Visa had the largest U.S. initial public offering ever when it went public in 2008. The card-network operator raised about $17.9 billion by selling shares at $44 each, making the flotation a major event during the global financial crisis.
Visa does not generally lend money to cardholders or issue most cards directly. Instead, it operates a payment network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and payment processors. That network model helped investors value Visa for transaction volume and fee income.
The IPO’s record is about money raised in the United States, not the company with the highest market capitalization. Visa’s shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange after the offering. Mastercard, its most familiar rival, had already gone public in 2006, but its IPO was much smaller.