Profit from crypto with much less risk

Article Excerpt

Instead of investing directly in cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, we prefer companies like Visa and PayPal that will profit from processing crypto transactions. Both firms also stand to gain from the ongoing shift to electronic payments. VISA INC. $215 is a buy. The stock (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 2.2 billion; Market cap: $473.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 19.4; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) gives you exposure to the world’s largest electronic-payments network. Visa continues to benefit from rising credit and debit card use as travel volumes rebound from the COVID-19 lockdowns. Online shopping volumes also remain strong despite the re-opening of retail stores. In its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, ended September 30, 2021, Visa processed 43.32 billion transactions. That’s up 21% from a year earlier. As a result, revenue in the quarter jumped 28.6%, to $6.56 billion from $5.10 billion a year earlier. If you disregard unusual items, Visa’s earnings per share gained 44.6%, to $1.62 from…