Visa hits revenue expectations but misses net income targets | PaymentsSource

Visa CEO Ryan McInerney said that consumers hadn’t yet tightened their purse strings amid widespread macroeconomic uncertainty but did say there was some softness in consumers’ appetite to travel. 

In the second quarter and through April 21, Visa observed no signs of slowing consumer spending. “While spending growth differs among consumer [groups], with the most affluent growing the fastest, all [groups] remain resilient and consistent with past quarters,” McInereney said on a call with investors Tuesday night.  

Some spend categories – such as travel with airlines and lodging– “decelerated,” he said, but noted that “overall discretionary and non-discretionary spend remains strong. Outside the U.S., we see similar stable trends.” 

Entertainment growth also slowed, Visa Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said. Restaurant growth was stable and retail and fuel growth improved. 

Visa kept its full year guidance unchanged, Suh said. 

Earnings results reflected strong consumer spending. For the quarter ending March 31, net revenue landed at $9.6 billion, up 9% year over year, in line with analysts’ expectations, according to S&P Global. Net income totalled $4.6 billion billion, down 2%, or $2.32 per diluted share, below analysts estimates of $5.2 billion, or $2.66 per diluted share. 

Adjusted EPS was $2.76, ahead of analysts expected $2.68. 

Service revenue, which is based on payments volume in the prior quarter, was $4.4 billion, an increase of 9%. Data processing revenue tallied $4.7 billion, up 10%, and international transaction revenue hit $3.3 billion, also up 10%. Other revenue grew 24% to $937 million. Client incentives were $3.7 billion, up 15% over the prior year.   

On a constant dollar basis, payment volumes for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was up 7.5% to $3.3 trillion; processed transactions hit 60.7 billion, an increase of 9%, and total cross border volume was up 13%. 

“We have seen some impacts from currency weakness and travel to specific countries, but the overall growth was above the pre-COVID-19 trend,” McInerney said. 

GAAP operating expenses totalled $4.2 billion, an increase of 22%, primarily driven by an increase in the litigation provision. 

“Was a solid quarter for Visa in a challenging macro backdrop,” Sanjay Sakhrani, a managing director at Keefe Bruyette & Woods, wrote in a research note. “Clearly U.S, payment volumes remain resilient with cross-border volumes a little weaker. We think better f/x and currency volatility pickup should help offset the weaker cross-border volumes for the year, driving the lack of a guidance change.”

Visa also touted a new Visa Direct partnership with Jack Henry that will allow the fintech to offer Visa’s instant payment solution to community and regional financial institutions, which they will be able to offer to their account holders and small business clients. 

That deal comes amid a 28% annual increase in Visa Direct transactions, which hit 3 billion during the quarter. That figure was below Visa’s first quarter volume, Suh said, primarily due to “the lapping of our initial ramp in Latin America for interoperability among P2P apps and the lapping of leap year.”