Visa (V) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $610.49B
• Dividend Yield: 0.69%
• Average Volume (3M): 8.25M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 30.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.76
• Revenue Growth: 11.34%
• EPS Growth: 2.76%
• Country: US
• Employees: 28,800
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Financial - Credit Services
• EPS (TTM): 3.17
• Shares Outstanding: 1,681,094,000
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 7,210,904
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 8,252,387
• PEG Ratio: 6.71
• Price to Book (P/B): 17.49
• Price to Sales (P/S): 16.57
• P/FCF Ratio: 30.73
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.02
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 15.11
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 18.63
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 23.52
• 1Y Price Target: $399.39
• Price Target Upside: 24.44% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 26
• EPS Forecast (FY): 12.86
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $44.65B

• Rating: 77 Outperform
• Price Target: $374.00 ▲(16.53% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/14/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/14/26

The score is driven primarily by strong financial performance (excellent margins and cash generation) and a positive, steady outlook from the latest earnings call. These strengths are tempered by weaker technical momentum (below key longer-term moving averages with negative MACD) and a relatively rich valuation (high P/E and low yield), with corporate events modestly positive but adding some incremental leverage.

Positive Factors

High profitability and cash generation

Consistent high free cash flow, roughly mid-90% of net income, gives Visa durable internal funding for technology investment, fraud and security capabilities, and large capital returns. This strong cash conversion supports buybacks/dividends and cushions the business versus cyclical slowdowns over months.

Scale and large payments network

Visa’s massive network and continued transaction growth create structural network effects: broader issuer and merchant coverage, richer transaction data and entrenched acceptance. That scale sustains pricing leverage, fraud prevention investment and high switching costs for customers over the medium term.

Diversifying higher-margin products and platforms

Rapid VAS growth and new rails (tokenization, stablecoin settlement, Visa Direct, commercial solutions) shift revenue mix toward higher-margin, platform-based services. This diversification reduces reliance on pure interchange and supports sustainable revenue expansion as digital payments evolve over the next several quarters.

Negative Factors

Moderating growth and margin drift

Although revenue and net income remain positive, growth appears to be decelerating and recent margin erosion versus 2024 signals less operating leverage. Over 2–6 months this could mean slower EPS upside and tighter reinvestment capacity if mix shifts or macro headwinds persist.

Rising expense and incentive pressures

Higher marketing, incentives and timing-driven expense growth compresses operating margins and may be durable while Visa scales new products and supports major events. If incentive levels remain elevated, effective take-rates and medium-term profitability could be pressured despite revenue growth.

Ongoing litigation and capital-structure complexity

Material litigation exposures and related capital adjustments (escrow deposits, conversion-rate changes and exchange offers) complicate ownership and cash allocation. Combined with recent multi-tranche $3B note issuance, litigation-driven funding and structural actions could constrain flexibility and influence capital deployment over coming quarters.

Visa Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Visa Inc. operates as a payments technology company worldwide. The company facilitates digital payments among consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. In addition, the company offers card products, platforms, and value-added services. It provides its services under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink, VPAY, and PLUS brands. Visa Inc. has a strategic agreement with Ooredoo to provide an enhanced payment experience for Visa cardholders and Ooredoo customers in Qatar. Visa Inc. was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

How the Company Makes Money

Visa primarily generates revenue through its transaction processing fees, which are charged to financial institutions for every transaction processed on its network. The company earns interchange fees from merchants, which are a percentage of the transaction value, and a portion of this is shared with issuing banks. Additionally, Visa charges assessment fees based on the volume of transactions processed by each bank. Significant partnerships with financial institutions, fintech companies, and technology providers enhance Visa's service offerings and expand its market reach, contributing to its overall earnings.

Visa Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Very strong profitability and margins with steady revenue and net income expansion, supported by consistently high free-cash-flow conversion. Offsets include moderating growth, some margin softening versus 2024, and leverage/coverage that is solid but not exceptionally conservative (operating cash flow covers only about two-thirds of total debt).

