Visa keeps ~66¢ of every dollar it makes. One of the fattest margins on earth.

Revenue splits into 2 flows: Operating profit $23.7B (the focal flow), Costs $12.2B. Visa FY2024: 66% operating margin; costs are just 34¢ on the dollar.

Visa doesn't lend money or hold card balances: it just runs the toll road between banks. Every swipe generates a tiny fee; the network is already built, so nearly all incremental revenue falls to profit. Classic two-sided-market economics: both banks and merchants need the network, so Visa charges both.

Visa is a tollbooth, not a bank. Once the road exists, the cost of one more car is nearly zero.