Visa Inc. V is benefiting from a clear resurgence in international travel and global consumer spending resilience, with cross-border transaction volumes standing out as a major growth lever. In its most recent quarter (second-quarter fiscal 2025), Visa reported a 13% year-over-year jump in cross-border volume, reflecting a robust growth in international activity.
International transaction revenues rose 18.6% in 2023, 8.8% in 2024 and 12.1% in the first half of fiscal 2025, driven by higher cross-border volumes. We expect the trend to continue and the metric to witness a nearly 12% year-over-year jump in fiscal 2025.
International transactions now account for 50.5% of Visa's total payment volume and are a high-margin component of its business. The company’s continued expansion into underpenetrated markets will further lift cross-border payment flows, aided by strategic partnerships and localized offerings. Over the first half of fiscal 2025, Visa witnessed 14.2% growth in payment volumes in the CEMEA region, 9.6% in Europe and 6.1% in Latin America. However, during this time, Asia Pacific witnessed a 1.2% decline, following a 0.9% fall in fiscal 2024 and 0.2% in fiscal 2023.
Nevertheless, as long as FX volatility remains subdued and travel patterns hold up, this high-fee stream could remain a durable growth pillar. Still, with international volumes highly sensitive to macro shifts, investors will need to watch global mobility trends closely heading into the second half of fiscal 2025.
Mastercard & AmEx Also Ride the Global Wave
Visa’s cross-border tailwinds are not unique. Mastercard Incorporated MA reported a 15% Y/Y increase in cross-border volumes in the first quarter of 2025, slightly outpacing Visa. Meanwhile, American Express Company AXP posted 13% Y/Y growth in international card services billed business, though its premium customer base shows strong spending resilience.
Mastercard’s emphasis on value-added services and its broader acceptance footprint in Asia are giving it an edge in certain corridors. However, American Express relies more heavily on affluent U.S. consumers and corporate T&E spending, limiting its exposure to broader global flows. Compared to Visa and Mastercard, AmEx has more control over its network but less global coverage, making its cross-border growth path more constrained.
Visa’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Visa have jumped 16.4% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the 6.6% growth of the industry.
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Visa is trading at a premium to the industry, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 29.87X. The figure is well above its five-year median of 26.92X and the industry average of 23.38X.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal 2025 earnings implies a 12.9% jump from the year-ago period. It witnessed 11 upward estimate revisions in the past 60 days against one downward movement.
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Visa stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
