VISA PROFIT BEATS ON STRONG CONSUMER SPENDING TRENDS

(Reuters) -Visa sailed past Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Tuesday, as consumers shrugged off worries of a slowing economy and high interest rates to swipe cards on travel, entertainment and dining out.

Shares of the world's largest payments processor rose 2.8% in extended trading after the results.

U.S. consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient despite higher-for-longer interest rates, with Americans still looking to spend on big-ticket purchases and international travel.

Visa's payment volume climbed 8% in the quarter. Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe, a gauge of international travel demand, jumped 16%.

Net revenue in the quarter rose 10% to $8.8 billion. Processed transactions rose 11% in the second quarter.

Credit card giant and processor American Express last week beat expectations for first-quarter profit, thanks to strong spending by its affluent consumers.

Visa's adjusted earnings per share of $2.51 beat analysts' average expectation of $2.44, according to LSEG data.

Analysts expect payment firms to keep growth intact as bets of an economic slowdown ease. The summer season is also typically strong for travel volumes as people fly both internationally and within the U.S. for vacations.

Visa expects net revenue growth in "low double digit" for the current quarter ending June 30.

The company kept its forecast for revenue growth in 2024 unchanged at "low double-digit".

(Reporting by Manya Saini and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

2024-04-23T20:31:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd