Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) delivered fiscal first-quarter results that came in ahead of expectations on Thursday, but the numbers were not enough to lift sentiment, with the stock down more than 1% in premarket trading on Friday.
The payments group reported adjusted earnings of $3.17 per share, slightly above the $3.14 consensus forecast, while revenue rose 15% year on year to $10.9 billion, also topping expectations of $10.68 billion. On a constant-currency basis, revenue growth for the quarter stood at 13%.
Performance was supported by steady consumer spending and a robust holiday period. Payments volume increased 8% year on year in constant dollars, while cross-border volumes excluding intra-Europe transactions—an important driver of international fees—grew 11%. Total processed transactions climbed 9% to 69.4 billion.
“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%,” said Ryan McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of Visa. “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.”
By segment, service revenue increased 13% to $4.8 billion, while data processing revenue rose 17% to $5.5 billion. International transaction revenue advanced 6% to $3.7 billion, and other revenue jumped 33% to $1.2 billion.
TD Cowen analyst Bryan Bergin said Visa “delivered a strong 1Q26,” pointing to a resilient consumer environment and strength in value-added services and cross-border activity, partly offset by lower foreign exchange volatility. However, he said the market’s muted reaction “reflects a combination of higher 1H opex growth” and full-year 2026 guidance that was largely reiterated, “lacking the 1Q beat passthrough.”
During the quarter, Visa bought back around 11 million shares at an average price of $342.13, returning $3.8 billion to shareholders. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, payable on March 2.