Toast Inc. (NYSE:TOST) is one of the best up and coming stocks to buy right now. On October 24, Truist analyst Matthew Coad lowered the firm’s price target on Toast to $47 from $51 with a Buy rating on the shares. This sentiment was announced as part of the firm’s broader research note that previewed Q3 2025 earnings in the Payments and FinTech sector, as consumer spending has stayed robust in this sector. However, there is speculation that Q4 forecasts for some firms might disappoint the market. Truist L ...

Core Insights - PayPal Holdings Inc. is currently considered one of the most undervalued large-cap stocks, particularly following the launch of new agentic commerce services aimed at enhancing AI-driven shopping experiences [1][4] Group 1: New Services Overview - On October 28, PayPal introduced a suite of agentic commerce services designed to assist merchants in attracting customers in the evolving AI shopping landscape [1] - The initial offerings include an agentic payment solution and a catalog and order management service, which aim to integrate merchants' product data, inventory, and fulfillment with AI-driven discovery and checkout [2] Group 2: Technology and Integration - PayPal's new capabilities are built on an open approach that supports various payment protocols and AI platforms, allowing merchants to integrate across multiple AI ecosystems, such as Perplexity, through a single integration [3] - The services leverage PayPal's established payments infrastructure, identity verification, and buyer protection features to enhance the overall merchant experience [2][3]

Core Points - Nayax Ltd. will release its earnings for Q3 2025 on November 19, 2025, before U.S. markets open [1] - The earnings call will feature Nayax's CEO Yair Nechmad and CFO Sagit Manor, with sessions in both English and Hebrew [2][3] Conference Call Details - The English conference call is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, while the Hebrew call will take place at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time [3] - Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the English call to receive a unique PIN for immediate access [4][5] Company Overview - Nayax is a global commerce enablement and payments platform aimed at helping merchants scale their businesses through simplified payments and enhanced loyalty [7] - As of June 30, 2025, Nayax operates 12 global offices, employs approximately 1,200 staff, and has connections to over 80 merchant acquirers [8]

Core Insights - Visa and Mastercard reported strong financial results, reflecting global spending trends and the transformation of the payments industry into a cloud-like infrastructure [1][2][4] Visa Summary - Visa's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue increased by 12% year-over-year to nearly $11 billion, with adjusted EPS rising by 10% [2] - Payment volumes grew by 9%, and cross-border transactions increased by 11%, driven by high-income travelers and healthy e-commerce activity [2] - Visa generated approximately $6 billion in free cash flow, raised its dividend by 14%, and repurchased nearly $5 billion of stock, maintaining a low-teens earnings growth outlook [3] Mastercard Summary - Mastercard's net revenue rose by 17% year-over-year to $9 billion (15% currency-neutral), with adjusted EPS increasing by 13% [4] - Gross dollar volume grew by 9%, and cross-border spending increased by 15%, while the value-added services and solutions business expanded by 25% [4] - Operating margins reached nearly 60%, indicating strong profitability in the payments sector [4] Strategic Positioning - Both companies are rebranding themselves as "hyperscalers" in the payments ecosystem, with Visa's CEO describing the company as a financial infrastructure provider [6] - Mastercard is positioning itself as a "multi-rail network for digital value exchange," emphasizing its technological capabilities [6] - This strategic pivot aims to defend their stock valuations and relevance amid slowing traditional card growth and the rise of new payment networks and digital currencies [7] Industry Context - The payments industry is evolving, with Visa and Mastercard adapting to the changing landscape by presenting themselves as cloud-scale platforms for money movement [7] - The characterization of these companies as hyperscalers suggests a shift from traditional roles as middlemen to becoming essential infrastructure layers in the financial services sector [7][8]

Africa’s largest payments infra provider just made its move onchain.@theflutterwave has chosen Polygon as its default blockchain to launch low-cost cross-border stablecoin payments for millions of consumers and global corporations, like Uber and Audiomack.This marks one of the largest real-world stablecoin deployments in emerging markets to date, spanning 30+ African countries. ...

