New CEO Taking Charge at Visa

Visa announced that current CEO Alfred Kelly will step down and Ryan McInerney will take over at the start of February. Kelly, who has been CEO since 2016, will assume the role of executive chairman at that time. We have a generally favorable view of Kelly's tenure, although we believe the company's wide moat is the dominant factor behind its strong performance. McInerney, who came to Visa from JP Morgan, has served as president at Visa since 2013. We think Visa's decision to go with an insider—and Kelly's continued presence as executive chairman—suggests that the company will largely maintain its recent strategic course, and we see that as the right move. We will maintain our $229 fair value estimate.