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Visa Inc. (V) operates as a payment technology company, providing transaction processing services to financial institutions and merchants. Valued at $651 billion by market cap, the San Francisco-based payments giant operates as the world leader in digital payments, with its operations spanning over 200 countries and territories around the globe.
Visa has outpaced the broader market over the past year. Visa stock has gained 25.6% over the past 52 weeks and nearly 10% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 22.8% gains over the past year and 3.4% surge in 2025.
Zooming in further, while Visa has outperformed the industry-focused Amplify Digital Payments ETF’s (IPAY) 5% gains in 2025, it has notably underperformed IPAY's 32.9% surge over the past year.
Despite delivering better-than-expected results, Visa’s stock prices observed a marginal dip in the trading session after the release of its Q1 results on Jan. 30. Driven by strong growth in cross-border and processed transactions, its net revenues for the quarter surged 10.1% year-over-year to $9.5 billion, exceeding the Street’s expectations by 1.8%. However, its profitability for the quarter took a significant hit, as the company experienced a notable surge in operating expenses, leading to a 341 basis point contraction in operating margin compared to the year-ago quarter to 65.6%. Its operating profits for the quarter grew by a modest 4.7% year-over-year to $6.2 billion.
Nonetheless, Visa’s non-GAAP earnings of $2.75 per share, surpassed the consensus estimates by 3.4% and its stock rebounded nearly 1.2% in the next trading session.
For the current fiscal 2025, ending in September, Visa is expected to deliver a 12.1% year-over-year growth in adjusted EPS to $11.27. Furthermore, Visa has a robust earnings surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s bottom-line expectations in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 36 analysts covering the Visa stock, the consensus rating is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 28 “Strong Buy,” three “Moderate Buy,” and five “Hold” ratings.
This configuration is slightly more bullish than a month ago when 27 analysts gave a “Strong Buy” recommendation.
On Jan. 31, Citigroup (C) analyst Andrew Schmidt reiterated a “Buy” rating on Visa, while raising the price target to $393.
Visa’s mean price target of $372.76 represents a 7.3% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $400 indicates a 15.1% upside potential.
