Visa Inc. operates as a global payments technology company, facilitating secure, reliable and efficient global commerce and money movement through its proprietary advanced transaction processing network, VisaNet, across more than 200 countries and territories. The company provides transaction processing services (primarily authorization, clearing and settlement) among consumers, issuing and acquiring financial institutions and sellers in a structure called the four-party model, which has been broadened to include digital banks, digital wallets, fintechs, governments and NGOs. Visa is not a financial institution and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for account holders of Visa products.

Visa competes against all forms of payment including paper-based payments (primarily cash and checks) and all forms of electronic payments. Electronic payment competitors principally include global or multi-regional networks such as American Express, Diners Club/Discover (now owned by Capital One), JCB, Mastercard and UnionPay, as well as local and regional networks, alternative payments providers, RTP networks, digital wallet providers, payment processors, CMS providers and value-added service providers. Based on available data, Visa is one of the largest retail electronic funds transfer networks used throughout the world. For calendar year 2024, Visa reported payments volume of $13,433 billion ¹, total volume of $15,927 billion ², total transactions of 311 billion ³ and cards of 4,805 million ⁴, compared to Mastercard's payments volume of $8,014 billion ⁵, total volume of $9,757 billion ⁶, total transactions of 204 billion ⁷ and cards of 3,146 million ⁸.

Visa generates net revenue by facilitating money movement across more than 200 countries and territories among a global set of consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities. The company's net revenue consists of service revenue (earned for services provided in support of client usage of Visa's payment services and value-added services related to certain Issuing Solutions), data processing revenue (earned for authorization, clearing and settlement; value-added services primarily related to Acceptance Solutions, Risk and Security Solutions and certain Issuing Solutions; network access; and other maintenance and support services), international transaction revenue (earned for cross-border transaction processing and currency conversion activities), other revenue (mainly value-added services primarily related to Advisory and Other Services and certain Issuing Solutions; license fees for use of the Visa brand or technology; and fees for account holder services, certification and licensing), reduced by client incentives. Revenue is primarily transactional and variable, based on the amount and type of transactions and payments volume on Visa's products. The company serves nearly 14,500 financial institution clients ⁹.

Visa's strategy is to accelerate revenue growth through three pillars: consumer payments (CP), commercial and money movement solutions (CMS) and value-added services (VAS). In CP, Visa focuses on strengthening its impact in card-based consumer payments and expanding reach in non-card-based payments, pursuing an estimated more than $20 trillion annual opportunity in underserved consumer spend ¹⁰ spread across cash, check, legacy ACH, account-to-account payments and RTP. Core products include credit, debit and prepaid cards and digital payment credentials. Key enablers include Tap to Everything technology (Tap to Pay comprising 79% of all face-to-face transactions globally ¹¹ and 66% in the United States ¹² in fiscal 2025, with more than 1,000 contactless public transport projects worldwide ¹³ and more than 2.4 billion contactless transactions on global transit systems ¹⁴), token technology (more than 16 billion tokens provisioned as of September 30, 2025 ¹⁵), cross-border capabilities, offerings to affluent consumers, and credit capabilities such as Visa Flex Credential (more than 20 signed clients in more than 20 countries ¹⁶). In CMS, Visa addresses approximately $200 trillion of payment flows annually ¹⁷ excluding Russia and China, with two key objectives: addressing B2B payments flows through Visa Commercial Solutions (approximately $35 trillion annual opportunity ¹⁸) and addressing money movement through Visa Direct (approximately $55 trillion annual opportunity in P2P, B2C and G2C flows ¹⁹ and approximately $25 trillion annual opportunity in B2B money movement flows ²⁰). Visa Direct processed more than 12.5 billion transactions ²¹ for more than 650 partners ²² in fiscal 2025, utilizing more than 90 domestic payment schemes ²³ and more than 60 card and wallet networks ²⁴, with the potential to reach approximately 12 billion endpoints ²⁵ through approximately 4 billion cards, bank accounts and digital wallets, respectively ²⁶.