Income Statement

Visa shows exceptional profitability with very high gross and operating margins and a consistently strong net margin across years. Revenue has grown steadily from 2021 through 2025, with TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) growth still positive, though the growth rate appears to be moderating versus the earlier post-2021 period. Net income has expanded materially over time, but margin drift versus 2024 (lower net and operating margins in the latest period) is a mild watch item.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet looks solid with moderate leverage (debt-to-equity generally in the ~0.5–0.7 range) and a stable equity base. Returns on equity are very strong (around ~45%–53% in recent years), signaling excellent efficiency, though part of that strength is supported by leverage and capital structure. Total debt is manageable but has fluctuated and ticked higher in the latest annual period versus 2024, which slightly increases financial risk if growth slows.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is strong: operating cash flow and free cash flow are consistently high and free cash flow is close to net income (roughly mid-90% range), indicating good earnings quality. TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) free cash flow growth is healthy, rebounding after a decline in 2024. A key weakness is that operating cash flow covers only about two-thirds of total debt in the latest periods, which is still reasonable but suggests less balance-sheet flexibility than the company’s profitability alone might imply.

Breakdown	TTM	Sep 2025	Sep 2024	Sep 2023	Sep 2022	Sep 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	41.39B	40.00B	35.93B	32.65B	29.31B	24.11B
Gross Profit	33.56B	32.15B	28.88B	26.09B	23.58B	19.14B
EBITDA	26.59B	26.00B	25.59B	22.62B	19.54B	17.38B
Net Income	20.79B	20.06B	19.74B	17.27B	14.96B	12.31B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	96.81B	99.63B	94.51B	90.50B	85.50B	82.90B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	16.40B	21.99B	15.18B	20.13B	18.52B	18.51B
Total Debt	21.18B	25.17B	20.84B	20.46B	22.45B	20.98B
Total Liabilities	58.04B	61.72B	55.37B	51.77B	49.92B	45.31B
Stockholders Equity	38.78B	37.91B	39.14B	38.73B	35.58B	37.59B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	22.93B	21.58B	18.69B	19.70B	17.88B	14.52B
Operating Cash Flow	24.44B	23.06B	19.95B	20.75B	18.85B	15.23B
Investing Cash Flow	279.00M	708.00M	-1.93B	-2.01B	-4.29B	-152.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-22.47B	-18.96B	-20.63B	-17.77B	-12.70B	-14.41B

Visa Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 320.95
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For V, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 320.95 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 325.34, below the 50-day MA of 335.74, and below the 200-day MA of 342.75, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -4.08 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 43.23 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 32.75 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for V.

Visa Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
V	77 Outperform	$610.49B	30.35	53.44%	0.69%	11.34%	2.76%
MA	74 Outperform	$470.86B	31.96	210.49%	0.54%	15.67%	18.22%
AXP	72 Outperform	$237.73B	22.52	33.76%	0.84%	8.14%	9.55%
SYF	70 Outperform	$25.32B	7.85	21.30%	1.34%	-6.38%	19.65%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
PYPL	63 Neutral	$38.16B	7.67	25.73%	―	4.50%	19.71%
COF	53 Neutral	$133.43B	89.01	1.53%	1.05%	19.39%	-77.61%

Visa Corporate Events

Visa Plans Successive Exchange Offer Amid Litigation Developments

On February 13, 2026, Visa Inc. said its board has authorized the company to proceed with a successive exchange offer for its Class B common stock once specified litigation-related conditions are satisfied. The move follows the initial exchange offer for Class B-1 stock launched more than a year earlier and is tied to the level of estimated interchange reimbursement fees at issue in U.S. covered litigation.

Visa reported that those estimated fees declined from about $49.6 billion as of October 1, 2023 to about $39.4 billion as of October 1, 2025, and expects further dismissals in key cases, including the 7‑Eleven action, to reduce them below 50% of the 2023 level. Once the conditions are met and a registration statement is cleared by regulators, Visa plans to offer holders of Class B-1 and B-2 shares the option to exchange into a mix of restricted Class B-3 stock and freely transferable Class C stock, potentially simplifying its capital structure and affecting ownership dynamics among different shareholder classes.

The most recent analyst rating on (V) stock is a Buy with a $372.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Visa stock, see the V Stock Forecast page.

Visa Raises $3 Billion via Multi-Tranche Senior Notes

On February 3, 2026, Visa Inc. announced a multi-tranche senior notes offering totaling $3 billion, comprising unsecured notes maturing between 2029 and 2036 with coupons ranging from 3.800% to 4.700%. The notes, issued on February 12, 2026 under an existing indenture and sold slightly below par, feature semi-annual interest payments and standard redemption provisions, underscoring Visa’s continued use of the debt capital markets to secure long-term financing at fixed rates.

