New York, February 24, 2026, 17:50 EST — After-hours
- Visa ended Tuesday at $307.22, up 0.23%, clawing back a bit after Monday’s sharp drop.
- Payment peers split directions, as investors tried to parse what’s real and what’s just AI-fueled noise in the selloff.
- Visa’s got a couple of things coming up: investor conference slots in March, and, further out, another batch of quarterly numbers.
Visa Inc edged up 0.23% on Tuesday, finishing the session at $307.22 after dipping to $303.08 at its lowest point. Shares saw minimal movement in after-hours trading.
The rebound didn’t put to rest the argument triggered by Monday’s selloff—Citrini Research’s “thought exercise” went viral, though the firm stressed it was a scenario, not a forecast. Their imagined future: AI “agents” take over commerce, cutting out fee-dependent intermediaries. In that version of events, the familiar 2%–3% card interchange fee comes under fire, with transaction flows moving to stablecoins on chains like Solana or Ethereum layer-2s, sidestepping traditional cards. Citrini Research
This matters right now because investors are eyeing certain pockets of the payments world as a kind of “toll booth” play—solid when sentiment runs strong, but quick to wobble if anyone questions the underlying mechanics. Monday didn’t go their way: a broader shift to risk-off knocked down both financials and software, as tariff jitters collided with anxiety over AI-driven disruption. “Sell first, assess later,” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Reuters
Visa took a hit in that initial selloff, dropping 4.50% to $306.52 by Monday’s close, down from $320.95 on Friday, Investing.com data shows.
Payments stocks saw a mixed session on Tuesday. Mastercard edged higher, closing with a 0.40% gain. PayPal surged, up 6.74%. American Express dropped 0.24%.
Interchange refers to the fee banks exchange during a card payment, and it’s baked into what merchants are charged to process cards. Visa skips collecting interchange as revenue; instead, it makes money from network and processing fees tied to card volume. So, if transaction routing changes—even years down the line—it could still move the needle for Visa.
Tuesday saw a fresh push into risk, with global equities gaining ground after Anthropic rolled out additional AI plug-in options for businesses—a move that got investors thinking about profit growth again, not just cost-slashing. “Uncertainty from tariffs is starting to take a back seat,” said Ken Mahoney, president and CEO at Mahoney Asset Management. Reuters
Some traders flagged positioning as a factor after the sharp drop. “Software stocks and the IGV particularly are just massively oversold,” said Dennis Dick, chief market strategist at Stock Trader Network. AI-themed headlines kicked off a bounce in those beaten-down shares. Reuters
The pace itself is now raising eyebrows. “I would take it seriously, not literally,” said Nick Ferres, CIO of Vantage Point Asset Management, with markets still undecided on just how much to factor in from dire AI narratives. Ed Yardeni at Yardeni Research echoed that, cautioning investors not to jump to conclusions about AI spelling automatic doom for jobs. Reuters
Visa’s next clue for the street could drop in the form of public comments, not a regulatory filing. Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell is on deck to address Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 3. Then, on March 11, Commercial & Money Movement Solutions President Chris Newkirk will be up at Wolfe Research’s FinTech Forum.
Visa’s next major event lands on April 28, when the company releases its fiscal Q2 results. Eyes are on payment volumes and cross-border activity, with traders scanning for any evidence that concerns over AI are starting to impact actual spending — or whether those fears are receding.
