Visa beats expectations with 3rd quarter profit

The San Francisco-based transaction processing company reported net income of 97 cents per share for the third quarter ended June 30.

That was down slightly from Visa's year-earlier net income of $729 million, or 97 cents per share, which included proceeds from the sale of the company's stake in VisaNet do Brasil. Excluding the impact of that sale, Visa earned 67 cents per share a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected Visa to report earnings of 93 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Visa saw "continued improvements" in the volume of payments it processed during the quarter, Chief Executive Joseph Saunders said in a news release.

Visa reported revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, a 23 percent increase from a year earlier, slightly above expectations. Analysts on average had expected the company to report $1.97 billion in revenue.

But the company is at increased risk of losing revenues from the sweeping regulatory reform bill U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law last week. The bill overshadowed Visa's shares for most of the quarter, driving them down more than 14 percent since early May.

The new law will restrict the processing fees that banks and networks receive from merchants every time a consumer pays for a good with a debit card. Visa dominates the U.S. debit processing market and is more exposed than its rival MasterCard Inc to a cutback in debit interchange fees.

Saunders said in the news release that Visa expects the U.S. debit market to "undergo changes" after the law is implemented, but "it is too early to fully and accurately gauge the impact of the legislation."

Visa shares closed down 1.87 percent on Wednesday, at $75.18.