

Looking ahead, Visa expects net revenue growth in the low double digits for both the second quarter and full fiscal year 2026. It anticipates low double-digit earnings per share growth for the full year, with second-quarter EPS at the high end of that range. Operating expenses are forecast to grow in the low double digits.

As of December 31, 2025, Visa held $23.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, reported total assets of $96.8 billion, and total liabilities and equity of $99.6 billion. The effective tax rate was 13.0% on a GAAP basis and 18.4% on a non-GAAP basis.

CEO Ryan McInerney said, "Visa delivered a very strong fiscal first quarter with net revenue up 15% year-over-year, GAAP EPS up 17% and non-GAAP EPS up 15%, driven by resilient consumer spending and a strong holiday season, as well as continued strength in value-added services and commercial and money movement solutions."