Is Visa Inc. (V) A Good Stock To Buy Now?

We came across a bullish thesis on Visa Inc. on Grillo Insights’s Substack by Eric García. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on V. Visa Inc.'s share was trading at $320.83 as of March 3rd. V’s trailing and forward P/E were 30.09 and 25.00 respectively according to Yahoo Finance.

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Visa Inc. (V) closed Q1 FY2026 on December 31, 2025, amid a cautiously optimistic economic backdrop, with moderated U.S. inflation, resilient consumer spending, and stable global commerce despite geopolitical tensions. The company reported $10.9 billion in revenue, a 15% year-over-year increase (13% in constant dollars), building on FY2025’s $40 billion revenue (+11%). Visa’s positioning as a “payments hyperscaler” with over 5 billion active credentials across 200+ countries gives it an unmatched competitive moat.

GAAP net income reached $5.9 billion ($3.03 per share), up 14% YoY, while non-GAAP net income, adjusting for litigation and escrow provisions, was $6.1 billion ($3.17 per share), reflecting 15% growth and operating margins near 65%, highlighting the scalability of its business model. Payments volume grew 8% in Q1 (~$4 trillion), with cross-border transactions up 11%, fueled by international tourism and e-commerce recovery. Value-Added Services (VAS), including risk solutions, consulting, and marketing tools, expanded 28% in Q1 ($3.2 billion), accounting for ~50% of revenue growth and demonstrating Visa’s differentiation.

Revenue strength spanned service revenue (+13%), data processing (+17%), international transactions (+6%), and other revenue (+33%), while client incentives rose slower than revenue, improving net margins. Visa’s balance sheet is robust, with $16.9 billion in cash and investments plus $3.3 billion in litigation escrow, supporting $6.4 billion in Q1 free cash flow and $5.1 billion in shareholder returns.

Strategic initiatives such as Visa Flex Credentials, Agentic commerce, and Visa Direct underpin future growth. Despite manageable risks from regulation, fintech competition, and litigation, Visa’s unmatched scale, >65% margins, and secular digital payments tailwinds make it a compelling long-term BUY, with a price target of $380, implying ~15% upside.

Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on Visa Inc. (V) by Margin of Sanity in May 2025, which highlighted the company’s structural dominance, high profitability, and capital-light, self-reinforcing network effects that make it a resilient, long-term compounder. V’s stock price has depreciated by approximately 12.13% since our coverage amid broader market pressure on payments stocks, concerns about slowing consumer spending, and rotation out of growth-oriented names. Eric García shares a similar view but emphasizes Visa’s recent operational performance, including Q1 FY2026 revenue growth, cross-border transaction expansion, and Value-Added Services as key drivers of future growth.

Visa Inc. is on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 184 hedge fund portfolios held V at the end of the fourth quarter which was 179 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of V as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than V and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock

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