NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 04:10 ET — Market closed
- Visa disclosed class B conversion-rate changes tied to a $500 million litigation escrow deposit.
- Visa shares last closed down 0.8% at $350.71 as U.S. markets close for the New Year holiday.
- Traders are watching late-January corporate events and the timing of Visa’s next earnings report.
Visa Inc (V) said it adjusted conversion rates for its class B shares after a $500 million deposit into a U.S. litigation escrow account, a filing showed.
Visa shares last closed down 0.8% at $350.71, after trading between $350.71 and $355.13; the stock has ranged from $284.20 to $374.12 over the past 52 weeks.
The disclosure matters because the conversion rate is the math that governs how many class A shares get issued if the company’s class B shares convert. A lower rate means fewer shares would be issued, reducing dilution — the slice of earnings each share gets.
It also highlights that litigation-related funding remains a live line item for Visa, even as the payments industry starts a new year focused on consumer spending and credit trends.
In the Form 8-K, Visa said the conversion rate for class B-1 stock fell to 1.5491 from 1.5549, and the class B-2 rate fell to 1.5108 from 1.5223, effective Dec. 23. The company said the adjustments cut the as-converted share count for the two classes and “has the same effect on earnings per share as repurchasing the Company’s class A common stock,” in a report signed by CFO Chris Suh. SEC
Visa said it calculated the adjustments using a volume-weighted average price, or VWAP — essentially an average price weighted by how many shares traded — over a three-day pricing period ending Dec. 26. SEC
Visa and rival Mastercard ended 2025 with gains of about 12% and 10%, lagging a roughly 17% rise in the S&P 500, while American Express rose about 26%, a Reuters report carried by Newsmax said.
The mix matters because Visa and Mastercard run networks that collect fees when cards are swiped, while American Express also leans more heavily on lending and premium cardmembers. That can shift relative performance when spending skews toward higher-income households.
Before the next session, U.S. stock markets are closed on Jan. 1 and reopen on Jan. 2, with no major U.S. economic data releases scheduled for the holiday, MarketWatch reported.
Before the next session, Visa’s annual meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27, according to the company’s investor calendar.
Visa has not announced a date for its next quarterly results, but Nasdaq’s earnings calendar points to a late-January report. Analysts tracked by Barchart expect profit of $3.14 per share for Visa’s fiscal first quarter, up about 14% from a year earlier, and see fiscal 2026 EPS of $12.81. Barchart.com
