These After-Hours Winners Are Defying a Down Market

Tuesday was a painful day for the stock market, as pessimism about the potential course for the global economy continued to weigh on sentiment. Investors were largely indiscriminate in their choices regarding selling. That sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.12%), the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.58%), and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -1.15%) down between 2% and 4% on the day.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

The after-hours trading session was also busy, with many major technology companies posting their latest financial results. Yet although many of those companies found themselves losing even more ground, a couple of stocks posted solid gains. Below, you'll learn more about why Visa (V 0.49%) and Enphase Energy (ENPH 1.43%) picked up ground following their latest reports.

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Everywhere shareholders want to be

Shares of Visa rose more than 5% in after-hours trading late Tuesday, clawing back from a 4% drop in the regular trading session. The credit card giant reported fiscal second-quarter results for the period ending March 31 that largely showed continuing strength for the company.

Visa's numbers were impressive. Revenue was higher by 25% to $7.19 billion, driven by a 48% rise in international-transaction revenue. Operating expenses stayed under control, rising just 11%, and that helped boost net income by 21%. Adjusted earnings of $1.79 per share were 30% higher year over year.

Many of Visa's core metrics showed similar strength. Payment volume rose 14%, with cross-border volumes showing a big recovery, as some international travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic started to give way to more permeable borders. Despite some impacts from the omicron variant during the quarter, CEO Al Kelly said that the effects were short-lived, and even the decision to suspend operations in Russia didn't have an outsized negative effect on the business.

Electronic-payment companies have been struggling lately, so it was good to see Visa post better numbers. That doesn't eliminate the risk of economic pressure, but it's still a positive sign that the global economy is on track for a recovery in the months and years ahead.

Enphase powers up

Shares of Enphase Energy also did well, climbing almost 5% after hours following a 2% drop in the regular session. The solar microinverter specialist continued to prove its superiority in its first-quarter financial report.

Enphase set a number of records in the first quarter of 2022. Sales of $441 million represented a new high for the company, climbing 46% year over year. Although microinverter unit shipments fell 6% from where they were three months earlier, the company had a 20% rise in shipments of its IQ battery product.

Gross margin improved, and that helped send adjusted net income up nearly 40% from year-ago levels. Adjusted earnings weighed in at $0.79 per share.

Moreover, Enphase expects to keep up its positive momentum. It expects sales in the second quarter of between $490 million and $520 million, with 130 to 140 megawatt hours of IQ battery shipments during the period. Enphase also continues to make key partnerships with installers and utilities, including the notable deal with Vermont's Green Mountain Power as part of a pilot program that could give new incentives to homeowners looking to integrate battery and grid access in a single system.

Enphase shares are still down almost half from their highs. But solar energy is here to stay, and investors are optimistic that the microinverter technology leader has a lot of growth left in it.