Shift to plastic over cash fuels Visa

Article Excerpt

VISA INC. $132 (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares o/s: 2.3 billion; Market cap: $303.6 billion; P/S ratio: 15.3; Divd .yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) processed 11.7% more credit- and debit-card transactions in its fiscal 2018 second quarter, ended March 31, 2018, than a year earlier. As a result, its revenue in the quarter gained 13.3%, to $5.1 billion from $4.5 billion. Earnings jumped 26.1%, to $2.6 billion from $2.1 billion. Visa spent $2.1 billion on share buybacks in the quarter, so its earnings per share rose 29.1%, to $1.11 from $0.86. The company should earn $4.50 a share for all of fiscal 2018. The stock trades at 29.3 times that forecast. The high multiple is acceptable in light of Visa’s dominant market share and its ability to profit as more people use cards instead of cash. Visa is a buy. buy…