Group 1: Earnings Reports - Mastercard (MA) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $4.38, exceeding estimates of $4.31, with net revenue of $8.6 billion, surpassing the $8.52 billion estimate, and cross-border volumes increased by 15% [2][9] - Kellanova (K) achieved adjusted EPS of 94 cents, higher than the estimated 87 cents, and net sales of $3.26 billion, exceeding the $3.24 billion estimate, although organic net sales declined by 0.5% [3][9] - Alphabet (GOOGL) shares rose 7.5% in pre-market trading after Q3 results showed EPS, revenue, and cloud revenue all exceeding analyst expectations [4][9] - Meta Platforms (META) experienced a 9% drop in shares due to a profit miss, reporting net income of $2.71 billion impacted by a $15.93 billion tax charge [5][9] - Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell 2.2% despite beating EPS and revenue estimates, with concerns over capital expenditure affecting investor sentiment [6][9] - Roblox (RBLX) reported Q3 bookings of $1.92 billion, significantly above the estimated $1.65 billion, and provided an optimistic Q4 outlook [7][9] Group 2: Economic and Geopolitical Commentary - Economic outlook from "Bessent" predicts "parallel prosperity" for Main Street and Wall Street in 2026, with expectations of strong job growth and consumer refunds in Q1 2026 [8][9] - US Energy Secretary Wright indicated potential US intervention in global energy markets if China reduces purchases from Russia and plans to supply South Korea with natural gas and oil [11][9]

Mastercard is in advanced negotiations to purchase Zerohash, a startup that provides stablecoin and blockchain infrastructure, for a price reportedly between $1.5bn and $2bn, reported Fortune citing sources. The negotiations are not complete, and the proposed transaction could still fail to materialise, the report said. Zerohash, established in 2017 and headquartered in Chicago, offers infrastructure that supports stablecoins and crypto trading. Its services include tools for firms to deploy crypto trad ...

This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. Mastercard remains on the hunt for potential acquisitions, but the card network’s executives declined Thursday to comment on a report the company may acquire the crypto infrastructure business Zerohash. The card network is in the late stages of talks to buy the startup for as much as $2 billion, the digital magazine Fortune reported Thursday, citing unnamed sourc ...

Core Insights - Visa reported a 12% increase in net revenue for fiscal Q4 2025, reaching $10.7 billion, driven by healthy consumer spending [3][6] - The company experienced a 9% year-over-year increase in payments volume and a 12% growth in cross-border volume, indicating strong consumer engagement [4][6] - Visa's service revenue grew by 10%, while data processing revenue rose by 17%, showcasing the breadth of its business [5] Revenue and Growth Metrics - Payments volume increased by 9% year-over-year in constant dollars, up from 8% growth in Q3 [4] - Total processed transactions rose by 10%, matching the pace of Q3 [4] - Cross-border volume grew by 12%, consistent with Q3 performance [4] Client Incentives and Impact - Client incentives increased by 17%, which negatively impacted net revenue growth, leading to a deceleration from Q3's 14% growth [5][6] - Despite higher incentives, Visa's earnings profile remains solid, with non-GAAP earnings per share increasing by 10% in Q4 and 14% for the full year [6] Financial Performance and Shareholder Returns - Visa returned $22.8 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2025 through repurchases and dividends, including $6.1 billion in Q4 [8][9] - The quarterly dividend was raised by 14% to $0.670 per share, reflecting the company's commitment to returning capital to shareholders [9] Valuation and Market Position - Visa's stock trades at approximately 34 times its fiscal 2025 GAAP earnings per share of $10.20, indicating high expectations for continued double-digit net revenue growth [7] - The company's high-margin profile, with a net profit margin of about 50%, suggests limited room for disappointment if consumer spending weakens [7][11] - Overall, the stock is viewed as a hold, reflecting strong business fundamentals but high valuation [10][11]

Core Insights - Mastercard is close to acquiring Zerohash for a deal valued between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, marking its significant entry into stablecoin infrastructure [1] - The acquisition aligns with the trend of global payment firms seeking new revenue streams from blockchain-based settlement, facilitated by clearer regulatory standards in the US and Europe [1] Group 1: Acquisition Details - Zerohash provides API-driven tools for banks, fintechs, and brokerages to facilitate crypto trading, tokenization, and stablecoin transfers, with over $2 billion in tokenized fund flows reported in April [2] - Mastercard aims for direct control over the infrastructure rather than a loose integration, as part of its strategy to scale regulated digital-asset services [3] Group 2: Strategic Implications - The acquisition could transform how Mastercard handles cross-border transactions, allowing it to settle stablecoin transfers internally without relying on external partners [6] - This shift indicates a strategic move away from consumer-facing wallets towards building the foundational infrastructure for regulated blockchain payments [5]