Visa Q4 FY2026: net revenue up 13% to $12.1B, as client incentives rose 21%

Visa runs a payments network. Its release reports four gross revenue lines and one deduction: service revenue, which is recognized on payments volume in the previous quarter; data processing, international transaction and other revenue, which are recognized on current-quarter activity; and client incentives, payments to clients that are subtracted to reach net revenue. Cross-border volume excluding transactions within Europe is, in the release’s words, what drives international transaction revenue.

That structure gives two checks beyond the headline, by our reading. How much of the gross revenue is paid back as incentives decides how much volume growth reaches net revenue. And international transaction revenue can be set against the cross-border volume that drives it. The sections below take both in turn, then the costs and the cash returned.

Visa Q4 FY2026 results at a glance

$ millions, except per share and %	Q4 FY2026	Q3 FY2026	Q4 FY2025
Net revenue	12,139	11,633	10,724
Total operating expenses	4,877	4,756	4,576
Operating income	7,262	6,877	6,148
Net income	6,002	5,628	5,090
GAAP diluted EPS	$3.19	$2.97	$2.62
Non-GAAP diluted EPS	$3.48	$3.32	$2.98
Payments volume growth (constant $)	9%	10%	—
Cross-border volume ex intra-Europe (constant $)	14%	12%	—

Visa’s fiscal year ends September 30, so fiscal Q4 2026 is July to September 2026. EPS figures are per class A share, fully diluted.

Incentives grew faster than revenue

Revenue line, $ millions	Q4 FY2026	Change YoY
Service revenue	5,255	+14%
Data processing revenue	6,245	+16%
International transaction revenue	4,115	+8%
Other revenue	1,647	+40%
Client incentives	(5,123)	+21%
Net revenue	12,139	+13%

Gross revenue before incentives was about $17.3 billion, and incentives took about 30% of it (our arithmetic). Because incentives grew 21%, net revenue grew 13% even though service and data processing revenue each grew in the mid-teens. For the full fiscal year incentives grew 16%, close to net revenue’s 15%, so the fourth quarter stands out.

Cross-border revenue lagged cross-border volume

Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe, the measure that drives international transaction revenue, grew 14% in constant dollars, faster than the 12% of fiscal Q3. International transaction revenue grew only 8%, and for the full year it grew 8% (as reported) against 12% cross-border volume growth (in constant dollars). The release does not explain the gap. The fastest-growing line was “other revenue”, up 40% in both periods: $1.6 billion in the quarter and $5.7 billion for the fiscal year.

Payments volume, the network-wide measure, rose 9% in constant dollars, after 10% in fiscal Q3, and processed transactions rose 10% to 74.2 billion. Service revenue, which is based on the prior quarter’s volume, rose 14%.

Costs: litigation, a foundation gift and marketing

GAAP operating expenses rose 7% to $4.9 billion. They include a $474 million litigation provision line, of which the release identifies $469 million as a provision for the interchange multidistrict litigation, against $903 million of litigation provision a year earlier. Results also include $282 million for donating investments to the Visa Foundation. Excluding special items and acquisition-related amortization, non-GAAP operating expenses rose 12% to $4,051 million, driven by marketing ($711 million, against $576 million) and personnel. General and administrative expense rose to $829 million from $544 million; the release names general and administrative expenses as the main driver of the GAAP increase but does not break the line down.

The GAAP operating margin was about 60%, against about 57% a year earlier (our arithmetic). The litigation provision line fell by $429 million while total GAAP operating expenses rose $301 million (our arithmetic); by our reading, the smaller provision accounts for most of the margin gain. GAAP EPS grew 22%, faster than the 18% rise in net income, because the diluted share count kept falling, to 1.88 billion in the quarter.

Buybacks, the escrow deposit and BioCatch

Visa repurchased about 11 million class A shares for $4.0 billion in the quarter and about 61 million shares for $20.5 billion in the fiscal year, and had $24.4 billion of authorization left at September 30. Buybacks and dividends together were $5.2 billion in the quarter and $25.6 billion for the year. On September 18 Visa also deposited $405 million into its US litigation escrow account, which the release says has the same effect on EPS as a buyback because it reduces the as-converted class B share counts.

The board raised the quarterly dividend 16% to $0.780 per class A share, payable December 1. In August Visa agreed to buy BioCatch, a fraud-detection company, for $2.4 billion in cash, expected to close by the end of fiscal Q2 2027. Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities were $14.2 billion at September 30.

What to watch in fiscal Q1 2027

• Client incentives. A 21% rise against 13% net revenue growth; whether that rate persists or reflects contract timing.
• International transaction revenue vs cross-border volume. 8% against 14%; the release does not explain the gap.
• Other revenue. Up 40% for both the quarter and the year; it is now about $1.6 billion a quarter.
• Litigation. The interchange MDL provision continues to move GAAP results; the release says escrow deposits have the same effect on EPS as buybacks.
• Outlook. The release has none, and nothing from the call is used here.

Quick answers

What was Visa’s revenue in fiscal Q4 2026?

Net revenue was $12,139 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 13% from $10,724 million a year earlier. Fiscal 2026 net revenue was $45.9 billion, up 15%.

What was Visa’s EPS in fiscal Q4 2026?

GAAP diluted EPS was $3.19, up 22%, and non-GAAP EPS $3.48, up 17%. GAAP results include a $469 million provision for the interchange multidistrict litigation and $282 million for a donation of investments to the Visa Foundation.

Did Visa raise its dividend?

Yes. On October 27, 2026 the board raised the quarterly dividend 16% to $0.780 per class A share, payable December 1, 2026 to holders of record on November 10.

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Sources and method. Every company figure — the income statement, revenue components, key business drivers, special items, the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, buybacks, the escrow deposit, the BioCatch agreement and the dividend — is Visa’s own disclosure in Exhibit 99.1 to the Form 8-K filed 2026-10-27 (accession 0001403161-26-000126) for the quarter ended 2026-09-30, read directly from SEC EDGAR and linked above. The filing was accepted at 16:05 ET on 2026-10-27 (EDGAR filing index), after the US market closed; the release scheduled its webcast for 5:00 p.m. ET the same day. Fiscal Q3 2026 comparatives come from the fiscal third-quarter release (accession 0001403161-26-000103).

No consensus estimate is included, so this piece makes no claim that the quarter beat or missed expectations. The release contains no financial outlook, so the quarter is judged against prior periods. This piece makes no claim about the share-price reaction.

Our arithmetic, labelled as such: gross revenue before incentives of about $17.3 billion ($5,255 million + $6,245 million + $4,115 million + $1,647 million) and incentives at about 30% of it; the $429 million fall in the litigation provision line ($903 million to $474 million) and the $301 million rise in total GAAP operating expenses ($4,576 million to $4,877 million); and GAAP operating margins of about 60% and 57% (operating income over net revenue). These are approximations built on the disclosed figures, not reported numbers. All growth rates are as printed in the release. The interpretation — that rising incentives and slower international transaction revenue held net revenue growth below the growth of the gross fee lines — is our analysis, not a company statement, and is not a forecast.

Related: JPMorgan Chase Q3 2026 and Bank of America Q3 2026, two large US card issuers that reported the same calendar quarter.