Value-added services (VAS) represent approximately a $520 billion annual revenue opportunity ²⁷ for Visa, spanning four portfolios: Issuing Solutions (approximately $125 billion opportunity ²⁸), Acceptance Solutions (approximately $95 billion opportunity ²⁹), Risk and Security Solutions (approximately $150 billion opportunity ³⁰) and Advisory and Other Services (approximately $150 billion opportunity ³¹). Visa offers more than 200 products and services as of September 30, 2025 ³². Issuing Solutions include Cardholder Engagement solutions (airport lounge access, dining reservations, shopping experiences, event tickets, seller offers), digital enablement solutions (subscription manager, Smarter Stand-In Processing using AI), Issuer Processing and Core Banking (Visa DPS and Pismo platforms). Acceptance Solutions include Network Products (account verification service, Account Updater), the Visa Acceptance Platform (Cybersource, Authorize.net), Token Management Service, and Post-Purchase solutions (Verifi, Visa Resolve Online). Risk and Security Solutions include the Visa Protect suite (Visa Consumer Authentication Service, Visa Advanced Authorization, Visa Provisioning Intelligence, Visa Deep Authorization, Visa Protect for A2A Payments, Visa Risk Manager), Authentication solutions, and Cybersecurity solutions (Visa Account Attack Intelligence Score). Advisory and Other Services include Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA), Visa Marketing Services, Data Solutions (Visa Analytics Platform), and open banking through Tink (Visa A2A launched in the UK in fiscal 2025).

During fiscal 2025, Visa completed the acquisition of Featurespace Limited in December 2024 for a purchase consideration of $946 million ³³, a developer of real-time artificial intelligence payments protection technology. In fiscal 2024, Visa completed the acquisition of Pismo Holdings in January 2024 for a purchase consideration of $929 million ³⁴, a global cloud-native issuer processing and core banking platform. Visa also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in Prosa, a leading payments processor in Mexico, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. In May 2025, Visa issued Euro-denominated fixed-rate senior notes in a public offering in an aggregate principal amount of €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion) ³⁵, with maturities ranging between 3 and 19 years. In August 2025, Visa released $1.4 billion ³⁶ of the as-converted value from its series B and C preferred stock and issued 40,080 shares of series A preferred stock ³⁷ in connection with the ninth anniversary of the Visa Europe acquisition. In April 2025, the board of directors authorized a $30.0 billion share repurchase program ³⁸. During fiscal 2025, Visa repurchased 54 million shares of class A common stock ³⁹ in the open market for $18.2 billion ⁴⁰.

For fiscal 2025, Visa reported net revenue of $40,000 million ⁴¹, an increase of 11% over the prior year, driven by growth in processed transactions, nominal cross-border volume, and nominal payments volume, partially offset by higher client incentives. GAAP net income was $20,058 million ⁴² and GAAP diluted earnings per share was $10.20 ⁴³, compared to $19,743 million ⁴⁴ and $9.73 ⁴⁵ in fiscal 2024. Non-GAAP net income was $22,542 million ⁴⁶ and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $11.47 ⁴⁷, compared to $20,389 million ⁴⁸ and $10.05 ⁴⁹ in fiscal 2024. Cash provided by operating activities was $23,059 million ⁵⁰.

The company states that forward-looking statements are identified by words such as 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'may,' 'projects,' 'could,' 'should,' 'will,' 'continue' and other similar expressions, and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties described in the filing.

Visa's primary growth vector is consumer payments (CP), where the company sees more than $40 trillion ⁵¹ of addressable consumer spend annually, excluding Russia and China, and is pursuing an estimated more than $20 trillion ⁵² annual opportunity in underserved consumer spend spread across cash, check, legacy ACH, account-to-account payments and RTP. Key growth initiatives include Tap to Everything (Tap to Phone has passed 20 million transacting devices ⁵³, Tap to Add Card is live for more than 1.4 billion Visa credit and debit cards ⁵⁴ with more than 600 issuers participating globally ⁵⁵), token technology (more than 16 billion tokens provisioned ⁵⁶), cross-border investments (expanding scope and utility of cross-border network, increasing acceptance locations, improving authorization rates), offerings to affluent consumers (Infinite brand, premium co-branded programs, sponsorship assets including the FIFA World Cup 2026, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Super Bowl, Red Bull Formula One teams), and powering credit (Visa Flex Credential with more than 20 signed clients in more than 20 countries ⁵⁷). Visa is also expanding reach in consumer payments through Visa Pay (launched in 2025, connecting participating digital wallets to Visa's network) and Visa-branded A2A products through Tink (reaching thousands of bank connections ⁵⁸).

Visa's second major growth vector is commercial and money movement solutions (CMS), representing a total addressable opportunity of approximately $200 trillion ⁵⁹ of payment flows annually, excluding Russia and China. This pillar has two key objectives: addressing B2B payments flows through Visa Commercial Solutions (approximately $35 trillion annual opportunity ⁶⁰) and addressing money movement through Visa Direct (approximately $55 trillion annual opportunity in P2P, B2C and G2C flows ⁶¹ and approximately $25 trillion annual opportunity in B2B money movement flows ⁶²). Visa Direct processed more than 12.5 billion transactions ⁶³ for more than 650 partners ⁶⁴ in fiscal 2025, utilizing more than 90 domestic payment schemes ⁶⁵ and more than 60 card and wallet networks ⁶⁶, with potential to reach approximately 12 billion endpoints ⁶⁷. Visa is also pursuing stablecoin opportunities in emerging markets and cross-border money movement, having facilitated the purchase of over $100 billion ⁶⁸ worth of crypto and stablecoin assets since 2020 and the spend of more than $35 billion ⁶⁹ in crypto and stablecoin assets through crypto-linked Visa payment credentials. As of September 30, 2025, stablecoin settlement volume surpassed a $2.5 billion annualized run rate ⁷⁰. Visa is also developing agentic commerce through Visa Intelligent Commerce, deploying a pilot program in 2025 that processed live agentic token transactions ⁷¹.

