Tap, Travel, Transact: Is Visa Quietly Crafting the Perfect Growth Mix?

Visa Inc. V has been a key player in the world of global payments, and now the company is quietly transforming its growth narrative by embracing a mix of consumer engagement, cross-border transactions and digital advancements. Its tap-to-pay adoption is soaring, driven by the rise of mobile wallets, contactless cards and consumers’ growing preference for seamless transactions. This shift is significantly boosting transaction volumes in both developed and emerging markets.

Also, as international tourism rebounds, cross-border transactions are climbing. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, cross-border volume excluding transactions within Europe rose 11% year over year, along with 10% growth in travel. Visa’s extensive network and partnerships position it to capture a significant portion of these high-value payments. It also teamed up with Chase to launch the new Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business on Visa Infinite, providing business owners with enhanced travel perks and premium benefits designed to fuel growth.

On the tech front, the company’s investment in AI-driven fraud detection and payment routing is making a difference. Merchants are experiencing fewer declined transactions, which boosts customer satisfaction and fosters loyalty. Meanwhile, it is strengthening its partnership with fintech companies, embedded finance platforms and SMEs, broadening its reach beyond traditional cardholders.

Even with tough competition from fintechs and ongoing regulatory challenges, V’s improving approval rates, expanding digital channels and strengthening cross-border trends could lead the company to long-term revenue growth, signaling a perfect growth mix. It expects net revenues to witness low-double-digit growth in fiscal 2026.

How Are Competitors Faring?

Some of V’s competitors in the payments space include Mastercard Incorporated MA and American Express Company AXP.

Mastercard is also strengthening customer engagement by rolling out more merchant offers and providing secure digital payment options. Mastercard’s payment network net revenues increased 13% year over year in the first nine months of 2025, along with 15% growth in cross-border volumes.

American Express is banking on its upscale clientele, the rebound in travel demand and increased card spending to drive its growth. AXP’s total revenues (net of interest expense) rose 9% year over year in the first nine months of 2025, along with 7% growth in its network volumes.

Visa’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Over the past year, shares of Visa have jumped 5.7% against the 12.8% fall of the industry.

From a valuation standpoint, V trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, above the industry average of 20.37. V carries a Value Score of C.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal 2026 earnings implies an 11.7% jump from the year-ago period.

Visa stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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