Visa Inc. has maintained its strong business and financial positions over many years, despite numerous regulatory and legal challenges, and has stayed near the forefront of advances in payment technology. We expect Visa to continue to report strong earnings growth and stable profitability with low leverage at least over the next few years--benefiting from its well-fortified market positions and a long-term global increase in electronic payments. We are raising our long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on Visa to 'AA-/A-1+' from 'A+/A-1'. Our stable outlook on Visa reflects our expectation that it will maintain solid earnings, high and stable profit margins, and low leverage--without any major disruption, at least in the next two years, from technological advancement, litigation, or regulation.
