Visa (V) Tops Q4 EPS by 8c; New $5B Stock Buyback Plan

Visa (NYSE: V) reported Q4 EPS of $2.18, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of $2.10. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.2 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion.

The Company authorized a new $5.0 billion repurchase program, in addition to the previously announced 20% quarterly dividend increase.

"Our enviable competitive position, strong business model, and great talent helped us deliver adjusted EPS growth of 17% for the fourth quarter and 19% for the full year in the face of continued tepid economic growth and a strengthening dollar. More importantly, the underlying metrics which will drive our revenue growth over the longer term are strong and getting stronger," said Charlie Scharf, Chief Executive Officer of Visa Inc. "Our partnerships are growing, our capabilities are improving, and the opportunity for Visa to disintermediate cash across the globe is bigger than ever. Our investments in Visa Checkout, Visa Token Services, and Visa Digital Solutions are just beginning to have an impact in the marketplace. We will continue to invest in these and other areas and remain confident in our ability to capture the growing opportunity in payments."

Financial Outlook:

Visa Inc. provides its financial outlook for the following metrics for fiscal full-year 2015:

• Annual net revenue growth: Constant dollar revenue growth of low double digits, with an expectation of two percentage points of negative foreign currency impact;
• Client incentives as a percent of gross revenues: 17.5% to 18.5% range;
• Annual operating margin: Mid 60s;
• Tax rate: Low 30s;
• Annual diluted class A common stock earnings per share growth: Mid teens; and
• Annual free cash flow greater than $6 billion.

Fiscal full-year 2015 annual diluted earnings per share growth assumes an adjusted basis for fiscal full-year 2014.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Visa (V) click here.

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