Visa Inc (NYSE:V) earnings elicited a less than optimistic response from the market on Thursday morning. After the company released its report for the third quarter after the market closed on Wednesday afternoon, shares slid in after-market trading. The trend continued when the market opened this morning.
Visa Inc (NYSE:V) showed earnings that were in line with analyst estimates, and above estimates if one-off items are excluded. The big problem for the payments processor was the increase in the value of its shares leading into the release of the report. A new report from Jeffries analysts, led by Jason Kupferberg, says that the company’s underlying strength is still there,
Between October 9 and October 30 shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) increased by close to 12%. The company’s shares are still up more than 9% since October 9 including today’s losses. Visa results were strong, but they weren’t as strong as investors were expecting.
That led many to believe that the consumer economy was slower than previously thought in the September quarter. Results from Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) released this morning showed that that was not the case, but questions remained about the credit card business. Despite a big beat, Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) shares were flat on today’s market.
According to the Jeffries report, the underlying growth story at Visa Inc (NYSE:V) is still intact in the wake of the report, and the company’s $5 billion buyback is an incremental positive for the stock. The reaction from today’s market is not a significant one according to the analysts’ model for Visa. They retain their price target of $235 on Visa Inc (NYSE:V) and rate the stock at Buy.
Visa growth story
According to the report, the clear positives in the Visa Inc (NYSE:V) earnings report included the company’s volume and transaction growth in the quarter, higher than expected rebates, and a pick up in U.S. spending after a lull through September. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) left its guidance for the full year 2014 the same in constant currency, though it did allow for some FX fluctuation.
Today’s drop in the value of Visa Inc (NYSE:V) is a hiccup for the company and its investors. The firm’s shares have increased by more than 30% since the beginning of 2013. The firm trades at a relatively high P/E, so traders looking to buy in will want to believe in the “underlying growth story” described by Jeffries.