The payments network ended fiscal 2026 with double-digit growth as cross-border activity accelerated and stablecoin settlement expanded.Visa reported fiscal fourth-quarter net revenue of $12.1 billion, up 13% year on year on both a nominal and constant-dollar basis, in its official results announcement. GAAP earnings per share were $3.19, while adjusted non-GAAP EPS was $3.48. For investors, the quarter’s central signals were continued growth in cross-border spending, a higher dividend and the company’s account of how stablecoin settlement is developing alongside its card and payments network.
Fourth-quarter growth and the full-year picture
Visa’s net revenue rose 13% to $12.1 billion. Payments volume increased 9% in constant dollars, cross-border volume grew 14%, and processed transactions rose 10%. Cross-border growth excluding intra-Europe transactions was also 14%, a key measure because those flows contribute to Visa’s international transaction revenue. Management said travel-related cross-border volume was up 13%, with improvement in both inbound and outbound activity in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.For the full fiscal year, net revenue reached $45.9 billion, up 15% (14% in constant dollars). GAAP EPS was $12.32, a 21% increase, and non-GAAP EPS rose 16% to $13.27. The annual figures show that growth was not limited to a single quarter, though investors will continue to weigh transaction expansion against regulatory scrutiny and competition over payment economics.
Dividend increase and capital returns
Visa returned $5.2 billion through share repurchases and dividends in the quarter, bringing the fiscal-year total to $25.6 billion. The board raised the quarterly dividend 16% to $0.780 per share. The increase extends Visa’s shareholder-return story while the company continues investing in payment infrastructure, new services and digital settlement capabilities.That capital return arrives as merchants and regulators continue to debate card costs. FinanceFeeds has covered UK businesses seeking compensation from Visa and Mastercard over card fees. The litigation is separate from this earnings release, but it underscores one of the issues that can shape the policy environment around card networks.
Stablecoin settlement moves from experiment toward operations
On its earnings call, Visa said stablecoin settlement had surpassed a $25 billion annualized run rate, about ten times the level a year earlier. The company said it can support settlement across 10 blockchains and is operating in all five regions. Visa also reported that stablecoin pre-funding and cross-border money movement through Visa Direct had moved from pilot to commercial production, with U.S. payments infrastructure provider Inyo Global as its first live partner.The figures suggest that stablecoins are becoming a more visible part of Visa’s settlement and treasury toolkit, although the annualized run rate remains small compared with the scale of its broader payment network. Visa is also participating in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s BLOOM initiative, which is examining interoperability between traditional payment systems and stablecoin-based rails. The strategic question is how these tools can make settlement faster or more flexible while preserving compliance controls and the network relationships that underpin Visa’s existing business.
Mastercard reports Thursday
Investors will have a close peer comparison when Mastercard reports its third-quarter results on Thursday. The comparison will help show whether Visa’s 14% cross-border growth reflects a broader travel and payments trend or company-specific factors. It will also give the market another opportunity to assess how the two networks describe stablecoin settlement, new payment flows and merchant economics.Takeaway: Visa closed fiscal 2026 with sustained double-digit revenue growth, 14% cross-border volume gains and a higher dividend, while reporting a sharp year-on-year increase in stablecoin settlement activity. The next points to watch are whether cross-border growth holds, how quickly stablecoin-linked services move into scaled commercial use, and what Mastercard’s Thursday results say about the wider payments market.Related: UK businesses seek compensation from Visa and Mastercard over card fees
