‘Now Is the Time to Buy,’ Says Mizuho about Visa Stock (V)

Shares of Visa (V) are slightly higher at the time of writing after Mizuho Securities, led by four-star analyst Dan Dolev, upgraded the credit card company from Hold to Buy. This was due to expectations that U.S. consumers will keep shifting their spending toward areas where card payments are more common than cash. Indeed, the firm’s research showed that Visa’s slower growth relative to U.S. personal consumption after COVID-19 was mostly due to non-card spending categories growing faster than card-heavy ones. However, now that this pattern is starting to reverse, Mizuho sees new potential for growth.

Interestingly, the firm believes that there is still a longer-than-expected opportunity for more cash-to-card conversion in the U.S. While many estimates say card usage is already between 80% and 90%, Mizuho thinks it’s actually closer to 75%. That means there is still room for Visa to grow steadily for another 10 years. The analysts also pointed to Visa’s strong performance in countries like Canada and the Nordic region, where card use is already above 90%, but still continues to outpace overall consumer spending growth.

As a result, Dolev raised Visa’s price target from $359 to $425 by increasing the valuation multiple on 2026 earnings from 28x to 31x. He also raised his earnings estimates due to stronger expected U.S. payment volume. Dolev now forecasts Visa will earn $13.00 per share in Fiscal Year 2026, up from $12.62, and $14.76 in 2027, up from $14.11, thanks to better-than-expected domestic transaction growth.

Is Visa a Good Stock to Buy?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Visa stock based on 24 Buys, four Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average Visa price target of $388.85 per share implies 5% upside potential.

See more Visa analyst ratings