21.04.201700:08:00UTC+00European Unit Bolsters Visa’s Profit

Visa Inc. posted better-than-estimated quarterly earnings and issued a bullish full-year profit guidance as it benefits from its acquisition of Visa Europe and as big card portfolios helped it win its home market. The world's biggest payments network operator also announced a $5 billion share buyback program.

Shares of Visa rose by 2.5 percent and traded at $93.45 in extended trading.

The firm said total payments volume rose 37.2 percent up to $1.73 trillion in Q2 in dollar denominations. The increase in payments volume was aided by the addition of Visa Europe's transactions to Visa's results. Visa Europe was a former subsidiary Visa procured in June 2016 in a $23 billion deal. Visa Europe attributed almost 20 percent of total payments volume.

U.S. payments volume, the company's biggest market, rose by 11.7 percent on a constant dollar basis, aided by both major portfolio contracts and the stronger U.S. economy.

Costco and USAA shifted their card portfolios shifted their card portfolios to Visa in 2016 in a competitive market environment where big portfolios are highly sought after by payment networks. The stronger economy also had a positive impact on consumer spending.