Visa Inc. (V)

Should I buy American Express (AXP-N) or VISA (V-N)? It is like asking if I should buy an ice-cream for my daughter or my son. Ownes both. Basically, toll booth for global spending. There is still more cash out there than plastic out there believe it or not. American Express (AXP-N) seems a little cheaper from a valuation stand point. Amex is a little more value oriented, VISA is a little more growth oriented. Keep both.

This was the perfect kind of company to buy in the last recession but it has had a terrific gain and, for a contrarian, it might be time to sell.

(A Top Pick Mar 2/18, Up 9%) What's not to love about a world that continues to get digitized? This stays in your portfolio for a very long time.

She's done well with this over many years. It's currently near its highs. It's a core holding as society transitions into digital transactions (i.e. online shopping). You can take a bit of profit here, but she expects a lot of growth in digital going forward, that we're still in the early days of digital transactions. Visa bought Visa Europe late last year, so expect earnings contributions from this. This stock will grind higher.

He owns Visa, though he loves both this and Mastercard. Mastercard's ROE is a bit higher and the company is a little smaller than Visa, but he finds both are excellent companies.

Amazing chart. It continues to rise, because it grows revenues at double-digits as well as profit margins at nearly 20% a year. There's such demand for its services as more developing economies move away from cash to online shopping.
the multiple is not cheap, but there isn't serious competition against Visa.

It has been a great long term hold for his clients. It has good growth, trading at a slightly high multiple. The business continues to grow. You might want to buy on slightly lower prices.

It has a huge downside risk. It is trading at nearly 9 times book value. It is now well ahead of its fair market value. It has a risk of going to $80.

She has owned this for a few years and likes it. The penetration of e-payments is high in developed economies, but still low in emerging markets--there's still huge secular growth in e-payments. Visa bought out Visa Europe a year ago and are integrating now. This should improve Visa's margins and profits for the next few years.

(A Top Pick April 6/17 - Up 36%.) Still like it. Trading at 26 times forward earnings with 17% growth rate. You pay a little bit of a premium, but they dominate the payment space. They control 50% of credit card payments and more than 50% of debit card transactions. As people move from cash to plastic they benefit.

(A Top Pick May 17/17 Up 32%). The company has made the use of their card easy and secure. They do all the right things and valuation is fair. It has consistent recurring revenue.

A wonderful long-term growth story. Transactions and societal wealth around the world continue to grow. But storm clouds may be increased digitization, including blockchain technology, and government regulation, such as the EU threatening interchange fees. It's possible it could come under investigation for the amount of data it collects.

Owns Mastercard instead, but the story is the same. They both dominate credit cards worldwide. As we move into e-payments, both are prepared. Both will continue to move up. As for blockchain, they may get involved as an application.

Long held this, and it's a good peformer. Processed 1.9 trillion transactions last year. Growing at a 20% annual rate. Multiple around low-mid-20s. High in earnings predictability with no surprises. 61% of business is outside North America. All good.

Trading at 27x forward earnings. Loves Visa. Its secular growth is fuelled by increasing consumer spending around the world. Plastic payments will continue to overtake cash. A sunny long term here. Apple Pay, for instance, are partnering with cmpanies like Visa, so Visa will benefit from (and not be threatened by) e-payments.