Visa shares climb as profit beat, raised forecast ease Middle East jitters

Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Shares jumped five per cent in premarket trading on Wednesday as the payments-processing company beat estimates for second-quarter profit and lifted expectations for full-year earnings, buoyed by resilient consumer spending.

Payments volume grew as consumer spending during the quarter defied broader macroeconomic concerns stoked by heightened tensions in the Middle East.

CEO Ryan McInerney said in a post-earnings call that Visa was closely monitoring the situation in the region. The company said several factors would offset weakness in cross-border travel, such as stronger U.S.-bound demand linked to the FIFA World Cup and higher commercial travel volumes.

These events also help growth in the company’s marketing services segment.

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Cross-border payments, viewed as a real-time gauge of global trade and ​travel because of Visa’s scale, are closely monitored by analysts and economists. The company’s cross-border volume in the second quarter rose 12 per cent on a constant-dollar basis, compared with 13 per cent a year earlier.

“There’s a lot to be impressed by in Visa’s print, particularly in the context of investor concerns going in that cross-border growth would dramatically slow in April,” J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note.

Shares of the company have lost about 12 per cent so far in 2026, lagging behind the broader S&P 500 index SPX, but still outperforming American Express AXP.N.

Rival Mastercard’s MA.N shares also rose 2.4 per cent in premarket trading.

“Visa posted its strongest growth profile in years supported by multiple self-reinforcing levers while doing well to articulate upside potential from agentic commerce and stablecoins,” TD Cowen analysts said in a note.

CEO McInerney said artificial intelligence and agentic commerce will expand the company’s addressable market and bolster its long-term growth.

The company’s board also authorized a new US$20 billion multi-year share repurchase program.

Visa is investing in organic growth and acquisitions, and the share repurchase shows the company’s “ability to have a balanced capital allocation strategy where we return excess free cash flow to clients,” finance chief Chris Suh said in an interview with Reuters.

Visa also raised annual net revenue growth expectations.

“Second quarter 2026 results will remind the market that Visa is a global fintech juggernaut with many ways to drive revenue ahead of volume and transaction growth,” William Blair analysts said in a note.

Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo