Visa set a new earnings record the same day it laid off 2,600 people: put the money into AI and stablecoins

Visa cut 2,600 technical and product roles in its most impressive quarter in history. The official explanation sidesteps AI, but the code submission volume disclosed in the same day’s earnings report jumped 80%, effectively answering the question— the money saved is being reinvested to ramp up stablecoins and cross-border payments.
(Background: The US tech industry laid off nearly 140k jobs in the first half, and $725 billion in funds all flowed to AI data centers.)
(Additional context: Dropping retail to target institutions! Luno exchange laid off 20% of its global workforce, and is doubling down on stablecoin infrastructure.)

Table of contents

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• How to write a memo
• AI accelerates product development
• Where does the saved money go?

The earnings figures and the layoff memo were delivered to Wall Street on the same day. On the 28th, Visa released its record-breaking third-quarter results: quarterly net revenue grew 14%, and payment volume first surpassed $4 trillion. But on the same day, CEO Ryan McInerney sent out a memo announcing the reduction of about 2,600 positions.

How to write a memo

According to internal memos obtained by Bloomberg, Visa plans to cut about 7% of its workforce, or roughly 2,600 jobs, mainly affecting the technology and product teams. In the letter, McInerney wrote: “I strongly believe we are doing the right thing for Visa, for our customers, and for our partners. We will continue to focus on improving the company’s overall efficiency so that we can reinvest resources into the most promising opportunities.” He also mentioned that artificial intelligence is “accelerating” the evolution of how the entire organization works.

Visa said externally that the capital saved will be reinvested into consumer payments, commercial and funds-movement solutions, and value-added services spanning stablecoins, cross-border, and B2B products. After the news broke, Visa’s stock price rose as much as 2.2% in pre-market trading in the US.

AI accelerates product development

Visa’s official earnings report showed that for the third quarter ended June 30, net revenue was $11.5 billion, up 14% year over year; GAAP net income was $5.6 billion, with earnings per share of $2.97; payment volume grew 10% year over year and first surpassed $4 trillion; transactions processed were 71.7 billion, up 10% year over year.

At the same earnings call, Visa disclosed another set of numbers: product development teams working on AI increased code submission volume by 80%; product requirement definition time was reduced from 30 days to 5 days; and functional development speed increased by more than 65%.

Over the past 12 months, Visa has deployed more than 150 AI applications and rolled out more than 300 major product updates. Some product development teams are being reorganized into smaller “agentic squads.” In simple terms: one team paired with a set of AI tools, with humans only responsible for oversight.

McInerney said during the earnings call: “As the leading large-scale player in the global payments industry, we are designing, building, and launching products at a faster pace.”

Where does the saved money go?

Visa says it is going where: globally, there are now more than 160 stablecoin card program plans. Partners include Rain, Reap, and Bridge. Visa has also launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform to handle stablecoin minting, transfers, and management.

McInerney emphasized maintaining a “multi-currency, multi-chain” strategy— not betting on a single winner—while investing in every layer of stablecoin stacking, from the blockchain, issuance, and wallets to the coordination layer. In the same quarter, value-added services revenue was $3.8 billion, up 34% year over year on a constant exchange-rate basis—Visa’s fastest-growing segment.