Visa's non-GAAP operating expenses increased 11% ⁷² in fiscal 2025 over the prior year, primarily driven by higher personnel, general and administrative, and depreciation and amortization expenses. GAAP operating expenses increased 30% ⁷³ over the prior year, primarily driven by higher litigation provision and personnel expenses. The company's effective income tax rate was 17% ⁷⁴ in fiscal 2025, including a $263 million tax benefit ⁷⁵ as a result of a tax position taken on certain expenses. The company is monitoring developments around the OECD's Pillar Two global minimum tax and U.S. tax legislation enacted in July 2025, which did not have a material tax impact in fiscal 2025.

Visa's workforce grew from approximately 31,600 ⁷⁶ in fiscal 2024 to approximately 34,100 employees ⁷⁷ in fiscal 2025, an increase of 8% year-over-year. As of September 30, 2025, voluntary workforce turnover (rolling 12-month attrition) was approximately 6% ⁷⁸. Visa employees are located in 86 countries and territories ⁷⁹, with more than 60% located outside the U.S. ⁸⁰. The company's four global data centers are located in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Singapore ⁸¹. Visa's cybersecurity organization comprises approximately 1,000 professionals globally ⁸² as of September 30, 2025. The company's internal GenAI hub, launched in March 2025, has been embraced by nearly 26,000 employees ⁸³ launching over 261,000 AI-powered chats ⁸⁴ through the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025.

In April 2025, Visa's board of directors authorized a $30.0 billion share repurchase program ⁸⁵, providing multi-year flexibility. As of September 30, 2025, the share repurchase program had remaining authorized funds of $24.9 billion ⁸⁶. During fiscal 2025, Visa repurchased 54 million shares ⁸⁷ of class A common stock in the open market for $18.2 billion ⁸⁸. On October 28, 2025, the board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.67 per share of class A common stock ⁸⁹ (determined in the case of all other outstanding common and preferred stock on an as-converted basis) payable on December 1, 2025. During fiscal 2025, Visa declared and paid $4.6 billion ⁹⁰ in dividends to holders of common and preferred stock. Capital expenditures for property, equipment and technology were $1,482 million ⁹¹ in fiscal 2025, compared to $1,257 million ⁹² in fiscal 2024.

Visa faces structural headwinds from intense and evolving competition in the global payments industry, including from global or multi-regional networks (American Express, Diners Club/Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay), local and regional networks, alternative payments providers, RTP networks (launched in at least 80 countries ⁹³), digital wallet providers, payment processors, CMS providers and value-added service providers. The company also faces headwinds from complex and evolving global regulations, including interchange rate regulation (U.S. Dodd-Frank Act caps debit interchange at 21 cents plus 5 basis points per transaction ⁹⁴, plus a possible fraud adjustment of 1 cent ⁹⁵; EU IFR caps consumer credit at 30 basis points ⁹⁶ and consumer debit at 20 basis points ⁹⁷ within the EEA), government-imposed market participation restrictions (China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, South Africa), data localization requirements, and increasing regulatory interest in network fees. Geopolitical trends towards nationalism, protectionism and trade restrictions, as well as the suspension of operations in Russia in March 2022, present additional constraints.

Key execution risks flagged by management include the potential for adverse outcomes in litigation, particularly the interchange multidistrict litigation (MDL), where Visa recorded additional accruals of $2.2 billion ⁹⁸ during fiscal 2025 and made additional deposits of $875 million ⁹⁹ into the U.S. litigation escrow account. The estimated interchange reimbursement fees at issue in unresolved claims for damages in the U.S. covered litigation was approximately $49.6 billion ¹⁰⁰ as of October 1, 2023 and approximately $39.4 billion ¹⁰¹ as of October 1, 2025. The company also faces risks from the potential for government-imposed obligations and/or restrictions on international payments systems that may prevent competition in significant markets such as China and India, and from the evolving regulatory landscape for AI, stablecoins and digital currencies.

