Visa’s $6 Billion Profit Machine: GAAP Nets $5.9B, Adjusted Hits $6.1B

Another quarter, another mountain of cash for the payments giant.

The Numbers Don't Lie (Unless You Adjust Them)

Visa just posted a net haul of $5.9 billion under standard accounting rules. But peel back the curtain on 'one-time' items and 'adjustments,' and that figure magically swells to $6.1 billion. It's the corporate finance two-step—show the regulators one number, whisper a juicier one to the Street.

Old Money, New Battleground

While legacy rails count their billions, the real action is heating up elsewhere. Digital asset networks are building settlement layers that cut out the middleman, bypass the interchange fee model, and operate 24/7/365. Visa's profit is a testament to its entrenched position, but also a glaring signpost of the rent-seeking cost built into the traditional system.

The Cynical Take

Another $6 billion quarter proves the old guard can still print money. It also highlights the premium we all pay for a financial system that still settles in batches and takes a cut on every swipe. The future of value movement won't ask for permission—or a percentage.

Visa sees jump in volume across all business lines

Ryan, the CEO of Visa, said the growth was powered by holiday spending and consumer demand.

“GAAP EPS was up 17%, non-GAAP EPS up 15%, and revenue up 15%, driven by strong consumer activity and momentum in value-added services and money movement,” Ryan said.

The company’s Visa as a Service payments volume ROSE 8% for the three months ended December 31, 2025. Volume from the prior quarter, used to calculate this quarter’s service revenue, increased 9%.

Cross-border volume, excluding intra-Europe, grew 11%, while total cross-border volume jumped 12%. The company handled 69.4 billion transactions, which is a 9% increase over last year.

Breaking the revenue down: Service revenue came in at $4.8 billion, up 13%. Data processing revenue was $5.5 billion, up 17%. International transaction revenue totaled $3.7 billion, increasing 6%.

Other revenue hit $1.2 billion, a huge 33% jump. The only downer: client incentives climbed 12%, reaching $4.3 billion, which directly reduces total revenue.

Legal and tax items impact expenses and bottom line

GAAP operating expenses hit $4.2 billion, up 27% from last year, mainly due to a $707 million litigation charge tied to the ongoing interchange multidistrict litigation.

The quarter also included a $333 million deferred tax benefit from changes in how the U.S. taxes foreign earnings. Other special items were $7 million in equity investment losses and $66 million in amortization and M&A costs.

Last year’s quarter had its own mix: $213 million in severance, $39 million from lease consolidations, $27 million for legal provisions, plus $75 million in equity losses and $80 million in amortization and acquisition costs.

Strip all that out, and non-GAAP operating expenses rose 16%, driven by higher headcount, marketing, and admin costs.

GAAP non-operating expense was $11 million, including the $7 million investment hit. Non-GAAP version of that figure was $4 million. The GAAP effective tax rate was 13.0%, while the non-GAAP rate came to 18.4% for the quarter.

By the end of December, Visa said it had $16.9 billion in cash, equivalents, and investment securities, while having 1.93 billion diluted Class A shares outstanding.

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