Visa Announced Layoffs Ahead of Earnings Beat, as AI and Restructuring Accelerate -- Barrons.com

By Mackenzie Tatananni and Janet H. Cho

Visa reported higher-than-expected earnings and revenue for its third fiscal quarter, but shares were falling after hours.

Payments volume grew 10% during the quarter, cross-border volume increased 13%, and the volume of processed transactions rose 10%.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2026 ended June 30, Visa reported net revenue of $11.6 billion, up 14% from a year ago, and adjusted earnings of $3.32 a share, a gain of 11%.

Analysts expected revenue of $11.4 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.23 a share, compared with revenue of $10.2 billion and profit of $2.69 a share a year earlier.

Visa shares were down 2.3%, to $358.31 in late Tuesday trading, after closing up 1.1% at $366.59 in regular trading, a new 52-week closing high and its highest close since June 12. Shares traded as high as $371.16 intraday. The benchmark S&P 500 closed up 0.2%.

The stock is up 4.5% this year through Tuesday's close and up 4.4% over the past 12 months.

"Consumer and business spending remains resilient, and our strategy continues to deliver strong performance across consumer payments, commercial and money movement solutions and value added services," Visa CEO Ryan McInerney said. "As the leading hyperscaler of payments globally, we are designing, building and shipping products at an increased velocity, positioning Visa, our clients and the ecosystem to capture the opportunities ahead and drive growth."

Visa repurchased approximately 14.5 million shares of class A common stock during the quarter at an average cost of $330.71 a share for $4.9 billion. It had $28.4 billion of remaining authorized funds for share repurchases as of June 30.

On Tuesday, Visa's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 67 cents a share of class A common stock, payable on Sept. 1, to shareholders of record as of August 11.

McInerney earlier Tuesday announced that the payments giant was slashing roughly 7% of its workforce, or 2,600 jobs largely across its technology and product teams, as part of a streamlining effort.

Visa is "entering a new era in commerce with a business that has real momentum" following actions it has taken over the past several years, McInerney told employees in a memo viewed by Barron's.

"To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work," he wrote, adding that artificial intelligence was helping "shape the way work gets done" at the company.

The technology is likely one factor behind the layoffs, allowing the company to automate tasks while cutting personnel costs. In fact, major tech firms like Intel, Cisco, and Meta Platforms have explicitly linked job cuts in recent months to increased spending on the technology.

But AI likely isn't the sole driver. Visa has been focusing on new initiatives, such as expanding its geographic footprint and entering new verticals like stablecoins -- likely "the choices we have made over the past few years" that McInerney referenced in his letter to staff.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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July 28, 2026 17:12 ET (21:12 GMT)