06:39 AM EDT, 04/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Visa (V) shares rose early Wednesday after the payments giant's fiscal second-quarter results inclined annually and topped market expectations, buoyed by stable consumer spending.

Adjusted earnings increased to $2.51 a share for the three months through March from $2.09 a year earlier, the company said late Tuesday, while the consensus on Capital IQ was for $2.43. Revenue gained 10% to $8.78 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $8.62 billion.

"(The second quarter) was a strong quarter with relatively stable growth across payments volume, processed transaction, and cross-border volume," Chief Financial Officer Christopher Suh said during an earnings call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. The stock was up more than 2% in recent premarket activity.

Payments volume climbed 8% on a yearly basis in constant dollars, with the US logging growth of 6%, according to Suh. "When we normalize for leap year, we see relatively stable U.S. payments volume growth," the CFO told analysts. "Consumer spend across all segments from low to high spend has remained relatively stable." Payments volume rose 11% in international markets.

Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe jumped 16%, "generally" in line with the company's expectations, Suh said. "Cross-border card-not-present volume growth, excluding travel and adjusted for cryptocurrency purchases, was in the mid-teens, stronger than expected," he added. Processed transactions moved 11% higher.

Service revenue rose 7% to $4.03 billion while data processing revenue leaped 12% to $4.26 billion. International transaction revenue increased 9% to $2.98 billion. "Other revenue grew 37% primarily driven by strong consulting and marketing services revenue growth and, to a lesser extent, pricing," Suh said on the call.

For the ongoing quarter, Visa anticipates adjusted EPS to be at the high end of a low-double-digit gain and adjusted net revenue growth of low-double digits, according to an investor presentation. The Street is looking for normalized EPS of $2.42 and revenue of $8.93 billion. Adjusted operating expenses are pegged to rise in the low teens.

The company reiterated its fiscal 2024 outlook for adjusted net revenue and operating expense growth in the low-double-digits and EPS growth in the low teens. "We feel good about the momentum in our business as we head into the second half across consumer payments, new flows, and value-added services," according to Suh.

Price: 281.99, Change: +7.88, Percent Change: +2.87