(By David) Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is scheduled to release its second quarter 2010 earnings on April 28, 2010 after the close. Revenue growth accelerated to 13% in the December quarter and the company's operating margin expanded to 62%. Management once again raised its fiscal 2010 guidance for both revenue growth and operating margin. Visa has been public for several quarters now and Visa's management has earned a reputation for setting conservative guidance and then exceeding it. Visa's recent revenue growth has surprised on the upside, and has continued to exceed volume growth, which is a sign of pricing power. The company also bought back 5.5 million shares in the quarter, a sign of management confidence.
For the first quarter of 2010, Visa reported earnings of $1.02 per share, compared to an estimate of 91 cents per share. Earnings, excluding a small one-time gain, were $0.98 per diluted Class A share, up 26% from $0.61 per share in the quarter a year ago. Visa earned $2.93 per share in fiscal 2009, up 29% from the previous year. The operating margin was 53% in fiscal 2009, up from 46% in fiscal 2008. The company still expects 11%-15% revenue growth but dropped the guidance, which stated expectations of growth at the low end of this range.
Estimates for the 2nd quarter of 2010 are 91 cents a share with a high estimate of 99 cents a share and a low estimate of 84 cents per share. Full year 2010 estimates average 3.81 per share with a high estimate of 4.00 per share and a low estimate of 3.59 per share. The revenue estimate for the 2nd quarter of 2010 averages 1.93 billion dollars. The high estimate is 2.0 billion dollars and a low estimate of 1.65 billion dollars. Growth estimates for the quarter is 24.7% compare to an industry estimate of 131% and 17.2% for the S&P 500. During the past 90 day, the average estimate for earnings has risen from 87 cents per share to 91 cents per share. The 52-week range for Visa is 96.82-58. The stock is currently trading at the higher end of the range. Visa has a market cap of 81.35 billion dollars with zero debt and a PE ratio of 28. Last quarter's EPS change was 31% and the 3-year earnings per share change is 61%. Sales increased by 13% last quarter and the 3 year sales growth rate is 20%. Visa has a profit margin of 60.01% and a dividend yield of .5%.
