Opinions John Stephenson
Visa Inc.VTOP PICKDec 16, 2015
John StephensonStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Sep 04, 2026. Market Open.
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Premium contentWith quarterly transactions setting a record $4 trillion, we reiterate V as a TOP PICK. Revenues in advisory and security services grew 34% -- showing more runway for growth. It trades at 32x earnings and supports a robust 60% ROE. We recommend trailing up the stop (from $335) to $350, looking to achieve $440 -- 18% potential upside. Yield 0.7%
(Analysts’ price target is $423.40)
Owned for about a decade. Trimmed for the first time ever last year, as it got above risk thresholds. Low double-digit growth metrics. When it's on sale, you should buy it.
Darren SissonsPremium contentPremium contentWe reiterate V as a TOP PICK. The company is seeking a stablecoin partner to expand its reach globally furthering its market depth. Recently reported earnings showed growing cash reserves as shares are aggressively bought back and debt retired. We continue to recommend a stop at $325, looking to achieve $432 - upside potential of 18%. Yield 0.7%
(Analysts’ price target is $420.14)
Premium contentFollowing recently reported earnings, we reiterate V as a TOP PICK. Consumers are spending and at higher rates than analysts expect -- including growth in travel spending despite geopolitical uncertainty. Cash reserves are growing as shares are aggressively bought back albeit with a slight increase in debt (not an issue as free cash flow is at five year highs). It trades at 29x earnings and supports an amazing 66% ROE and annual dividend growth has exceeded 15% over the past five years. We continue to recommend a stop at $325, looking to achieve $430 -- upside potential of 18%. Yield 0.7%
(Analysts’ price target is $404.18)Visa and Mastercard have been treading water the past year because the market has been fixated on AI, but that money has been rotating out of AI into places like credit cards. The two companies have some of the best business models, big moats and trading at attractive PEs, though neither are at decades-long low PEs. Visa's layoff of 7% of workforce is good for the stock. Probably AI is making Visa more productive.
One of the highest-quality names he owns. Share price has done nothing over 12 months, but business continues to enjoy 10% growth. Its network isn't going away anytime soon.
Martin Cobb, ASIPMastercard and Visa have been weak because cash-to-card conversion has historically been the easiest thing for them to do but is now over. Value-added services are instead driving more growth. Agentic AI traffic is about to go parabolic, so can the cards play the role of authentication layer? He thinks so, and they should. Stablecoins and peer-to-peer transactions are not big deals, not major threats.
Fund flows have gone to energy and AI. Whenever this name goes on sale, it's proven to be a buying opportunity. No reason for it not to go higher. A screaming buy.
Darren SissonsPremium contentBoth are phenomenal businesses. Comparable on valuation and share price performance. If you own one, don't switch.
His clients own Visa, and have for a very long time. Makes the most sense for him as more payments become digitized and V captures more market share. It's the largest payment network, so its profitability is a bit higher on margins. Bit north of 20x PE, FCF yield north of 4%. Attractive valuation for an essential business.
Chris BlumasPremium contentWe reiterate V as a TOP PICK. With a commanding ROE of 65%, it holds a dominant position in the personal credit realm. We like that cash reserves continue to grow, while shares are aggressively bought back (albeit with a little more debt). Revenues are growing by 15% annually over the past five years as the dividend has doubled over that same time. We recommend maintaining a stop at $295, looking to achieve $383 -- upside potential of 18%. Yield 0.8%
(Analysts’ price target is $400.46)
A phenomenal company. Really one of the top picks in the financial space. Very strong growth. Just signed a deal with Costco and ARP. They are looking to get into China by 2017. Just acquired Visa Europe. Margins are roughly 60% plus. Growing the top line at about 10%-12% a year. Bottom line is growing 9%-10% a year. A very strong name with an identifiable catalyst.