Hello, Fintech Friends!

The fourth-quarter earnings season is special because it's when most public companies provide guidance for the year ahead. Some fintech companies have already reported their results and shared their outlook. So far, the market response has been clear: single-digit earnings growth is disappointing (PayPal), growth in the low teens is acceptable (Visa), and growth in the high teens is rewarded (Fiserv).

In the meantime, Capital One prepares for the shareholder vote that will seal its acquisition of Discover, and Visa prepares for its Investor Day. The merger of Capital One and Discover will create the latest credit card lender in the U.S., one of the largest retail banking franchises, and, most importantly, a network that is comparable to American Express in scale.

Visa is expected to dedicate a meaningful part of its investor day to the "new flows", or growth opportunities in payments that go beyond consumer-to-business transactions. Think commercial cards, business-to-business payments, and payouts. Both Visa and Capital One will need partners to achieve their ambitions. It wouldn’t be surprising if they find these partners among publicly traded fintech companies.

Jevgenijs
p.s. Have feedback? Ping me on X/Twitter
Happy to hear how we can improve this column!

Best-Performing Fintech Stocks