New York, January 23, 2026, 12:00 PM EST — Regular session
- Visa edged up 0.1% to $326.63 in midday trading in New York, but Mastercard dropped 1.3% and American Express slipped 2.3%.
- Investors are gearing up for Visa’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report due Jan. 29.
- A UK court ruling has renewed focus on possible limits to cross-border card fees.
Visa Inc shares ticked up on Friday, recovering from a volatile January. Investors appeared willing to overlook the recent weak performance, focusing instead on the upcoming quarterly earnings report next week.
This is significant as payment networks have been acting like stand-ins for policy bets recently: investors are scrambling to gauge both the upcoming phase of consumer spending and regulatory shifts, all while eyeing the Federal Reserve meeting and jittery risk appetite. 1
Visa has turned into a typical “wait-for-the-print” name ahead of earnings. With no new updates from the company recently, the stock has simply drifted alongside the broader market and reacted to headline noise.
Visa will release its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings after the market closes on Thursday, Jan. 29, followed by a webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. The company is observing its usual “quiet period” ahead of the announcement. 2
Away from earnings reports, a UK regulatory battle remains unresolved. Interchange fees — those charges merchants pay when accepting card payments — are under scrutiny, especially for certain cross-border online transactions.
The High Court has paved the way for the UK Payment Systems Regulator to impose caps on interchange fees for outbound “card-not-present” transactions between UK merchants and issuers in the European Economic Area, according to Vixio. However, the regulator has yet to decide the cap levels, how they’ll be calculated, or when any limits might take effect. 3
On January 15, Judge John Cavanagh ruled that the regulator can enforce the proposed caps. David Geale, managing director at PSR, said the ruling “confirms our powers to ensure card payment costs are fair for UK businesses and consumers.” Visa countered, warning that price caps could “negatively impact the value people and businesses receive” from card payments, Reuters reported. 4
Traders usually focus on straightforward signals in the short term: payments volumes, cross-border activity linked to travel and e-commerce, and shifts in the tone of company guidance during calls.
But the setup works both ways. Should a fee cap in the UK prove stricter than anticipated, or if other regions adopt harsher pricing limits, the impact will hit sentiment and valuations before it appears in quarterly results.
Visa is set to report earnings after markets close on Jan. 29, followed by a management webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. 2
