Mastercard Incorporated ( MA ) runs one of the largest electronic payments networks in the world. After reviewing the latest quarter , I feel more bullish on MA than before. What stands outI focus on producing objective, data-driven research, mostly about small- to mid-cap companies, as these tend to be overlooked by many investors. From time to time, though, I also look at large-cap names, just to give a fuller sense of the broader equity markets.Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position i ...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, is joining Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard designed to help AI agents and commerce systems work together across the full shopping lifecycle, from discovery and purchase through post-purchase support. UCP enables consumers to shop seamlessly in AI conversations while giving agents, merchant systems, and payment providers a standardized way to interact across multiple AI platfor. ...

Core Viewpoint - Visa is expected to maintain strong fundamental performance with double-digit earnings per share (EPS) growth anticipated for the current year, building on a 14% adjusted EPS gain in fiscal 2025 [3]. Group 1: Company Performance - Visa's branded cards are widely accepted globally, benefiting from a robust network effect and the increasing adoption of digital payments [1]. - Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, Visa continues to perform well, although its total return over the past five years has lagged behind the S&P 500 [4][5]. - The company's ongoing success may be taken for granted by investors due to its long history of strong performance [4]. Group 2: Investment Considerations - Current recommendations from the Motley Fool Stock Advisor do not include Visa among the top 10 stocks to buy, suggesting potential investors may want to consider other options for greater returns [6]. - Historical examples of significant returns from stocks recommended by the Motley Fool highlight the potential for high returns, but Visa is not currently featured in this context [7][8].

Group 1: Company Performance - Visa reported a year-over-year revenue growth of 15% in Q1 2026, with diluted earnings per share (EPS) increasing by 17% [1] - Mastercard's revenue in Q4 2025 increased by 18%, and diluted EPS soared by 24% [1] Group 2: Market Position and Growth Potential - Both Visa and Mastercard benefit from strong network effects, with high adoption rates of their branded cards among consumers and strong merchant acceptance [3] - Mastercard, being a smaller business, has a larger growth opportunity compared to Visa, suggesting that its revenue and earnings could expand at a faster rate if it approaches Visa's market share [3] Group 3: Investment Considerations - Neither Visa nor Mastercard currently offers a good value opportunity, with price-to-earnings ratios of 32.8 and 34.8, respectively, indicating a lack of margin of safety [4] - Investors may consider owning both stocks despite their high valuations, as Mastercard has greater growth potential but is also more expensive [4]

Core Insights - Visa reported a net income of $10.9 billion for its fiscal first quarter of 2026, exceeding Wall Street forecasts and marking a 15% increase from the previous year [1] - The company's performance was driven by growth in payments volume, cross-border volume, and processed transactions, with net revenue rising 13% on a constant-dollar basis [1] Financial Performance - Payments volume increased by 8% year-over-year on a constant-dollar basis, while cross-border volume (excluding Europe) rose by 11% [2] - Total cross-border volume increased by 12% on a constant-dollar basis, and processed transactions reached 69.4 billion, a 9% increase from the prior year [2] - GAAP net income for the quarter was $5.9 billion, or $3.03 per share, reflecting increases of 14% and 17% respectively compared to the previous year [3] Special Items and Investments - The current year's results included special items totaling $707 million related to litigation provisions and $333 million from a deferred tax benefit due to changes in US taxation [3] - Additional costs included $7 million in net losses from equity investments and $66 million related to amortization of acquired intangible assets [4] - Visa's CEO highlighted strong performance driven by consumer spending and investments in technology and infrastructure [4][5]

Core Insights - Buyforex, a wholly owned subsidiary of EbixCash World Money, has received in-principle approval for Payment Service Provider (PSP) authorization at GIFT IFSC, marking it as the first Authorised Dealer Category-II (AD-II) group entity to achieve this milestone [1][2] Group 1: Approval and Services - The approval was granted by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), allowing Buyforex to operate as a regulated PSP, subject to final conditions [2] - Buyforex is authorized to provide four key payment services: account issuance, e-money issuance, merchant acquisition, and cross-border fund transfers [2] Group 2: Strategic Importance - This milestone enhances the EbixCash Group's regulated payments footprint and supports India's goal to establish GIFT IFSC as a global hub for cross-border payments and financial services [2][4] - The authorization allows the group to deliver secure, compliant, and globally scalable payment solutions to international merchants, financial institutions, and enterprises [3] Group 3: Company Vision - The CEO of EbixCash highlighted that this PSP approval is a landmark achievement, emphasizing the company's strong regulatory credentials and commitment to compliance-led growth [4] - With this approval, EbixCash World Money is positioned to support global commerce, international remittances, and merchant payment flows through a robust payments infrastructure anchored in India [4][5] Group 4: Company Overview - EbixCash is recognized as India's leading end-to-end digital financial services platform, integrating an omni-channel digital presence with a physical distribution network of over 650,000 outlets [6] - The company operates across various sectors including payments, remittances, foreign exchange, prepaid cards, travel, insurance, and financial technology, serving a wide geographical area [6]

