V · 10-Q · 2026Q1 · Full report

Operating Expense Trends

VISA INC. · 2026-04-29 · Importance 42 · Surprise 40 · No source text

Non-GAAP operating expenses increased 17% for the three and six month periods, driven by higher personnel, marketing and professional fees (including acquisition and legal costs). Personnel expense rose (three months: $1,841M vs $1,657M; six months: $3,605M vs $3,470M) as headcount and compensation increased to support growth areas and recent acquisitions. Marketing spend increased in part for client marketing and sponsorships tied to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and Milano Cortina 2026; professional fees rose due to client engagements, acquisition-related costs and higher legal fees. Litigation provision decreased year-over-year for the period due to lower U.S. covered litigation accruals but was partially offset by higher accruals for uncovered legal matters.

Key facts

• For the six months ended March 31, 2026 operating expenses were $8,160 million and for the six months ended March 31, 2025 operating expenses were $7,435 million, an increase of 10%. source
• Non-GAAP operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2026 were $3,599 million and for the three months ended March 31, 2025 were $3,071 million. source
• Non-GAAP operating expenses for the six months ended March 31, 2026 were $6,990 million and for the six months ended March 31, 2025 were $5,988 million. source
• For the three months ended March 31, 2026 operating expenses were $3,996 million and for the three months ended March 31, 2025 operating expenses were $4,159 million, a decrease of 4%. source
• As of March 31, 2026, additional leases that had not yet commenced had estimated future payments of $ million (amount redacted) expected to commence between fiscal 2027 and 2029. source
• Exchange rate movements negatively impacted our operating expense growth by approximately two percentage points for the three and six months ended March 31, 2026. source

Impact estimates