Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and PayPal all reported strong quarterly growth in the last week of July 2026, driven by cross-border spending and resilient consumers. In the same days, Worldline cut its full-year revenue outlook and Nexi reported revenue up just 1%. Taken together, second-quarter results draw a sharp line between the US card networks, which are accelerating, and European payment service providers, which are struggling to grow at all.
Visa crosses $4 trillion in quarterly volume
Visa reported net revenue of $11.6 billion on July 28 for its fiscal third quarter ended June 30, up 14% from a year earlier. Payments volume topped $4 trillion in a single quarter for the first time, processed transactions reached 71.7 billion (up 10%), and cross-border volume rose 13% in constant dollars. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $3.32, up 11%, and management raised its full-year outlook. “Consumer and business spending remains resilient,” CEO Ryan McInerney said.
Two days later, Mastercard posted an almost identical profile: second-quarter net revenue of $9.3 billion, also up 14%, cross-border volume up 12%, and net income of $4.4 billion. Again, cross-border activity, from international travel to online purchases from foreign merchants, drove the growth and rose much faster than domestic spending. The same engine had lifted American Express AMEX a week earlier, with revenue of $19.6 billion (up 10%) and a higher full-year forecast.
| Company | Revenue | Growth | Key signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa (fiscal Q3) | $11.6B | +14% | Payments volume above $4T, outlook raised |
| Mastercard (Q2) | $9.3B | +14% | Cross-border +12%, net income $4.4B |
| American Express (Q2) | $19.6B | +10% | Full-year revenue growth outlook raised to 10% |
| PayPal (Q2) | $8.68B | +5% | Transaction margin outlook raised; Venmo and Braintree lead |
Worldline cuts its outlook as banks hold back contracts
Europe tells the opposite story. Worldline reported first-half revenue of €1,736 million on July 30, down 0.2% organically from a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue was flat, ending seven straight quarters of contraction without returning to growth. More important, the French group lowered its full-year outlook to “flat to marginally positive” revenue growth, saying banks were slow to award it new contracts. Adjusted EBITDA came in at €294 million, a 16.9% margin, ahead of expectations, and debt reduction is on track. The shares still fell about 3.7% on the news.
Italy’s Nexi delivered a steadier but equally constrained message: first-half revenue of €1.74 billion, up only 1%, EBITDA flat at €870 million, and net income of €115 million, up from €88 million a year earlier. The group confirmed its full-year targets. Set against the raised forecasts at Visa, Mastercard, and Amex, that caution says a lot about how differently business conditions feel on each side of the Atlantic.
| Company | Revenue (H1) | Growth | Full-year outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldline | €1,736M | −0.2% (organic) | Lowered to “flat to marginally positive” |
| Nexi | €1.74B | +1% | Confirmed |
Coinbase posts a loss as USDC balances hit a record
Outside the networks-versus-PSPs contrast, the season also showed how fragile crypto-linked revenue remains. Coinbase reported revenue of $1.22 billion on July 30, down 19% year over year, and a net loss of $359 million. Transaction revenue fell 21% in a sluggish crypto market. Yet average USDC held in Coinbase products hit a record $20 billion, a sign that value is shifting from speculative trading toward the stablecoin as a payment and treasury instrument. The card networks are now trying to capture that shift as well.
Pricing power sits with the rails
The earnings season confirms that value in payments concentrates where the rails and cross-border flows are, not where acquirers fight for merchants. That can change: European consolidation, free instant payments, and the arrival of Wero are slowly reshuffling the deck. For now, the valuation gap between a network growing 14% and an acquirer standing still shows clearly who sets prices. Block reports on August 5 and Adyen on August 13, two more sets of results that will show how the sector is faring.