Visa’s (V) latest Retail Spend Monitor report highlighted a strong holiday shopping season in the U.S., which grew 4.8% year-over-year and was driven by rising in-store purchases, steady growth in electronics, and a significant jump in clothing and accessories sales. According to the credit card giant, in-store shopping made up 77% of total holiday spending, with year-over-year growth of 4.1%, compared to just 1.6% in 2023.
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Furthermore, electronics sales were up 4.2%, while spending on clothing and accessories surged by 5%. At the same time, building materials also saw a 4.7% increase, which was a sharp contrast to last year’s decline, as consumers prioritized home improvements this season. Visa’s Chief Economist, Wayne Best, attributed the spending strength to growing consumer confidence and a mix of in-store and online shopping experiences.
The data covered the seven weeks starting November 1 and indicated that consumers were eager to celebrate with gifts and gatherings. However, the holiday rush wasn’t without challenges. Visa reported blocking nearly double the amount of suspected fraud transactions compared to last year’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday period. Nevertheless, the overall data was upbeat, but that did not prevent credit card and payment stocks from mostly trading in the red during the time of writing.
Is Visa Stock a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Visa stock based on 20 Buys, three Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 23% rally in its share price over the past year, the average Visa price target of $331.36 per share implies 5% upside potential.
