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Interim CEO & CFO Mike Milotich reported that the integration with American Express is nearing certification and is close to going live. He also highlighted that the migration for the Perpay consumer credit card is 97% complete, demonstrating the company's credit migration capabilities. An airline co-brand card is still expected to launch later in the year.

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Mike Milotich, Interim CEO and CFO, acknowledged the U.S. neobanking space is more competitive but stated it is not expected to be a drag on growth. He explained that many large, non-fintech brands are now launching neobanking-like offerings for their customers and employees. He emphasized that Marqeta's leadership in this area allows it to power many of these new entrants, mitigating the impact of increased competition.

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CFO Sachin Mehra explained that any Pillar 2 relief would be highly complex, requiring individual legislative changes in every country that has already enacted the rules. CEO Michael Miebach described digital identity as a fundamental layer for the entire digital economy, with use cases extending far beyond payments to areas like secure merchant and consumer onboarding. He cited their work with Major League Baseball as a key non-financial example.

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CEO Michael Miebach highlighted the company's highly diversified business model as its core strength. He pointed to three powerful secular trends that provide resilience: the ongoing shift from cash to digital, the increasing need for cybersecurity solutions, and the growing value of data and insights for clients to navigate economic uncertainty. These trends, he argued, support growth regardless of the economic cycle.

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Chief Executive Officer Michael Miebach stated that Mastercard's VAS differentiation is anchored in two powerful trends: security and data insights. He described a comprehensive, end-to-end security suite and a set of data solutions that help clients drive their top line. This approach positions Mastercard as a strategic partner, which he believes is a key differentiator.

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CFO Christophe Le Caillec responded that the acquisition mix has not seen a big change, with fee-paying products remaining stable at around 70% of new cards. Regarding the EPS guide, he did not comment on specific quarterly VCE but noted that the VCE ratio is expected to tick up over time with the shift to premium, a factor that was already incorporated into the full-year guidance from the start.

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CEO Stephen Squeri based his view on the historical behavior of Amex's card base, where white-collar employment has been the primary driver of credit performance, not broader confidence metrics. CFO Christophe Le Caillec supported this by noting that the delinquency rate for low-tenure card members today is 30% lower than the same cohort in 2019, indicating a higher-quality book. The e-commerce question was not answered.

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CEO Stephen Squeri stated that AXP is closely aligned with Delta's positive outlook, which bodes well for the overall travel segment. On SME tech, he acknowledged competitors like Ramp and Brex and affirmed AXP is focused on improving its customer experience and will be responsive to the market, though he declined to comment on potential acquisitions.

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CEO Stephen Squeri stated there was no impact from weather on the guidance. CFO Christophe Le Caillec explained that business development expenses, which include partner payments, were lower because incentives paid to corporate customers are tied to their spending levels. With corporate billings coming in lower, these incentive payments were also reduced.

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Osvaldo Giménez, EVP of Fintech, affirmed the strategy to become the leading digital bank in Mexico, competing with both traditional banks and other fintechs, with the yielding account and credit card as key products. Martin de Los Santos, CFO, stated they have not seen a significant change in competition from Asia due to U.S. tariffs. He noted that new tariffs in Brazil and Mexico have slightly reduced cross-border volumes, while Argentina's market opening presents a new opportunity.

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Executive Martin de Los Santos declined to provide a specific breakdown of fulfillment costs but noted the overall impact on margins was less than one percentage point. Executive Ariel Szarfsztejn addressed the advertising question, stating that while growth is not linear, the company is pleased with reaching 2% of GMV. He highlighted that ad revenues are growing faster than GMV and expressed confidence in future potential as they develop their ad tech stack, without giving specific forward-looking guidance.

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CEO Michael Praeger attributed the Q4 new logo slowdown to customer caution during the election cycle, which pushed deals into 2025, and expressed confidence in returning to 10%+ logo growth. CFO Joel Wilhite acknowledged that growth is below Investor Day targets due to macro factors but highlighted that the company is ahead of schedule on margin and profitability goals. He stated that a return to double-digit growth is needed to get back on the 'Rule of 40' trajectory.

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CEO Michael Praeger stated there have been no significant changes in supplier behavior, crediting the stability to their strategy of offering numerous payment modalities (over 25). Regarding political revenue, he explained the miss was not due to lower overall ad spending, but a different payment mix; more funds went to digital platforms like Google and TikTok, which favor non-monetizable ACH payments over monetizable options.

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CFO Joel Wilhite addressed the political revenue, stating that while they are reaffirming the $9M guidance, it is back-end loaded with low visibility, and could be an area of upside. CEO Michael Praeger explained that the net contribution from partner channels is modeled to be consistent with direct sales, as revenue sharing is viewed as a marketing investment, and the shift is yielding higher-quality leads and stronger new logo growth.

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CEO Michael Praeger responded that the macro environment primarily affects discretionary spending volumes rather than the mix of payment types. He explained that supplier decisions on payment modalities are driven by factors like payment timing, cost, and the level of remittance data provided, not broader economic conditions.

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President Harley Finkelstein stated that protections like de minimis are crucial for small businesses and that Shopify focuses on product solutions, such as displaying and collecting duties at checkout, to help merchants navigate such regulations. He emphasized that streamlining customs and improving digital duty collection is preferable to eliminating the exemption.

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Ryan McInerney, Chief Executive Officer, explained that renewal discussions are now far more multifaceted than in the past. They involve a broad array of services, including processing, risk services, and expansion into new flows and commercial verticals. He confirmed this provides many different revenue levers, allowing Visa to use renewals to deepen partnerships and create new growth opportunities in VAS and new flows.

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CEO Ryan McInerney stated the focus is on maximizing long-term growth by investing in significant opportunities. CFO Chris Suh added that the FY25 guide assumes global trends remain stable, with APAC's performance dependent on macroeconomic conditions in China, which Visa does not forecast.

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