The 3.800% 2029 notes, 4.100% 2031 notes, 4.400% 2033 notes and 4.700% 2036 notes were all sold pursuant to Visa’s automatic shelf registration with the SEC, with customary events of default and make-whole plus par call redemption structures. This financing mix may provide Visa with flexibility in managing its capital structure and funding future corporate needs while locking in relatively attractive long-duration funding across the yield curve.

The most recent analyst rating on (V) stock is a Buy with a $372.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Visa stock, see the V Stock Forecast page.

Visa posts strong Q1 results and raises dividend

On January 27, 2026, Visa’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.670 per share of class A common stock, payable on March 2, 2026 to shareholders of record as of February 10, 2026, underscoring the company’s continued capital return strategy. For its fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2025, reported on January 29, 2026, Visa posted strong results, with GAAP net income rising 14% to $5.9 billion ($3.03 per share) and non-GAAP net income increasing 12% to $6.1 billion ($3.17 per share), while net revenue climbed 15% to $10.9 billion, driven by solid gains in payments volume (up 8%), total cross-border volume (up 12%) and processed transactions (up 9%) on a constant-dollar basis. The quarter also reflected higher operating expenses largely due to litigation provisions tied to interchange multidistrict litigation, and a deferred tax benefit from changes in U.S. taxation of certain foreign earnings, but Visa still expanded earnings per share and maintained a strong balance sheet with $16.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investment securities at December 31, 2025. Strategically, the company advanced resolution of long-running interchange litigation through a superseding and amended settlement agreement signed on November 10, 2025, funded a $500 million litigation escrow deposit on December 23, 2025 with an EPS effect similar to a buyback, and returned a total of $5.1 billion to shareholders in the quarter via dividends and the repurchase of approximately 11 million class A shares, leaving $21.1 billion in remaining repurchase authorization and reinforcing its shareholder-focused capital allocation and strong positioning as a “payments hyperscaler” in global electronic commerce.

The most recent analyst rating on (V) stock is a Buy with a $385.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Visa stock, see the V Stock Forecast page.

Visa shareholders approve charter changes and board slate

At its Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on January 27, 2026, Visa Inc. shareholders approved amendments to the company’s certificate of incorporation to limit officer liability as permitted under Delaware law, and Visa subsequently filed a Certificate of Amendment and a Ninth Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State on January 28, 2026, making these changes effective. Shareholders also re-elected all eleven director nominees, approved on an advisory basis the compensation of named executive officers, and ratified KPMG LLP as the independent auditor for fiscal 2026, while four shareholder proposals—including calls for an independent board chair, expanded written-consent rights, a report on online sexual exploitation, and an inclusion ROI audit—failed to gain sufficient support, reinforcing the board’s existing governance structure and management’s control over strategic and reporting priorities.

The most recent analyst rating on (V) stock is a Buy with a $385.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Visa stock, see the V Stock Forecast page.

Visa Updates Class B Conversion Rates After Escrow Deposit

On December 30, 2025, Visa Inc. reported new conversion rates for its class B-1 and B-2 common stock, following a $500 million deposit made on December 23, 2025 into its U.S. litigation escrow account under the company’s U.S. retrospective responsibility plan. As a result, the class B-1 conversion rate declined from 1.5549 to 1.5491 and class B-2 from 1.5223 to 1.5108, effective December 23, 2025, which reduced the as-converted B-1 share count by about 27,782 to 7,490,714 and the as-converted B-2 share count by about 1,382,832 to 181,804,989, having an earnings-per-share impact equivalent to repurchasing class A shares and reflecting Visa’s ongoing management of litigation-related obligations through its escrow-funded share structure.

The most recent analyst rating on (V) stock is a Buy with a $416.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Visa stock, see the V Stock Forecast page.

Visa boosts litigation escrow, impacting class B share conversion

On December 23, 2025, Visa Inc. authorized a $500 million deposit into its U.S. litigation escrow account established under its U.S. retrospective responsibility plan, a mechanism designed to address certain legal liabilities. Under the plan’s structure, funding this escrow triggers downward adjustments to the conversion rates of Visa’s class B-1 and B-2 common stock into class A shares—stock largely held by U.S. financial institutions—which effectively dilutes those classes and has the same earnings-per-share impact as repurchasing class A common stock, signaling a capital allocation move that may modestly support EPS while shifting some economic impact to holders of the B shares.

The most recent analyst rating on (V) stock is a Buy with a $416.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Visa stock, see the V Stock Forecast page.