Visa Inc. reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $2.07 billion, or 86 cents per class A common share, compared with $1.94 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the same quarter of fiscal year 2016.
The S&P Capital IQ consensus GAAP and normalized EPS estimates for the quarter were both 78 cents.
Net operating revenues for the quarter were $4.46 billion, up from $3.57 billion a year ago. The increase was driven by the inclusion of Visa Europe, which Visa finished acquiring in June 2016, and payments volume in that business. Payments volume growth on a constant-dollar basis for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016, was $1.8 trillion, a 39% increase over the prior-year period.
GAAP operating expenses rose 16% to $1.36 billion for the quarter, due primarily to the integration of Visa Europe and its personnel, marketing and general expenses.
Visa also updated its guidance for fiscal 2017. The company now expects to generate annual net revenue growth of 16% to 18% on a nominal dollar basis, which includes 2.5 to 3.0 percentage points of negative foreign currency impact. Earnings growth per class A common share is projected to be in the low 30s on a GAAP nominal dollar basis and in the mid-teens on an adjusted basis, both including 2.5 to 3.0 percentage points of negative foreign currency impact.
The company also affirmed previous guidance for its annual operating margin, effective tax rate and client incentives as a percent of gross revenues.
The outlook includes Visa Europe integration expenses of about $80 million.