By Charlie Conchie
Bosses at payments giant Visa hailed the return of travel yesterday as a rebound in summer holidays helped push revenues up 19 per cent in the third quarter of the year.
Revenues at the firm topped $7.3bn as payment volumes jumped 12 per cent in the quarter and cross border volumes surged 48 per cent as Americans got “back on the road”, bosses said.
Profits per share hit $1.98, sailing past analyst estimates of $1.75, according to Refinitiv data.
Visa chairman and chief executive Alfred F Kelly Jr said the firm had a “very strong” quarter against a turbulent economic backdrop.
“Sustained levels of growth in overall payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions demonstrated the resiliency of our business model,” he said.
“Consumers are back on the road, visiting various corners of the world, resulting in cross-border travel volume surpassing 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020.”
Kelly said the firm remained “confident” for the period ahead despite the potential of a looming recession dampening consumer spending.
Analysts said today the firm was yet to be hit by shifting consumer spending habits as the cost of living soared globally this year.
“While a company like Walmart may get hurt if consumers move their spending from higher-margin clothing to low-margin groceries, Visa gets their cut just the same,” said Scott Lieberman, founder of TouchdownMoney.com.
“Whether people buy champagne in a bull market or beer in a recession, Visa stands to earn.”
Brokers at UBS bumped up their target price for Visa stock to $296 on the results, saying the figures had “exceeded [their] expectations”.
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