Legendary investor Peter Lynch popularized the idea of "buying what you know." If you use and like a product or service, chances are that lots of other people do, too, and chances are that the company is performing well.

Let's put financial powerhouse Visa (V -2.56%) to the test. Really, is there anyone you know who doesn't have a Visa credit or debit card? I'm sure people like that exist, but they're few and far between. Visa has nearly 4.5 billion cards, or more than half of the entire global population.

But if it's already so big, is there any room for growth? Or is it too late to buy Visa stock?

Visa's performance reflects the economy

Visa operates a credit card network that moves money from the customer to the merchant. It partners with financial institutions that underwrite the credit portion of the transaction, which takes place across Visa's channels. It also provides extra services for merchant clients and innovative ways to send money. It works with 14,500 partner institutions and more than 130 million merchants. It is the world's biggest credit card company and for a competitor to displace it is almost inconceivable.

Since it plays such a huge role in the global economy, its performance typically reflects overall trends. What that means for investors is that when times are good and people are spending, Visa benefits with large revenue increases. On the flip side of that, when times are rough, Visa will reflect that, too. So while there may be challenges built into its business, the vast majority of the time Visa will do well, since the vast majority of the time the economy is growing.

But that may not always be the case. Visa has demonstrated resilience during the past few years since inflation soared. It has new segments that are growing faster than its traditional business, so even though they're a smaller piece of the pie, they're picking up some slack.

In the 2024 fiscal second quarter (ended March 31), revenue increased 10% year over year to $8.8 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) rose 12% to $2.29. It's still enjoying higher growth from a rebound in post-pandemic cross-border volume, which increased 16% year over year in the quarter.

Why there's more coming up

Management is expecting similar results for the remainder of the year, and there are many reasons to be confident about its short-term and long-term opportunity.

It estimates a global-market opportunity of $20 trillion in consumer payments, and it's grabbing the opportunity in several ways. Its expanding its tap-to-pay business, which replaces small cash transactions with credit card payments, and it's targeting automated clearing house (ACH) payments to replace payments typically done with checks. Through greater innovation in electronic payments, it's also going for bill payments and even loan repayments to take place across its network. It's also working with international partner companies to run their payments through Visa channels, and it continues to crank out new deals and partnerships for things like co-branded credit cards and digital wallets, which are essential to keeping its top spot and generating new growth drivers.

One of its newer segments is New Flows, which comprises alternative payments like Visa Direct and other electronic-payments services. It sees a $200 trillion opportunity here, and this is a fast-growing segment. Revenue increased 14% year over year in Q2, and Visa Direct transactions increased 31%. It made new deals with longtime partner JPMorgan Chase in the quarter to use Visa Direct in more of its operations as well as with Bill.com and many other partners. It's also working with several governments to use Visa Direct for card payments.

Its other fast-growing segment is value-added services. These are merchant services like data analytics and open-banking platforms that help merchants manage their finances. Revenue increased 23% year over year in Q2. Visa regularly acquires small companies that have created a valuable service for merchants, increasing its own value.

Visa has plenty of growth drivers, and it's performing well despite overall retail pressure from inflation. It's a market-beating stock that should continue to outperform.