The payments giant’s business has held up well during the current period of economic uncertainty, benefiting from increased interest in travel and robust spending levels in the aggregate. While consumers might be pulling back on some purchases because of inflation or other financial pressures, their overall spending has helped Visa V continue to grow.
Stock movement: Shares of Visa have gained after four of the company’s past five earnings reports, including both of the last two. The stock is up 12% so far this year, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has increased 1%. Ramsey El-Assal of Barclays also cheered the networks’ relative safety, calling them a “calm port in the storm.”
“Although V/MA did not bake a recession into their FY23 guidance, consumer spending resilience and room for further recovery in cross-border recovery could drive upside to the full year outlook,” he wrote. “On a relative basis, we believe V may be more likely than MA to raise its full year guidance next week, simply because V will be halfway through its fiscal year, while MA will only be one quarter in.