Visa profit tops estimates on consumer spending rebound

Visa Inc surpassed market estimates for second-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by a rebound in consumer spending after COVID-19 restrictions eased around the world. Consumer spending has been on the rise this year despite the Omicron variant surge in January as people make up for lost time traveling, shopping and dining out. Net income rose to $3.6 billion, or $1.7 per share, from $3 billion, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier.

Visa Inc surpassed market estimates for second-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by a rebound in consumer spending after COVID-19 restrictions eased around the world.

Consumer spending has been on the rise this year despite the Omicron variant surge in January as people make up for lost time traveling, shopping and dining out. Visa - the world's largest payments processor - said payment volumes rose 17% in the quarter, with cross-border volumes jumping 38%.

"The Omicron variant impacts were short lived and the global economic recovery that began in the middle of last year continued," Chairman and Chief Executive Alfred Kelly said in the results announcement. Net income rose to $3.6 billion, or $1.7 per share, from $3 billion, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting a figure of $1.65 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.