Visa's Fiscal 2026 Revenue Climbs 15% To $45.9 Billion As Dividend Rises 16%
The payments network's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings reached $3.48 per share, and the board lifted the quarterly dividend to $0.780.
Visa's net revenue for the fiscal year ended September 30 rose 15% to $45.9 billion, or 14% in constant dollars, the company reported Tuesday in an 8-K filing. Fourth-quarter revenue was $12.1 billion, up 13%, and the board raised the quarterly dividend 16% to $0.780 per share.
Quarter and full-year earnings
Visa, which runs the VisaNet payments network that processes card transactions among consumers, sellers and banks, earned $6.0 billion, or $3.19 per share, in the fourth quarter under standard accounting. That was up 18% in net income and 22% in per-share earnings. On an adjusted basis, profit was $6.6 billion, or $3.48 per share, up 13% and 17%.
For the full year, standard-accounting net income was $23.5 billion, or $12.32 per share, up 17% and 21%. Adjusted net income was $25.3 billion, or $13.27 per share, up 12% and 16%.
CEO Ryan McInerney called it "a milestone year" and said Visa achieved "record net revenue of $46 billion, up 15%, the strongest growth in over 15 years excluding the post-pandemic recovery and acquisitions."
Volume and transactions keep climbing
Visa said growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions drove the quarter. In the three months ended September 30, payments volume rose 9% in constant dollars, and cross-border volume rose 14%. Processed transactions reached 74.2 billion, up 10%.
By line, fourth-quarter service revenue was $5.3 billion, up 14%, and data processing revenue rose 16% to $6.2 billion. International transaction revenue grew 8% to $4.1 billion, and other revenue rose 40% to $1.6 billion. Client incentives, which are deducted from revenue, rose 21% to $5.1 billion.
GAAP operating expenses were $4.9 billion, up 7%. Adjusted operating expenses rose 12%, driven by marketing and personnel costs.
Buybacks, dividend and the BioCatch deal
Visa returned $25.6 billion through buybacks and dividends this fiscal year, $5.2 billion of it in the fourth quarter. It had $24.4 billion of repurchase authorization left at September 30. The new dividend is payable December 1 to holders of record November 10.
On September 18, Visa deposited $405 million into its litigation escrow account, which has the same effect on earnings per share as repurchasing class A stock, the company said.
Visa also signed a deal on August 3 to buy BioCatch, a fraud-intelligence provider, for $2.4 billion in cash. It expects to close by the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2027.
Visa's management hosts a webcast at 5:00 p.m. ET Tuesday to discuss the results.
