Important points
CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday that Visa’s strong earnings could spark a sustained recovery in the stock’s lackluster stock price. “It was disturbing to see the economy go down and down, because it makes you think the economy is slowing down,” he said on “Squawk on the Street.” “Coming out of this quarter, I don’t feel that way.” Visa shares rose more than 8% on Wednesday after the payments processor reported higher quarterly results on both profit and revenue overnight. Investors were particularly encouraged by a 12% increase in total international travel. This is being closely watched as it is an international travel agency and one of the company’s key growth drivers. This also includes international e-commerce. “It’s been a decent stock this year,” Cramer said, alluding to the fact that Visa stock was down almost 12% in 2026 through Tuesday’s close. “What you needed… was cross-border sales to hit double digits, and cross-border sales achieved that. That’s a good sign.” Visa also announced a $20 billion share buyback authorization, raised its full-year outlook and increased confidence in its spending trends. CEO Ryan McInerney stressed that demand remains strong despite continued geopolitical uncertainty. “Our cross-border business is very resilient and well diversified,” McInerney said on Visa’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call Wednesday night. “As we saw in the second quarter and we expect to see an impact in the third quarter, we see some impact in the Middle East, but there are offsetting factors, such as strength in other regions and other parts of the business.” For example, he cited this summer’s World Cup in North America as a potential tailwind. Kramer noted that Visa is also leaning into emerging technologies such as blockchain and stablecoins, which investors fear could disrupt the company’s core business. But Cramer argued that buyers of Visa stock should be more concerned about current fundamentals than betting on long-term innovation. “If you buy it, I think you’re thinking very far into the future,” Kramer said. “Cross-border trading was actually better than I expected. It should be enough to reverse the stock decline.”
