Mastercard, BMO and Webster Bank on Securing Data
Ranjita Iyer, Executive Vice President, NAM Services, Mastercard; Patricia Voight, Chief Information Security Officer, Webster Bank; and Larry Zelvin, Executive Vice President & Head of Financial Crimes Unit, BMO Financial Group speak with Bloomberg's Diksha Gera about how new techologies help to protect against fraud and minimize risk at Winning the Innovation Game: Modernizing IT Without Disruption event in New York. (Source: Bloomberg)
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9 hours ago
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Apple is reportedly considering the acquisition of Perplexity AI
Apple's executives are thinking of acquiring Perplexity AI both to get more talent and to be able to offer an AI-based search engine in the future, according to Bloomberg . Adrian Perica, Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions, has reportedly already talked about the idea with services SVP Eddy Cue and the company's top decision-makers with it comes to its AI efforts. It's early stages, however: Apple has yet to talk to Perplexity about a bid, and the internal talks may not even lead to a formal offer. The executives also reportedly discussed an alternative, wherein instead of buying Perplexity outright, it'll team up with the AI company instead. Either way, the idea is to develop an AI search engine powered by Perplexity and to integrate Perplexity's technology into Siri. While Apple has yet to make a formal offer, Bloomberg says it met several times with Perplexity over the past few months. In May, Cue revealed that Apple discussed a possible Safari-integration with Perplexity while on the stand for Google's ongoing Search antitrust case. Cue took the stand due to Apple's long-standing deal with Google to make its search engine the default on the iPhone. (In turn, Apple gets billions of dollars a year — $18 billion in 2021 — from the arrangement.) Cue didn't share any definitive plans, however, including the possibility of an acquisition. If regulators order Apple to end its partnership with Google, purchasing Perplexity would make it easier for the company to develop an AI-based search engine. In addition, it would allow the company to acquire talent needed to be able to catch up with other companies when it comes to artificial intelligence. Apple, like Meta, has been scouting for new AI talent. Bloomberg says it's even competing against the Facebook owner to hire Daniel Gross, the founder of AI company Safe Superintelligence Inc. The company does seem to need help to be able to release the AI features it wants to provide its users. A few months ago, for instance, Apple delayed the rollout of a more powerful Siri that was a key component of its original pitch for Apple Intelligence.
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10 hours ago
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Is Visa Stock a Buy Now?
Visa's stock recently dropped on news that major retailers may shift to stablecoins. The payments giant has paid and raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Visa has other challenges, too, as it continues to face anti-trust lawsuits. 10 stocks we like better than Visa › Shares of Visa (NYSE: V) dropped by 7% on June 14 after The Wall Street Journal reported that retail giants Walmart and Amazon are exploring the launch of their own stablecoins. The development raises serious questions about the future of traditional payment networks, especially as retailers become increasingly frustrated with the fees associated with them. Let's examine Visa's stance on stablecoins, its recent earnings, and valuation to determine whether its stock is a buy, sell, or hold. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a steady value by being pegged to traditional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. Backed by reserves of cash or cash-equivalent assets such as Treasury securities, they are primarily used to hold value or facilitate transactions within the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. For retailers like Amazon and Walmart, the idea is that stablecoins could reduce settlement delays, eliminate interchange fees, and ultimately become less dependent on payment processors such as Visa and its closest competitor, Mastercard. Visa's management isn't blind to the shifting landscape. The company offers a seven-day-a-week stablecoin settlement, having recently surpassed $200 million in cumulative stablecoin volume. Visa CEO Ryan McInerney described the nascent, but fast-growing opportunity: It's still early, but we do see real potential, which is why we've been investing in the crypto space broadly in the stablecoin space specifically for many years now. We've built up a team of real experts that I think are very well respected among the ecosystem, but it's early. On the one hand, $200 million is a great kind of milestone. On the other hand, it's still a relatively, a very small portion of our overall settlement volume. Additionally, Visa is actively exploring programmable finance through initiatives like its Tokenized Asset Platform, which aims to help banks securely issue and manage stablecoins. One of its early partners, BBVA Argentina, plans to roll out the pilot stablecoin project with Visa sometime in 2025. While it remains unclear whether stablecoins will achieve widespread adoption, Visa is taking steps to ensure it maintains a central role if they do. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Congress are working on a regulatory framework that would set clear rules for stablecoins, including pathways for private companies to issue them under federal oversight. Despite the potential risk that stablecoins may pose to Visa's core business, its operations remain resilient. In its fiscal Q2 2025 earnings report, Visa posted 9% revenue growth, generating $9.6 billion. Looking at its bottom line, the company generated $4.6 billion in net income, a 2% year-over-year decline, primarily due to a $992 million litigation provision associated with an ongoing multibillion-dollar lawsuit over its interchange fees. When adjusting for that expense and other special items, Visa would have generated $5.4 billion in net income, a 6% year-over-year increase. While slower earnings growth and ongoing legal challenges may disappoint some, Visa's fundamentals remain intact, enabling management to return a substantial amount of capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Aided by $7 billion in net cash on its balance sheet, Visa's board of directors recently increased the company's dividend for the 16th consecutive year. Today, the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, which equates to an annual yield of 2.3%. With a payout ratio -- the percentage of earnings a company pays out in dividends -- at only 22.3%, investors can reasonably expect annual dividend increases in subsequent years. As for Visa's share repurchases, over the past three years, the company has reduced its share count by 9.2%. And in the most recent quarter, Visa's management spent $4.5 billion (nearly all of its net income) on buying back its stock. Building on that momentum, the board of directors approved a new $30 billion buyback program, reinforcing the company's commitment to boosting shareholder value through continued reduction in outstanding shares. Visa's dominant position in global payments isn't easily threatened. Its massive network, regulatory know-how, and deep ties with banks give it a powerful moat. Even if stablecoins gain traction, Visa has the resources and partnerships to play a central role in how they're issued, transacted, and regulated. Still, the stock isn't cheap. With shares trading at 36 times earnings -- their richest multiple in three years -- much of the bullish outlook may already be priced into the stock. The bottom line? Visa remains one of the most established players in the global payments industry, and its proactive investments in stablecoins suggest it won't be left behind. However, given valuation concerns, investors may want to continue holding on to their Visa stock rather than buying it at its current price. Before you buy stock in Visa, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Visa wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Collin Brantmeyer has positions in Amazon, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Mastercard, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is Visa Stock a Buy Now? was originally published by The Motley Fool
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Russia's Top Oil Executive Says OPEC+ Was Astute to Boost Output
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