Cross-border volume jumps 13% as travel rebounds, but litigation charges weigh on profits; Visa authorizes $30bn share buyback.
Visa delivered a strong operational performance in its second quarter 2025 earnings, with robust growth in payments volume and cross-border transactions. However, the company’s bottom line was dampened by nearly $1bn in litigation-related expenses tied to the ongoing interchange multi-district litigation (MDL).
The San Francisco-based payments network reported GAAP net income of $4.6 billion, or $2.32 per diluted share, a 2% decline in net income year-over-year and a 1% rise in earnings per share. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes special items such as litigation provisions, Visa posted net income of $5.4 billion, or $2.76 per share—up 6% and 10% year-over-year, respectively.
Net revenue rose 9% to $9.6 billion (11% in constant dollars), driven by increases across Visa’s key growth drivers: an 8% rise in total payments volume, 13% growth in cross-border volume (excluding intra-Europe), and a 9% increase in processed transactions. Processed transaction count for the quarter reached 60.7 billion.
“Visa’s strong 9% fiscal second quarter net revenue growth was driven by healthy trends in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions,” CEO Ryan McInerney said. “Consumer spending remained resilient, even with macroeconomic uncertainty”.
Legal costs overshadow operational momentum
Visa’s GAAP operating expenses surged 22% year-over-year to $4.2 billion, largely due to a $992 million litigation provision associated with the MDL case. Excluding special items, non-GAAP operating expenses rose a more modest 7%, reflecting higher personnel, marketing, and depreciation costs.
The litigation provision was also reflected in Visa’s non-operating income, with reported GAAP non-operating income at just $3 million. Adjusted for equity investment losses, non-GAAP non-operating income stood at $26 million.
Shareholder payouts continue at full throttle
Despite the litigation-related hit to profits, Visa continued aggressive capital returns. The company repurchased approximately 13 million shares in the quarter at an average cost of $340.26 per share, totaling $4.5 billion. Combined with $1.16 billion in dividend payments, Visa returned $5.6 billion to shareholders during the quarter.
In April, Visa’s board authorized a new $30 billion multi-year share repurchase program, underscoring its long-term confidence and strong free cash flow generation. The company posted $4.4 billion in free cash flow for the quarter and had $15.2 billion in cash, equivalents, and investment securities on hand as of March 31.
Global growth, legal caution
Looking ahead, Visa expects continued growth in the low double digits for both Q3 and the full fiscal year 2025 on a constant-dollar basis. Diluted earnings per share are projected to grow in the high teens for Q3 and low teens for the full year, adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions.
Still, the company acknowledged ongoing legal uncertainties in its forward-looking statements, referencing the complexity of global regulations, evolving data laws, and the potential impact of further legal developments.
As Visa pushes forward with innovation in consumer payments, commercial flows, and value-added services, it remains to be seen how much longer legacy litigation will cast a shadow over otherwise robust growth.
