Visa Beats the Street on Higher Card Spending

Visa (NYSE:V), the world's largest credit and debit-card network, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as people spent more with cards.

Net profit fell to $1.27 billion from $1.29 billion a year earlier.

However, on a per-share basis, profit rose to $1.92 per Class A share, from $1.91 per Class A share, reflecting a fall in the outstanding shares following a buyback.

Total operating revenue rose 15 percent to $2.96 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.81 per share on revenue of $2.85 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Rival MasterCard Inc reported a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly profit earlier in the day, but the company's revenue missed analysts' estimates as a sluggish global economy weighed on consumer spending.