Visa Tops Fiscal Q4 Estimates as Cross-Border Volume Climbs 14% and Revenue Rises 13% to $12.1 Billion

Visa reported fiscal fourth-quarter results after the market close on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, that topped Wall Street's profit forecast, as payments volume, cross-border spending and processed transactions all kept growing. Net revenue rose 13% to $12.1 billion in the quarter ended September 30, and non-GAAP earnings came to $3.48 per share, according to the company's earnings release filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $3.44 per share, according to LSEG estimates cited by Reuters. Visa shares fell about 1.4% in extended trading, Reuters reported, while CNBC put the after-hours decline at about 2%, noting that the non-GAAP operating margin of 66.6% came in slightly below the FactSet consensus of 66.7%.

Quarter in numbers

On a GAAP basis, Visa earned $6.0 billion, or $3.19 per share, up 18% and 22% respectively from a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income rose 13% to $6.6 billion. The GAAP figures included a $469 million litigation provision tied to the interchange multidistrict litigation, $282 million related to a donation of investments to the Visa Foundation and a $37 million deferred tax expense, The quarter's GAAP results also included $155 million of net gains from equity investments.

The company's key volume measures for the quarter were:

• Payments volume rose 9% on a constant-dollar basis.
• Cross-border volume excluding transactions within Europe rose 14%, as did total cross-border volume.
• Processed transactions climbed 10% to 74.2 billion.

By revenue line, service revenue grew 14% to $5.3 billion, data processing revenue increased 16% to $6.2 billion, international transaction revenue rose 8% to $4.1 billion and other revenue jumped 40% to $1.6 billion. Client incentives, which are deducted from gross revenue, rose 21% to $5.1 billion. GAAP operating expenses rose 7% to $4.9 billion, while non-GAAP operating expenses increased 12%, mainly on marketing and personnel costs.

A record fiscal year

For fiscal 2026, net revenue rose 15% to $45.9 billion. GAAP net income was $23.5 billion, or $12.32 per share, and non-GAAP net income was $25.3 billion, or $13.27 per share, up 16% per share. Processed transactions for the year totaled 281.3 billion.

"Visa delivered a milestone year. We achieved record net revenue of $46 billion, up 15%, the strongest growth in over 15 years excluding the post-pandemic recovery and acquisitions," Chief Executive Ryan McInerney said in the release. "As we look to 2027 and beyond, trust is the next growth vector for Visa."

Spending trends and incentives

"Growth across consumer spend bands remained relatively consistent with prior quarters, with the highest spend band continuing to grow the fastest. We did not see signs of the lower spend consumer weakening in our volumes," Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said on the post-earnings call, according to Reuters.

Suh attributed cross-border strength to consumer sentiment, demand for travel and the expansion of e-commerce, and told Reuters that travel in and out of the Middle East was returning closer to normal after being suppressed by the Iran conflict. Reuters also noted that the FIFA World Cup, which ran from June 11 to July 19, brought many visitors to the United States.

Reuters reported that the rise in client incentives was driven largely by new deals signed during the July-to-September period and early in the current quarter. Suh said incentive growth would step up in fiscal 2027 because about 25% of Visa's payments volume is due for renewal, including with several large clients, compared with 20% in fiscal 2026.

Outlook, buybacks and dividend

For fiscal 2027, Visa expects net revenue growth in the low-double-digit percentage range and earnings-per-share growth between low double digits and the low teens, Reuters reported.

The board raised the quarterly cash dividend 16% to $0.780 per share, payable on December 1, 2026, to holders of record as of November 10. During the fourth quarter, Visa repurchased about 11 million class A shares at an average cost of $369.12 for $4.0 billion; for the full fiscal year it bought back about 61 million shares for $20.5 billion. It had $24.4 billion remaining under its repurchase authorization as of September 30. Share repurchases and dividends totaled $5.2 billion in the quarter and $25.6 billion for the year.

The release also noted Visa's August agreement to acquire fraud-intelligence provider BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash, which is expected to close by the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities stood at $14.2 billion at quarter-end.

Visa shares had gained 14.6% this year through Tuesday's close, according to Reuters. Rival Mastercard is scheduled to report quarterly results later this week.