(Reuters) - Visa, the global card giant, has announced impressive fourth-quarter profit figures that surpassed analyst expectations. The company's financial results were buoyed by a surge in post-pandemic travel, as consumer confidence rebounded, shrugging off concerns of an economic slowdown and a cost-of-living crisis.

Visa's Chief Financial Officer, Chris Suh, highlighted the accelerating recovery of inbound travel to the United States during the quarter. Additionally, travel into Asia also showed continued improvement, indicating a gradual return to normalcy in the global travel industry.

Despite growing concerns about the economic outlook for the upcoming year, consumer spending has remained resilient, providing strong support to Visa's payment volumes. This stability in consumer spending has helped the company outperform market expectations.

Last week, Visa's competitor, American Express, also posted quarterly profits that exceeded analyst projections. The sector's reporting season will conclude later this week with the release of rival Mastercard's results.

Recent economic data reveals that inflation in the United States has started to moderate, which typically poses challenges for card companies that charge a percentage on the dollar value of transactions. However, experts such as Logan Purk, a technology analyst at Edward Jones, believe that the decreasing inflationary pressure will have a lesser impact on Visa in the upcoming year.

Visa reported an adjusted profit of $2.33 per share for the three months ended on September 30, surpassing market expectations of $2.24 per share, as reported by LSEG data.

Visa's robust performance demonstrates the resilience of the travel sector in the face of economic uncertainties. As post-pandemic optimism persists and travel continues to recover, Visa remains well-positioned to capitalize on the resurgent travel industry while maintaining its global market leadership.