Earnings Call Insights: Visa Inc. (V) Q1 2026
Management View
- CEO Ryan McInerney highlighted “strong financial results with net revenue up 15% year-over-year to $10.9 billion and EPS up 15%. Payments volume grew 8% year-over-year in constant dollars to nearly $4 trillion and process transactions grew 9% year-over-year, totaling $69 billion, demonstrating resilient consumer spending.”
- McInerney detailed advancements across Visa’s technology stack, citing enhancements in “Tap to Pay, Visa Flex Credential and Tokens,” and noting that “Tap To Pay penetration has now crossed the 80% mark of all face-to-face transactions with the U.S. at nearly 70%.”
- The CEO described progress in tokenization: “We have more than 17.5 billion tokens globally, over 3x the number of physical cards… We continue to make progress on the tokenization of e-commerce transactions to our ultimate goal of fully replacing card-centric pan technology.”
- McInerney called out stablecoin initiatives, stating, “we added stablecoin card issuance in 9 additional countries in Q1 to surpass 50 countries worldwide,” and “total stablecoin settlement has reached an annualized run rate of $4.6 billion globally.”
- Commercial and money movement solutions revenue posted constant dollar growth of 20%, with Visa Direct transactions up 23%. Value-added services revenue grew 28%, now representing around half of the company’s overall revenue growth in the quarter.
- CFO Christopher Suh stated, “Fiscal first quarter net revenue was up 15% year-over-year with the outperformance largely driven by stronger-than-expected value-added services revenue, lower-than-expected incentives and stronger-than-expected commercial and money movement solutions revenue.”
Outlook
- Christopher Suh reported, “For the full year, we have no material changes in our expectations for our adjusted and nominal net revenue growth. We still expect our full year adjusted net revenue growth to be in the low double digits, reflecting an anticipated weaker volatility environment for the rest of the year that is offset by the Q1 outperformance and higher utilization of our products and services.”
- Suh indicated, “On the expense side, we have no material changes to our prior full year guidance and still expect adjusted operating expense growth to be in the low double digits for the year.”
- For Q2, Suh guided, “We expect Q2 adjusted net revenue growth in the low double digits… We expect adjusted operating expense growth in the mid-teens, about 1 point above Q1 adjusted operating expense growth.”
Financial Results
- First quarter net revenue increased 15% year-over-year to $10.9 billion.
- EPS for the quarter was $3.17, up 15% year-over-year.
- U.S. payment volume was up 7%; international payment volume was up 9% year-over-year in constant dollars.
- Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe was up 11% year-over-year; travel-related cross-border volume grew 10%.
- Visa Direct transactions grew 23% to 3.7 billion transactions.
- Value-added services revenue reached $3.2 billion, up 28%.
- The company repurchased approximately $3.8 billion in stock and distributed $1.3 billion in dividends during the quarter.
Q&A
- Daniel Perlin, RBC: Asked about value-added services around major events. Ryan McInerney explained, “There is a ton of demand from our clients. And the great thing about this is not only are we helping our clients, not only are we generating revenue from these services, we’re deepening our partnerships with our clients. And so we get more renewals because of them, we get more business because of them.”
- Darrin Peller, Wolfe Research: Inquired about offsetting lower FX volatility and capital return. Christopher Suh responded, “Value-added services, in particular, we saw in Q1 really great performance, strong execution strong client demand… when we think about the full year expectations, those are the moving parts… But given the persistent low that we saw in Q1, if we extend that throughout the rest of the year, that does provide for more downside than our original expectation, but that is being offset by strong performance that we saw in Q1.”
- William Nance, Goldman Sachs: Asked about regulatory risks (CCCA). Ryan McInerney said, “In the case of CCCA specifically, we’ve talked extensively… it’s very harmful and it’s just simply not needed… there will be fewer credit card options. And by the way, weaker security protections, less innovation, all these things we explain why.”
- Adam Frisch, Evercore ISI: Asked about commercial growth and global spending trends. McInerney attributed performance to strategy: “We’ve been shipping great product. Our sales teams have been engaging with players all around the world, we’ve been winning.”
- Sanjay Sakhrani, KBW: Asked about sustaining 28% VAS growth. Suh said, “Q1 being 28%, that is above where we expected it to go in, but it’s also in line with the momentum that we’ve seen. We’ve seen growth in the 25%, 24%, mid-20s for some period of time. It’s really a reflection of… we’re executing against our strategy.”
Sentiment Analysis
- Analysts’ tone was largely positive, with persistent interest in value-added services, commercial growth, and regulatory risk. Questions focused on growth sustainability and strategic opportunities.
- Management maintained a confident and slightly optimistic tone, emphasizing innovation and consistent demand. McInerney often cited strong execution and client partnerships. Suh acknowledged upside and downside factors but stressed confidence in the strategy. Compared to the previous quarter, management’s tone was similarly confident but more focused on execution and competitive positioning.
- Direct quote supporting management’s confidence: “These results and our feedback from our clients give us confidence that our strategy is working, and we are investing in the right capabilities to position Visa and our clients and partners for the future.”
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
- Guidance remains consistent, with full year adjusted net revenue growth still expected in the low double digits, in line with the previous quarter’s outlook.
- Strategic focus has shifted toward scaling innovations in tokens, Flex Credentials, stablecoins, and agentic commerce, with more detailed updates on pilot programs and new partnerships than in Q4 2025.
- Value-added services accelerated from 25% growth last quarter to 28% in Q1 2026, now contributing around half of overall revenue growth.
- Analysts’ questions in both quarters centered on product innovation, regulatory risk, and revenue sustainability, but current quarter questions reflected more urgency regarding competitive threats and growth levers.
- Management’s confidence level and focus on execution remained high, with added emphasis on tangible results from innovation.
Risks and Concerns
- Management identified regulatory developments (CCCA) as a key risk, with McInerney stating, “it’s very harmful and it’s just simply not needed… there will be fewer credit card options. And by the way, weaker security protections, less innovation.”
- Suh highlighted currency volatility as a headwind: “On volatility, it has been much lower than we expected so far this year. And we are assuming that, that volatility continues at current levels for the rest of the year, implying a larger drag for the rest of the year than in Q1.”
- Analysts pressed on growth sustainability in value-added services and the potential impacts of regulation and competitive threats.
Final Takeaway
Visa’s first quarter of 2026 demonstrated strong revenue and EPS growth, supported by robust expansion in value-added services, commercial and money movement solutions, and technological innovation in tokens, stablecoins, and agentic commerce. Management maintains its outlook for low double-digit adjusted net revenue growth for the full year, with strategic investments in digital payment infrastructure and security positioning the company for continued resilience and leadership in a dynamic payments landscape.