Several Tailwinds Boosted Visa (V) in Q1

Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Sustainable Equity Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here.  In the first quarter, the S&P 500 had a total return of -4.3%, with a significant -5.6% drop in March. This decline was mainly due to the impact of tariffs, which hurt business and consumer confidence. Expectations for strong economic growth and deregulation have decreased as the new administration’s trade priorities have become clearer. The strategy returned -3.32% (Gross) in the quarter compared to -4.27% for the index. Both sector allocation and security selection were positive during the quarter. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Madison Sustainable Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a payment technology company. The one-month return of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was 3.04%, and its shares gained 37.66% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 11, 2025, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) closed at $373.31 per share, with a market capitalization of $715.139 billion.

Madison Sustainable Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“In late January, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) reported a strong fiscal first quarter with net revenue growth of 10% and earnings per share growth of 14%. The company noted key business drivers improved from the prior quarter with an overall payment volume growth of 9%, up from 8% the prior quarter. In addition, revenue from value-added services grew by 18% as it reported strong demand for its advisory services. The U.S. market showed solid growth, with total payments volume up 7%, benefiting from a strong holiday shopping season and cross-border volume saw significant growth (16%), driven by both e-commerce and travel. Visa raised its full-year adjusted net revenue growth outlook to low double-digits and adjusted EPS growth to low teens.

On the data security side, Visa explained to investors at its recent investor day its 30-year history of strict policies and governance for the responsible and ethical use of data. Over the last ten years, the company has increased its investments to improve cybersecurity, risk management, and fraud prevention.”

Is Visa Inc. (V) the Best Blue Chip Stock to Buy for 2025?

A close-up of a credit card being swiped on a payment terminal, reflecting the company’s payments technology.

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is in 6th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 165 hedge fund portfolios held Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) at the end of the first quarter, which was 181 in the previous quarter.  In Q1 2025, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) reported $9.5 billion in net revenue, up 10% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In another article, we covered Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and shared Meridian Hedged Equity Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.