Visa Inc. (V) reported solid second-quarter results on July 29 that better than expectations, pushing the company’s share price back to its 6-month high.

Second-Quarter Results

Sales were up 2.5% from last year to $1.65 billion. Earnings came in at 67 cents per share, 3 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Visa has surprised in each of the last 4 quarters by an average of 7 cents, or 10%.

The company noted that the number of cards carrying the Visa brand increased 6% to 1.7 billion. Visa did note however that its payment volumes contracted by 5%, hurt by the weak economy.

Estimates Up

After the solid quarter, estimates ticked higher. The current year added 5 cents, climbing to $2.89 per share. The next-year estimate is bullish, pegged at $3.40, a 18% growth projection.

The Chart

Shares of V have been rallying since early March after bottoming out at $41. More recently, shares crossed the $70 mark, pressuring the 6-month high.

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