Visa follows Mastercard with higher earnings amid boom in travel spending

Visa (V) – Get a free report Shares rose on Friday after the world’s largest credit card and payments company posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings thanks in part to a surge in cross-border spending amid the continuing boom in travel.

Dow component Visa earned $2.18 a share for the three months ending in December, the group’s fiscal first quarter, beating the Street consensus forecast of $2.01 a share, as group revenue increased 11.8% to $7.94 billion.

Cross-border spending increased 22%, Visa said, with payment volume increasing 7% in constant currency.

“Visa’s performance in the first quarter of 2023 reflects stable domestic volumes and transactions and a continued recovery in cross-border travel,” said Chief Executive Officer Al Kelly, who will take over as CEO next month to make room for the incoming chief. Ryan McInerney on February 1st.

“We think we are going to see the outbound trip from China to Southeast Asia,” he added. “But I think it will still be a little while before we see a Chinese traveler back in Europe to pre-pandemic level or back in the United States to pre-pandemic level.”