Management's tone in the filing is forward-looking and focused on growth, innovation and strategic positioning. The key themes emphasized are accelerating revenue growth through the three pillars of consumer payments, commercial and money movement solutions, and value-added services, while fortifying the key foundations of the business model (brand, product innovation, platforms and security, government affairs, sales and service, talent and people). Management highlights the company's open partnership approach, the Visa as a Service stack, and the network of networks strategy as key differentiators. Specific forward-looking statements include the intention to continue paying quarterly cash dividends subject to board approval, the expectation that the $30.0 billion share repurchase program provides multi-year flexibility, and the belief that current and projected sources of liquidity will be sufficient to meet projected liquidity needs for more than the next 12 months. Management also notes that the company is evaluating the impact of new accounting standards and monitoring developments around Pillar Two and U.S. tax legislation.

For fiscal 2025, Visa reported total net revenue of $40,000 million ¹¹¹, compared to $35,926 million ¹¹² in fiscal 2024 and $32,653 million ¹¹³ in fiscal 2023. GAAP net income was $20,058 million ¹¹⁴ in fiscal 2025, compared to $19,743 million ¹¹⁵ in fiscal 2024 and $17,273 million ¹¹⁶ in fiscal 2023. GAAP diluted earnings per share for class A common stock was $10.20 ¹¹⁷ in fiscal 2025, compared to $9.73 ¹¹⁸ in fiscal 2024 and $8.28 ¹¹⁹ in fiscal 2023. Non-GAAP net income was $22,542 million ¹²⁰ in fiscal 2025, compared to $20,389 million ¹²¹ in fiscal 2024 and $18,280 million ¹²² in fiscal 2023. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $11.47 ¹²³ in fiscal 2025, compared to $10.05 ¹²⁴ in fiscal 2024 and $8.77 ¹²⁵ in fiscal 2023. GAAP operating income was $23,994 million ¹²⁶ in fiscal 2025, compared to $23,595 million ¹²⁷ in fiscal 2024. GAAP operating expenses were $16,006 million ¹²⁸ in fiscal 2025, compared to $12,331 million ¹²⁹ in fiscal 2024, with the increase primarily driven by a litigation provision of $2,562 million ¹³⁰ in fiscal 2025 versus $462 million ¹³¹ in fiscal 2024. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $12,906 million ¹³² in fiscal 2025, compared to $11,609 million ¹³³ in fiscal 2024. Cash provided by operating activities was $23,059 million ¹³⁴ in fiscal 2025, compared to $19,950 million ¹³⁵ in fiscal 2024. Free cash flow is not explicitly stated but can be derived from operating cash flow of $23,059 million ¹³⁶ less purchases of property, equipment and technology of $1,482 million ¹³⁷, yielding approximately $21,577 million. As of September 30, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $17,164 million ¹³⁸, total debt (carrying value) was $25,171 million ¹³⁹, and total equity was $37,909 million ¹⁴⁰. The effective income tax rate was 17% ¹⁴¹ in fiscal 2025, including a $263 million tax benefit ¹⁴² as a result of a tax position taken on certain expenses. For segment performance, value-added services revenue was $10.9 billion ¹⁴³ in fiscal 2025, compared to $8.8 billion ¹⁴⁴ in fiscal 2024.

Visa faces material risks from the interchange multidistrict litigation (MDL), where the company recorded additional accruals of $2.2 billion ¹⁰² during fiscal 2025 and made additional deposits of $875 million ¹⁰³ into the U.S. litigation escrow account, with the estimated interchange reimbursement fees at issue in unresolved claims for damages in the U.S. covered litigation approximately $39.4 billion ¹⁰⁴ as of October 1, 2025. The company is subject to complex and evolving global regulations that could harm its business, including interchange rate caps (U.S. debit interchange capped at 21 cents plus 5 basis points per transaction ¹⁰⁵ plus a possible fraud adjustment of 1 cent ¹⁰⁶; EU IFR caps consumer credit at 30 basis points ¹⁰⁷ and consumer debit at 20 basis points ¹⁰⁸ within the EEA), government-imposed market participation restrictions in countries like China and India, and increasing regulatory interest in network fees. Visa faces intense competition from global networks (Mastercard with $8,014 billion payments volume ¹⁰⁹ in calendar year 2024), local and regional networks, RTP networks (launched in at least 80 countries ¹¹⁰), digital wallet providers, and alternative payments providers including stablecoin-based initiatives. The company's net revenue and profits are dependent on its client and seller base, with a significant portion of net revenue concentrated among its largest clients, and the loss of business from any one of these larger clients could harm results. Visa's indemnification obligation to fund settlement losses of its clients exposes it to significant risk of loss, with the indemnification exposure generally limited to the amount of unsettled Visa card payment transactions at any point in time.