Operates the payment network that authorises and settles card transactions, earning a fee on volume without lending any money.
Visa (V) scores 8.5 out of 10 as of , computed from its reported financial statements. That reads as exceptional quality. The reading rests on profitability, and growth is what holds it back.
Data provided by Twelve Data. Scores are computed by Lemma Analysis from reported financials.
Visa’s returns on capital beat their cost in almost every measured year, by a clear margin: 4 of 4 indicators passed.
Quantitative signs of a moat, read from the filed statements. This is not a judgement of where it comes from (brand, network effects, switching costs). How Lemma measures a moat →
A toll booth on consumer spending with almost no credit risk should score near the top of profitability, predictability and efficiency simultaneously, and not many businesses can. Growth tracks nominal spending, which makes it steady rather than spectacular. If a five-pillar framework has an easy case, this is it.
On the filings behind it, Visa earns 8.5 out of 10 for business quality as of October 16, 2026. That is exceptional quality on our scale. A reading this high is rare: it takes strong results on nearly every pillar at once, sustained over several years of filings. The figure is a weighted average of five pillars, each scored from 0 to 10 against sector-aware benchmarks from reported statements.
Set against 261 Financials companies, Visa lands at the 99th percentile, near the very top of the group. A typical company in the group scores 5.9, and the best quarter starts from 6.8. Visa is well above that typical reading.
Profitability scores 9.9 out of 10, which reads as strong. None of the other Financials companies scores higher here, against a median of 6.8 across 255 of them. High profitability means each unit of capital and of sales is turning into more profit than at most of its peers, which is usually the first sign of pricing power or a cost advantage.
On solvency, Visa scores 8.9, a strong reading. Its peers have a median of 8.5 across 140 Financials companies, which places it in line with them, at the 54th percentile. Balance sheet strength like this rarely makes headlines, but it is what lets a company keep investing when credit gets expensive.
Visa’s growth score is 7.0 out of 10 (strong). Against a median of 4.6 among 241 Financials companies, that is well above the group and the 84th percentile. Growth at this level is valuable when it is sustained, and the predictability pillar is the place to check whether it has been steady.
Efficiency scores 8.2 out of 10, which reads as strong. The median across 211 Financials companies is 5.8, so Visa is well above its peers on this pillar and ranks at the 71st percentile. Efficiency at this level means the company needs comparatively little capital to produce what it sells.
Visa’s predictability score is 8.0 out of 10 (strong). Against a median of 4.9 among 256 Financials companies, that is well above the group and the 96th percentile. High predictability means the company’s results have moved steadily from year to year, which makes the other pillars more trustworthy as a guide.
The profile is uneven. Profitability leads at 9.9 while growth trails at 7.0, a gap of 2.9 points, so the overall averages a clear strength against a clear soft spot. Leading with profitability is the most valuable kind of strength, because margins and returns are what the other pillars ultimately feed. A growth shortfall often comes with size or a maturing market, and is less of a concern if the other pillars are strong.
Every scored pillar is at or above the median of Financials companies, so there is no catch-up left to lift the overall. The risk runs the other way: a one point fall in profitability, the heaviest of them, would take the score from 8.5 to about 8.3. All five pillars could be scored, so the overall uses the full set of weights out of 100: profitability 25, solvency 20, growth 20, efficiency 15, predictability 20.
These are the Financials companies closest to Visa in market value. Each has its own page scored on the same five pillars, so the comparison is like for like.
How much profit the company generates from its capital and sales.
The company’s ability to service debt and meet its obligations.
How fast revenue, earnings and cash flow are compounding.
How well assets and earnings convert into cash and output.
How stable and consistent results have been over time.
Each metric is scored from 0 to 10 against sector-aware benchmarks, where higher is better. Metrics roll up into five pillars, and the pillars combine into the overall score using the weights shown. Sector-sensitive metrics are judged relative to peers in the same sector.
This score is a systematic, backward-looking read of reported fundamentals. It does not judge valuation, management quality, competitive moat, or future prospects, and can be distorted by one-off items or unusual accounting. Treat it as a starting point, not a recommendation.
Educational only. Not investment advice.
On this reading Visa scores 8.5 out of 10, which reads as exceptional quality. Its strongest pillar is profitability, its weakest is growth. Quality is not the same as a good investment: the score says nothing about the price you would pay.
Visa ranks at the 99th percentile of the 261 Financials companies Lemma publishes a score for. The median there is 5.9 and the top quarter starts at 6.8, against Visa’s 8.5.
Five pillars, each scored from 0 to 10 against sector-aware benchmarks and then weighted into one overall reading: profitability, solvency, growth, efficiency and predictability. Everything comes from reported financials, and nothing comes from price, sentiment or forecasts.
This page last changed on October 16, 2026. The score moves with the financial statements, so the page changes when a new filing moves the reading rather than on a schedule. Live figures for V are in the app.
No. Quality and valuation are separate questions, and a good business at the wrong price is still a bad purchase. Score the business here, then price it with a DCF you control.
Inside Lemma Analysis the same five pillars run on every company we cover, with the metrics behind each one, current fundamentals, a DCF you control and a watchlist that tells you when the price catches up.
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