V Analysis: Visa's $619 Billion Payments Empire Posts Record Revenue — Why the World's Largest Card Network Is Trading 14% Below Its High
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) sits at the apex of global digital payments, processing over $15 trillion in annual volume across 200+ countries. At $320.95, shares trade roughly 14.5% below their 52-week high of $375.51, creating an unusual window for a company that just reported its strongest-ever quarterly revenue of $10.9 billion. The payments giant delivered fiscal Q1 2026 results (quarter ended December 31, 2025) that underscored why Visa remains one of the highest-quality franchises in global finance: an 81.7% gross margin, a 53.7% net margin, and $3.03 in diluted earnings per share. Revenue grew sequentially from $10.72 billion in Q4 FY2025, extending a streak of quarterly improvements that began at $9.59 billion just three quarters earlier. With Visa now making a strategic push into Latin America through its planned acquisition of Argentina's Prisma and Newpay, and analysts projecting nearly 30% EPS growth over the next two years, the question for investors is straightforward: does a 30x earnings multiple adequately price in this durability, or is the pullback from highs an opportunity?