Aanchal Sugandh
4 min read
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On Friday, June 13, shares of payments technology giant Visa (V) slipped 5% after The Wall Street Journal revealed that retail titans like Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) are weighing the idea of issuing their own stablecoins. The news raised fears in the market that such digital currencies could chip away at traditional payment networks
Barclays is not buying into the panic, however. The firm called the reaction overblown and sees opportunity where others see risk. According to Barclays, while stablecoins hold undeniable promise, they are still a long way from penetrating the retail payments landscape where Visa dominates.
Even as headlines stir speculation, Barclays remains anchored in the belief that Visa’s moat is far from breached. It stands firm in its conviction that Visa’s entrenched dominance and trusted network are far from being upended. For now, stablecoins may be ambitious, but they are not a real threat just yet.
Based in San Francisco, Visa stands tall in the global payments landscape with a market capitalization of $624 billion. Operating across more than 200 countries, the company orchestrates seamless money movement and commerce, powered by VisaNet, its global transaction processing network that handles authorization, clearing, and settlement for financial institutions and merchants alike.
Over the last 52 weeks, V stock has climbed 22%, painting a picture of investor confidence. Yet in the past month, the stock has dipped 7.7%. That's a move Barclays interprets as more of a doorway than a downfall, calling it a potential buying window rather than a red flag.
Visa currently trades at 30 times forward earnings and 17 times sales. While these numbers sit well above sector norms, they fall short of V stock's five-year historical averages, suggesting room for upward reversion.
The company continues to reward its shareholders steadily, offering an annual dividend of $2.36, translating to a yield of 0.7%. Visa's latest quarterly dividend of $0.59, declared on April 29 and payable on June 2 to shareholders on record as of May 13, underlines its steady commitment to investor returns.
On April 29, Visa released its fiscal 2025 second-quarter earnings, showing solid strength across the board. The global payments company reported revenue of $9.59 billion, reflecting a 9% year-over-year (YOY) increase and beating Wall Street’s estimate of $9.56 billion. The performance came on the back of resilient growth in payments volume, cross-border activity, and processed transactions.