Core Viewpoint - The Helios Consortium is proposing an increased possible offer of US$1.15 in cash per share for CAB Payments Holdings plc, aiming to acquire the entire issued share capital excluding shares already held by Helios Fund III [2][3]. Offer Details - The Increased Possible Offer includes a cash offer of US$1.15 per existing CAB Payments share, which represents a 21% premium to the volume-weighted average share price for the thirty-day trading period and a 37% premium for the ninety-day trading period ending on January 30, 2026 [9]. - The Helios Consortium holds or has received support for 127,905,170 shares, representing 50.33% of CAB Payments' issued share capital [3][12]. - A partial unlisted share alternative will be available should a firm offer be made, allowing shareholders to remain invested in the company [4]. Background Context - The previous offer of US$1.05 per share was rejected by CAB Payments' independent committee on January 24, 2026 [5]. - CAB Payments has faced challenges as a listed company, including a profit downgrade, changes in executive leadership, and a withdrawn offer from StoneX Group Inc. The Helios Consortium believes that private ownership will better support the long-term success of the business [6]. Shareholder Support - Eurocomm Holding Limited has provided a non-binding letter of intent supporting an offer at a price of no less than US$1.05 per share, which includes the Unlisted Share Alternative [11]. - Helios Fund III holds 114,640,189 shares, approximately 45.11% of CAB Payments' existing issued ordinary share capital as of January 30, 2026 [10]. Financial Advisory - Rothschild & Co is acting as the financial adviser to the Helios Consortium in this matter [7].

J P M O R G A N Europe Equity Research 27 January 2026 Stablecoin impact on Payments Key takeaways from our expert call We recently hosted a call yesterday afternoon with Mr. Rehman Baig on the possible impacts of Stablecoin on various payment markets. Mr. Baig is currently the Chief Product Officer of FlexCorp, but has experience at Adyen (2020-2024) where he latterly held the role of VP and Global Head of Product and Payment Partnerships; in addition, he held the position of Director of Payments at Block ...

Core Insights - Visa held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders virtually, where shareholders voted on eight proposals, including director elections and executive compensation [3] - The company reported strong fiscal 2025 results with $40 billion in net revenue, an 11% increase year-over-year, and returned $22.8 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks [5][13] Shareholder Proposals - Shareholders approved the election of all 11 directors, the advisory vote on executive compensation, auditor ratification, and amendments to the certificate of incorporation, while rejecting all four shareholder-sponsored proposals [6][11] - The rejected proposals included requests for an independent chair policy, action by written consent, an online sexual exploitation report, and an inclusion program ROI report [6][11] Financial Performance - Visa's GAAP EPS was $10.20 (up 5%) and non-GAAP EPS was $11.47 (up 14%) for fiscal 2025 [5][13] - The company processed $16.7 trillion in total volume, an increase of 7% on a constant-dollar basis, and 329 billion total transactions, up 8% [14] Strategic Highlights - Management emphasized progress in digital payments, including over 16 billion Visa tokens and more than 50% tokenization of e-commerce transactions [4][15] - Visa aims to build an interoperable layer between stablecoins and traditional fiat payments, viewing stablecoins and central bank digital currencies as significant opportunities [18] Capital Allocation - The company outlined four capital allocation priorities: investing in the business, returning 20-25% of EPS via dividends, returning excess capital through buybacks, and maintaining a target gross debt-to-EBITDA ratio below 1.5x [19]

（来源：吴说） 作者：Patrick, Artemis 编译：Felix, PANews链接：https://www.panewslab.com/zh/articles/0f172962-f402-4edc-80ed-353f8698d731 声明：本文为转载内容，读者可通过原文链接获得更多信息。如作者对转载形式有任何异议，请联系我们，我们将按照作者要求进行修改。转载仅用于信息 分享，不构成任何投资建议，不代表吴说观点与立场。 加密卡让用户能在传统商户处使用稳定币和加密货币进行消费，是数字支付领域增长最快的细分市场之一。其交易额从 2023 年初的每月约 1 亿美元增长到 2025 年底的超 15 亿美元，复合年增长率达 106%。按年计算，该市场规模现已超 180 亿美元，与同期仅增长 5% 的点对点（P2P）稳定币转账（190 亿美 元）不相上下。 基础设施。加密卡业务由三层组成：支付网络（Visa、Mastercard）、卡项目管理方和发卡机构，以及面向消费者的终端产品。尽管 Visa 和 Mastercard 的卡 项目数量几乎相同（均超 130 个），但 Visa 凭借与基础设施提供商的早期合作，占 ...