Opinions John O'Connell, CFA
Visa Inc.VCOMMENTOct 25, 2016
John O'Connell, CFAStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jul 24, 2026. Market Open.
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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 Sissons
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Both 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)Digital payments are not going away. When it goes on sale, usually a mistake not to buy and then just sit back and wait. He's owned it personally for 17-18 years, probably his best investment.
Darren SissonsAn unassailable fortress for a long time. Fintech and card companies have been weak, with concerns about disruptive digital payment systems. Near-term uncertainty about long-term profitability.
Pretty dominant position. Still trading above long-term moving average. Lagging in this market. Not well inflation-protected. Put your focus elsewhere.
He owns Mastercard but not Visa. However they are both crown jewels in the market and good to buy. The rise in Agentic commerce and digital currency could be a concern but they have strategies o deal with it. The valuation has come down with multiple compressions.
Jamie Murray Continually increases number of transactions. Beneficiary of modest inflation (hyper-inflation causes less spending), as it gets paid on the dollars spent. Very attractive multiple ~24x PE (historically it's ~30x). Yield is 0.81%.
(Analysts’ price target is $402.83)
Gordon ReidHe's out. Momentum has broken. Price is now below 200-day MA, and that's rolling over. Secular growth drivers are still there, for about 14% earnings growth at 23x PE. But it's more about valuation right now. If you think of it as technology, investors are seeing a lot more exciting names out there.
When technicals improve, he'd look at it again.
They reported a strong quarter with 9% volume growth. People are spending. Even if prices rise, Visa still makes money. Other areas are growing and amount to 30%, such as merchants hiring Visa to do marketing services cybersecurity fraud prevention. Also, there's room to expand to many parts of the world still using cash.
(Analysts’ price target is $403.54)
Christine PooleOwns this instead of MA because of the broader offering (including Europe). Net beneficiary of inflation. A category to buy on weakness, but only as it applies to V and MA for their quality (he doesn't like any of the others).
Buybacks, dividend increases, solid performer.
Darren SissonsPremium contentFollowing recently reported earnings growth of EPS of 28%, we reiterate V as a TOP PICK. The growth exceeded analyst expectations calling for under 10% growth. Cash reserves are growing, while shares are bought back. Management sees continued growth in consumer travel expenditures, valued added services, and investment in stablecoin infrastructure offering continued success. It trades at 26x earnings and supports a robust 65% ROE. We recommend trailing up the stop (from $285) to $295, looking to achieve $399 -- upside potential of 23%. Yield 0.8%
(Analysts’ price target is $399.46)
This has done a fantastic job and is a great story on globalization and global spending. Trades at a very rich multiple. The company is subject to some technological disruption. It has the potential to reduce its costs through technology, but it is going to take investments up front to be able to stay on top of that. You have to be concerned that the major merger with Visa Europe, and the European community is being very aggressive in terms of the interchange fees that these card processor companies are able to charge. He is worried that as governments become more populous, Visa has some real vulnerability in terms of fee revenue it is going to be able to earn. With the stock trading at 32X earnings, he would be very cautious.