• Net Revenue: $9.5 billion, up 10% year over year.
• EPS: Up 14% year over year.
• Payments Volume: Overall growth of 9% in constant dollars; US payments volume grew 7%, international payments volume grew 11%.
• Cross-Border Volume: Excluding intra-Europe, up 16% in constant dollars.
• Process Transactions: Grew 11% year over year.
• Credentials: 4.7 billion, up 7% year over year.
• Tokens: 12.6 billion, up 44% year over year.
• New Flows Revenue: Grew 19% year over year in constant dollars.
• Visa Direct Transactions: Grew 34% year over year.
• Value-Added Services Revenue: Grew 18% in constant dollars.
• Operating Expenses: Grew 11% year over year.
• Tax Rate: 17.7%.
• Stock Buyback: Approximately $3.9 billion in Q1.
• Dividends: $1.2 billion distributed to stockholders.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with GSIT.

Release Date: January 30, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Visa Inc (NYSE:V) reported a strong start to the fiscal year with $9.5 billion in net revenue, up 10% year over year, and EPS up 14%.
• Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe rose 16% in constant dollars, indicating robust international growth.
• Visa Direct transactions grew 34% year-over-year, highlighting significant expansion in new payment flows.
• Value-added services revenue grew 18% in constant dollars, driven by strong growth in consulting, marketing services, and risk solutions.
• Visa Inc (NYSE:V) successfully renewed and expanded several key partnerships globally, including with ICBC in China and ICICI Bank in India, strengthening its international presence.

Negative Points

• Asia Pacific payments volume growth remained muted, reflecting a challenging macroeconomic environment in the region.
• Operating expenses grew 11%, driven by increases in personnel and general and administrative expenses, which could impact profitability.
• The restructuring charge of $213 million related to workforce changes indicates ongoing adjustments and potential disruptions.
• Visa Inc (NYSE:V) faces potential challenges from a strong US dollar, which could affect cross-border travel and spending patterns.
• The regulatory environment in the US remains uncertain, which could impact Visa Inc (NYSE:V)'s operations and growth strategies.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you elaborate on the improved outlook and whether the growth rates are expected to sustain? A: Christopher Suh, Visa Inc's CFO, mentioned that they feel great about the Q1 results. However, they are only one quarter into the year and will provide more updates on the second half as they get closer to it.

Q: What factors contributed to the stronger spending results, particularly during the holiday season? A: Christopher Suh explained that the US saw a strong holiday season, benefiting discretionary categories like retail, travel, and entertainment. The lapping of previous impacts also contributed to the step-up in spending. Cross-border e-commerce and travel volumes also showed strong growth.

Q: How do you view the potential impact of tariffs on commercial and consumer spending? A: Ryan McInerney, Visa Inc's CEO, stated that they haven't seen any direct impact related to tariffs. It's difficult to predict what will be implemented, and they will assess the impact on their business as more information becomes available.

Q: Can you discuss the strategy and potential monetization of tokenization? A: Ryan McInerney highlighted that Visa's tokenization strategy is a significant investment priority. Tokens improve transaction performance and enable innovation. Visa offers services like token credential enrichment and issuer heat maps, which generate revenue and will continue to grow in importance.

Q: What is the outlook for Asia Pacific, given its lagging growth compared to other regions? A: Christopher Suh noted that Asia Pacific's growth is moderately up from Q4 but still reflects a somewhat muted environment. The region is growing at 1% in total, indicating a need for further improvement.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.