Visa Earnings: Holiday Spending Drives Q1 Profit Beat

Visa (V) stock is climbing after reporting fiscal first quarter results, with the company exceeding profit expectations driven by robust holiday spending. The payment processor also announced a strategic partnership with X (formerly Twitter), aimed at expanding financial services on the social media platform.



Visa's strong first-quarter results reflected healthy spending during the holiday season and improving trends in payments volume, cross-border volume, and processed transactions growth. The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.75 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.66. Quarterly revenue came in at $9.51 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $9.34 billion and is an increase over sales of $8.63 billion from the same period last year.



Payments volume increased 9% over the prior year on a constant-dollar basis. Cross-border volume excluding transactions within Europe increased by 16% on a constant-dollar basis. Total cross-border volume on a constant dollar basis increased by 16% in the quarter. Total processed transactions, which represent transactions processed by Visa, were 63.8 billion, an 11% increase over the prior year.

Visa's CEO, Ryan McInerney, stated, "Visa's strong first-quarter results reflected healthy spending during the holiday season and improving trends in payments volume, cross-border volume, and processed transactions growth. We delivered 10% net revenue growth, 8% GAAP EPS growth, and 14% non-GAAP EPS growth. As we continue through 2025, we remain focused on serving our clients and innovating across our three growth levers – consumer payments, new flows, and value-added services."



In addition to its strong earnings, Visa announced a strategic partnership with X, formerly known as Twitter. The partnership aims to expand financial services on the social media platform, enabling users to make purchases directly within the X app using their Visa cards. This integration could lead to increased user engagement and transaction volumes, benefiting both Visa and X.

Analysts remain bullish on Visa stock, with an average price target of $363.36, representing implied upside of more than 4% from current levels. Financial services firm Oppenheimer has an Outperform rating (equivalent to a Buy) with a $390 price target on the blue-chip stock. Oppenheimer analyst Rayna Kumarin noted, "Visa remains well-positioned to gain global market share from the multi-year runway to convert paper-based payments to card, enabling high-single payment volume growth over the next 3 years, at least."

In conclusion, Visa's strong first-quarter results, driven by robust holiday spending, and its strategic partnership with X, position the company for continued growth and success in the coming quarters. Investors should consider Visa stock as a solid addition to their portfolios, given its strong fundamentals and growth prospects.