Visa Is Having a Rare Down Year. Is the Cash Flow Machine Finally a Bargain?
It's underperforming the market.
Overview
Visa (NYSE: V) has historically been a market-beating stock, but it's been struggling this year, and investors are noticing several headwinds. The stock is down 2% this year, compared with a 9% increase for the S&P 500. Is this a buying opportunity?
Visa is the largest credit card network in the world, with more than $17 trillion in payments processed last year and more than 330 billion transactions. It works with 14,500 partnering financial institutions that provide credit, while Visa provides the network that moves the money, taking a small fee from each transaction. It acts as a global "tollbooth" for payments, a service-oriented business that generates high revenue and strong profits.
Details
This is a classic "cash cow" business, with Visa in a dominant position and high barriers to entry. Its network is entrenched in global payments, and it continually adds new services to its platform as finance enters the digital age.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.