Visa Inc.VTOP PICKNov 02, 2026Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Nov 02, 2026. Market Open.
He reviews over 1k stock charts a day. Financials are one of 3 groups that are looking very favourable. Lots of opportunities, including in China (a tricky market). Just made new 5-year high after consolidating since June 2024.
A definite hold. Right in the centre of his farm team should the macro get a little better.
You'd have to go back a very long time to find his firm holding MA. Owned V for a long time, mainly on the valuation differential. MA has always been 4-6 multiple points higher. Visa is better value. Likes the space.
V might be stronger on the debit card side, which is growing at a faster rate than the credit side. Likes management. PE in the 20s, a discount to normalized multiples. Consistent, predictable. Earnings continue to do well. Nice hedge to a lot of companies that are in the news.
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.
Since July 1, Visa has rallied from $351 to $414. Mastercard also caught a bid. Why? Well, money flowed out of volatile AI and semis into safer havens like credit cards. It's like the market remembered that credit card companies make money. After all, Visa is everywhere and enjoys a duopoly with Mastercard. Both act as a toll both, taking a small cut every time a consumer taps their card or a merchant accepts a payment. On Oct. 27, Visa reported strong Q4 numbers: payments volume rose 9% year over year, processed transactions climbed 10%, cross-border transactions jumped 14%, and e-commerce grew 17%. Earnings beat the street (narrowly) the past four quarters and continue to trend higher. The report inspired two upgrades, hiking the price target to from $426 to $464 (when averaged out). The only knock against Visa was that shares ran up heading into the print, and lost ground immediately after reporting until rallying again on Oct. 29 on strong volumes. Definitely one to buy and hold for a long time.