Square Shares Catapult as Visa Data Shows U.S. Spending Recovery

Shares of merchant services aggregator Square were heading higher on Tuesday after Visa data revealed that U.S. spending was in recovery.

The stock rose 5.6% in Tuesday trading as Wall Street processed the information. Shares have seen nearly 40% in gains in the past month.

Data from Visa Inc. showed continued recovery in spending activity, which could come to benefit Square as more states allow businesses to reopen.

In a filing on Monday, Visa disclosed that total U.S. payment volume was down 5% on a year-over-year
basis in May but up 13 percentage points from April levels. Trends improved as the month wore on.

Quarter-to-date, Visa posted an 11% drop in payments volume, the company said in the filing.
“Many countries are showing spending improvement,” Visa said.

Cross-border volumes, excluding intra-Europe transactions, that drive its international transaction revenue, tumbled 45% in May, while global processed transactions fell 12%/

The company said aggregate, recovery in international markets in which it processes the majority of transactions lagged the U.S. in May. Travel related cross-border volumes declined 78% last month while cross-border e-commerce continued to grow strongly and was up 18% in May, the company also added.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and have not been compensated for this article.