Visa said Sept. 23 it had authorized a $405 million U.S. litigation-escrow deposit on Sept. 18. A related adjustment cut the as-converted Class B share count by about 1.104 million; Visa says the reduction has the same EPS-accretive effect as a Class A buyback.
The escrow operates under Visa’s U.S. retrospective responsibility plan, which shifts legacy U.S. litigation liabilities away from Class A shareholders to Class B holders, primarily U.S. financial institutions. The adjustment lowered conversion rates for Class B-1 shares from 1.5445 to 1.5400, Class B-2 from 1.5014 to 1.4924, and Class B-3 from 1.4953 to 1.4773.
Visa reported Q3 fiscal 2026 net revenue of $11.6 billion, up 14% year over year, and $5.6 billion in GAAP net income. The article’s bearish case treats the escrow deposit as a cash outflow and cites a $237 million litigation provision and $563 million in severance charges that quarter; operating expenses rose 19% to $4.8 billion. It warns that ongoing legal funding and rising costs could weigh on free cash flow.
