Visa closes fiscal 2026 with $45.9 billion in net revenue

What happened

Visa reported on Tuesday 27 October that net revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Wednesday 30 September, was $12.1 billion, 13 percent more than a year earlier. ^{[1, 2]}

For the full year, net revenue was $45.9 billion, up 15 percent, and net income was $23.5 billion, up 17 percent. Quarterly net income was $6.0 billion, 18 percent higher. Chief executive Ryan McInerney called it 'a milestone year' in the release. ^[2]

Why it matters

Visa expects adjusted net revenue to grow in the low double digits in fiscal 2027, chief financial officer Chris Suh said on the call, against 15 percent in fiscal 2026. About 25 percent of payments volume comes up for contract renewal, up from about 20 percent. Suh said that implies faster growth in client incentives, an amount Visa subtracts in arriving at net revenue. ^{[2, 3]}

Where the revenue came from

Service revenue, charged on the previous quarter's payments volume, was $5.3 billion, up 14 percent. Data processing revenue was $6.2 billion, up 16 percent, and international transaction revenue, from cross-border payments, was $4.1 billion, up 8 percent. Other revenue was $1.6 billion, up 40 percent, and client incentives, which are subtracted, were $5.1 billion, up 21 percent. ^[2]

Payments volume was up 9 percent in constant dollars, which leave out exchange-rate swings, and cross-border volume outside intra-Europe payments was up 14 percent. Visa processed 74.2 billion transactions in the quarter, 10 percent more, and 281.3 billion in the year. ^[2]

Cash returned, and the courts

Visa bought back about 61 million shares for $20.5 billion in the year, $4.0 billion of it in the quarter, and had $24.4 billion of buyback authority left. Its board raised the quarterly dividend 16 percent. ^{[1, 2]}

The quarter carried a $469 million provision for the interchange multidistrict litigation, the merchants' long case over card fees. A judge gave preliminary approval on Tuesday 9 June to Visa's and Mastercard's $38 billion settlement with merchants, PYMNTS reported, citing Reuters. The deal would cap standard consumer credit rates at 1.25 percent, according to the same report. ^{[2, 4]}

What settles it next

The raised dividend is payable on Tuesday 1 December to holders of record on Tuesday 10 November. Visa expects its $2.4 billion cash purchase of BioCatch, a fraud intelligence company, to close by the end of its fiscal second quarter of 2027. Suh said its financial effect would be given then. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

Who it reaches

Visa (V) is direct: the results, the buyback and the dividend are its own filing. Mastercard (MA) is adjacent: it is Visa's partner in the merchant settlement, PYMNTS reported. ^{[1, 4]}