Visa Third Quarter Earnings Preview

Visa (NYSE:V) is expected to report increased earnings when it releases its third quarter results on Wednesday, July 25, 2012. The consensus estimate is anticipating a profit of $1.45 a share, an increase from last year's $1.26 per share.



Earnings season is important to investors because it shows how much profit is left in the company's hand after deducting costs from revenue. SEE: Surprising Earnings Results

What to Expect: Visa is expected to report $1.45 per share, up 15.1% from a year ago when the company reported earnings of $1.26 per share.

Analysts are expecting earnings of $6.06 per share for the fiscal year.

Visa is expected to report revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, beating last year's figure of $2.32 billion by 8.5%. The anticipated revenue for the fiscal year is $10.27 billion.



Company Performance: Over the past four quarters, Visa has reported double-digit revenue growth. It has risen by an average of 13.9%, with the biggest increase of 14.8% coming in the most recent quarter.

Price/earnings ratios (P/E ratios) provide a measure of the relative value of a stock. A high or low P/E ratio is not good or bad in and of itself, but a company trading with a high P/E ratio must continue to post strong financial performance or its stock price is likely to fall. SEE: Profit With The Power Of Price-To-Earnings



Over the past quarter, the stock price has risen to $125.75 from $118.93 on April 24, 2012. The stock saw one of its worst stretches when its price fell $8.03 per share between May 29, 2012 and June 1, 2012.