 A Message From Weiss Ratings Dear Reader, A market legend is predicting a monumental and historic event (which could unfold in as little as 24 hours) is about to hit America. He says it will change the fortunes of average Americans forever. Not just in the stock market. But how they bank, how they are paid from their jobs, how their insurance policies work and how their businesses operate every single day. Keep in mind this legend has made some shocking predictions over 55 years. And the crazy thing is the accuracy of his predictions are usually dead-on target. He predicted the double-digit inflation of the 1970s. The collapse of the S&L banks and the "Black Monday" stock crash in the 1980s. The dot-com collapse and the implosion of Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in the 2000s. He's testified before Congress. And The New York Times has credited him as being "the first to see the dangers." This goes deeper than the headlines about the stock market and recent highs. This is bigger than AI, bigger than the midterms, bigger than oil prices and bigger than what's happening in the Middle East. And it's already impacting thousands of Americans. This legend has just issued a free video to warn the public. For most, it will be a rude awakening. We want as many Americans as possible to see this. This legend explains exactly what's happening along with a few simple steps to protect yourself, and even come out ahead. Get Ready for an Ominous New Day in America Sincerely, Eliza Lasky
Weiss Advocate
This Month's Bonus News
Swiping to Record Highs: Why Visa Remains a FortressBy Jeffrey Neal Johnson. Published: 10/21/2026. 
Key Points
- Visa shares have climbed to fresh all-time highs above $405, up 16% year to date, as investors rotate from high-beta technology stocks into defensive payment networks.
- Visa launched an autonomous AI agent commercial payments pilot with BILL Holdings and Billtrust to automate business-to-business invoice settlements and expand beyond consumer cards.
- Visa reports fourth-quarter earnings on Oct. 27, with consensus estimates near $3.42 per share, and the company typically announces its annual dividend increase alongside that release.
- Special Report: The data center backlash is creating a rare investing opportunity
Investors tracking the recent rotation out of high-beta technology sector stocks are finding a familiar haven in global payment networks. Trading near fresh all-time highs above $405, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is benefiting from an institutional pivot toward defensive, inflation-resistant cash generators.
The global payments processor is expanding its traditional retail moat by launching a commercial payments pilot with BILL Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL) and Billtrust that uses autonomous AI agents. The move signals that Visa's high-margin business is evolving beyond consumer cards to capture high-value, business-to-business enterprise payment flows. Swiping Away Volatility: Visa's Defensive BreakoutIn recent weeks, asset allocators have started rotating capital out of high-multiple semiconductor sector and hardware technology equities. That capital is finding a home in capital-efficient financial infrastructure. Visa's stock price recently broke cleanly out of its prior 50-day trading range, reaching fresh all-time highs near $409 per share. The stock has gained 16% since the start of the year, reflecting broader institutional appetite for resilient cash flow. The appeal lies in Visa's underlying financial engine. Generating about $40 billion in annual revenue and roughly $20 billion in net income in fiscal 2025, Visa operates with a level of capital efficiency that few public companies can match. Institutional investors often view the payment network as a defensive growth asset. Visa provides the technological routing layer for global commerce while avoiding the heavy capital expenditures required to build physical products or carry large inventories. Capturing Inflation Without Balance Sheet RiskUnderstanding Visa requires separating the payment network from the banking institutions that actually issue credit cards. Visa operates a tollbooth-like payment network, generating revenue from payment volume, processed transactions and cross-border activity rather than collecting the interchange fees paid to card-issuing banks. When consumer prices rise at the grocery store or gas pump because of persistent inflation, the nominal value of those transactions increases. Consequently, Visa can generate more revenue from volume-based fees without proportional increases in its operating overhead. This structural advantage supports peer-leading profitability metrics. Visa has a pretax margin near 60% and a net profit margin just above 50%. With a return on equity exceeding 67%, the business generates substantial cash from its existing assets. More importantly, because Visa primarily functions as a technology and network-rails operator, it does not originate consumer loans or bear the associated credit risk. As macroeconomic indicators point to rising credit card delinquencies and broader financial stress, Visa remains shielded from the loan-loss provisions and charge-offs that typically pressure closed-loop operators such as American Express (NYSE: AXP) and traditional regional banks. Automating the Ledger: Visa's Move Beyond Consumer RetailWhile consumer retail spending forms the foundation of Visa's revenue, its next phase of growth targets the large, often inefficient world of business-to-business payments. On Oct. 20, Visa launched a live commercial pilot alongside BILL Holdings Inc. and Billtrust to execute end-to-end buyer-to-supplier payments driven by autonomous artificial intelligence agents. Historically, corporate payments have faced significant workflow friction. Accounts payable teams often spend countless hours logging into supplier portals, completing security checks and manually entering payment credentials to settle invoices. Through the Visa Intelligent Commerce portfolio and its Trusted Agent Protocol, authenticated AI agents can now programmatically fulfill approved invoice payments directly through participating supplier portals. This eliminates manual credential entry without requiring companies to share sensitive login data. By modernizing these back-office workflows, Visa positions itself to capture high-value enterprise transactions that have traditionally been settled through paper checks or lower-margin legacy clearinghouse channels. Visa is also modernizing its cross-border money-movement architecture. Visa Direct recently moved stablecoin-backed prefunding from pilot programs to commercial production with Inyo Global. By integrating stablecoin prefunding into Visa Direct, Visa allows eligible businesses to fund cross-border payouts with USDC rather than relying solely on traditional funding windows. This helps ensure that the network remains a foundational routing layer as programmable, blockchain-adjacent liquidity becomes more common in global trade. Swiping Through Q4: Earnings Durability Meets ValuationQuality rarely comes cheap in the public markets, and Visa's premium valuation reflects its dominant market position. Visa trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio near 34x and a forward multiple of roughly 30.8x. While this represents a slight discount to close rival Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA), it leaves a relatively narrow margin for error in forward guidance. Wall Street remains optimistic, with an average 12-month consensus price target pointing toward the $426 range. Investors will look for validation of these targets during the upcoming fourth-quarter earnings release on Oct. 27, when consensus estimates call for earnings of around $3.44 per share. Visa traditionally uses its fourth-quarter report to announce its annual dividend increase. With the current dividend yield sitting at a modest 0.66%, Visa's operating cash flow of more than $13 per share provides ample room for a meaningful payout increase. The company also continues to repurchase shares, steadily reducing its outstanding share count to around 1.78 billion. The regulatory landscape requires continuous monitoring. Visa plans to expand lower interchange rates for qualifying small merchants in October 2026 and introduce a new domestic transaction fee in April 2027. These changes could add to merchant pushback, while U.S. legislative proposals—particularly the Credit Card Competition Act—remain a separate concern. Intensifying merchant opposition and antitrust scrutiny are ongoing headwinds that could limit multiple expansion over the medium term. Long-Term Rails: Strategic Positioning for InvestorsVisa offers a strong structural shelter during periods of economic uncertainty. Generating royalty-like transaction fees on global trade allows Visa to translate nominal spending growth into operating earnings expansion. The recent move into AI-driven enterprise payments demonstrates that management is actively expanding its total addressable market rather than relying solely on its consumer retail dominance. Investors analyzing Visa may view its current all-time highs with some caution, given the near-term earnings volatility often reflected in the options market ahead of a major quarterly report. Accumulating shares during broader market pullbacks aligns well with a strategy focused on durable, high-margin compounders. The underlying network remains an essential pillar of global financial infrastructure, uniquely positioned to benefit from both everyday consumer spending and the ongoing digitization of commercial money movement. . |
