Numbers
What the show said, with receipts
Every figure the hosts put on the record for Visa, with its source and the date it was captured. The audited statements from the company's own filings are under Financials.
Freshness
0
Current (≤6 mo)
0
Recent (≤18 mo)
4
Older
Freshness is measured from each figure’s capture date, not from the episode date. An older figure is not wrong; it is a figure that has had time to move.
Reported figures
Visa IPO (2008)
19 yr$18B raised at $90B cap
Largest US IPO to that point; no capital needed — proceeds went to bank shareholders
[Acquired Visa] · as of 2008
- David:It finally happens in 2008. Visa goes public right as the financial crisis is starting... It becomes the largest US IPO in history up to that point. They raised $18 billion at a $90 billion initial market cap, but that $18 billion wasn't primary capital to the company's balance sheet because obviously Visa was incredibly profitable, did not need capital.[Acquired Visa, ch. The 2008 IPO]
Network fee (Visa's take per transaction)
3 yr~0.2%
Near-zero marginal cost; no credit risk on the balance sheet
[Acquired Visa] · as of 2024
- David:There are no NVIDIA chips that need to run in these data centers to do any crazy LLM processing. This is just shipping very small pieces of information around... This 0.2%, the 20¢ on the $100 transaction, very low variable costs associated with that.[Acquired Visa, ch. The fee structure]
Ben's summary of the Visa business
3 yrThe immovable toll booth
Every transaction that touches a Visa mark passes through the center
[Acquired Visa] · as of 2024
- Ben:Now the toll booth is fully built. It is a high functioning toll booth. It's immovable toll booth.[Acquired Visa, ch. The toll booth is built]
Bank of America's 'The Drop'
69 yr65,000 unsolicited cards, Fresno 1958
22% delinquency; $20M fraud — and it still worked
[Acquired Visa] · as of 1958
- David:Bank of America decides that they are going to mail out little rectangular pieces of plastic to every single one of their 65,000 customers in the city of Fresno, completely unsolicited.[Acquired Visa, ch. The Drop, 1958]