This quarter’s results beat expectations, primarily due to Middle East conflict impacts coming in below expectations, a sharp recovery in cross-border spending from Venezuela, and strong demand for value-added services.

Q2 net revenue grew 12% year over year, adjusted net income rose 16%, cross-border transaction volume increased 12%, value-added services net revenue grew 18%, and EPS came in at $5.04.

Business highlights include: partnering with the UAE Central Bank to build local switching technology, joining forces with Alipay+ and Clip to expand digital payments in Mexico, launching Agent Pay for Machines to expand into agent payments, the BVNK acquisition to strengthen stablecoin infrastructure, and winning major issuance renewals from JPMorgan, Banamex, and others.

Management expects Q3 and full-year net revenue growth to be at the upper end of the low-teens range, raising full-year guidance on the back of first-half performance; operating expenses are expected to maintain low-teens growth.

Positive signals are consumer resilience and robust demand for cybersecurity/AI; watch for geopolitical uncertainty and USD exchange rate risk.