LSPD - Payment stock 'winners' come down to earth and other 2022 insights: Bernstein

Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat distills Q4 2021 and the beginning of 2022 down to 10 key insights in assessing U.S. payments stocks. The top one: "'pandemic & stimulus' tinted glasses are coming off, bringing some 'winners' down to earth." Overall, Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) are the most likely within Rawat's coverage to see positive revisions and "improvement in narrative". And while Russia domestic exposure is manageable for both companies, "we are closely watching domino effects in cross-border travel." The nine other key insights are: "Not all customers are created equal, we are closely watching customer acquisition costs (and potentially deteriorating unit economics) in a post-pandemic world." "Networks are here to stay. Revenue through scaled partnership & customer engagement beat modest savings on card expenses." Expect another round of deal-making/M&A — "Likely buyers: merchant acquirers (both legacy & new age)." Focus areas are Buy Now, Pay Later consolidation, business-to-business expansion,

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Payment stock 'winners' come down to earth and other 2022 insights: Bernstein