Mastercard Incorporated

How has the stock done?

Change in closing price from the first day shown, or with Price the closing price itself. Prices: Yahoo Finance, to Nov 12, 2026. Dashed lines: the days the company released earnings (its SEC 8-K filings); EPS estimates: Yahoo Finance. The stock's move after a release runs from the last close before its day to the close the day after (or five days after), so a release before the open counts like one after the close.

Is the business growing?

In the fiscal year to Dec 2025, Payment network was 59% and Value-added services and solutions was 41% of revenue; Payment network fell from 63% in the fiscal year to Dec 2023.

In the fiscal year to Dec 2025, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa was 57% and Americas was 43% of revenue.

Quarters: Mastercard Incorporated's SEC filings, named by the month they end. Fiscal years: Mastercard Incorporated's annual reports to the SEC.

How it makes money

Of every $100 in revenue, $45.6 ends up as net income. Net margin was roughly flat over the past 3 years.

Each margin is that line of the income statement divided by revenue. Fiscal year: Mastercard Incorporated's annual reports to the SEC.

Customers and suppliers

Their suppliers

SkyWaterto D-Wave Quantum

Wakefield Researchto D-Wave Quantum

Show 2

Suppliers

D-Wave Quantum QBTS

 

MAMastercard

Customers

Nu Holdings NU

Named in other companies’ filings

Fiserv FISVcalls it a partner · Payment network membership for merchant acquiringNu Holdings NUlicensing deal with it · Card payment licensing agreements

Only the companies Mastercard names in its 10-K filed Feb 11, 2026 (SEC). Named in other companies' filings: those whose own latest annual report or an 8-K since names Mastercard. The supply chain joins the latest annual reports of the companies on it and the 8-Ks they filed since: a link shows when either side's report names the other, so it grows as more reports are read. Hover a name for the filing's own words.

Is it expensive?

P/E of 34.1x, above the peer median of 11.9x, so it needs earnings to keep growing to hold up.

Priced 188% above the peer median of 11.9x.

At 34.1× trailing earnings MA is below most of its five-year range; the five-year median is 36.9×.

Closing price over diluted earnings per share of the last four reported quarters, as known on each day (a quarter counts 35 days after it ends). From SEC filings; earnings per share adjusted for splits.

What analysts expect

The average analyst price target is $716, 10% above the current price; 88% of 40 analysts rate it a buy; earnings beat estimates in all of the last 4 quarters.

Buy or Strong Buy: 35 analysts (88%). Sell or Strong Sell: 1.

Over the past year the average of the analysts' latest price targets went from $666.62 to $714.85 (+7%), while MA went from $555.57 to $652.60 (+17%). In the past three months targets were raised 19 times and never cut. 3 upgrades and 1 downgrade over the year; the latest: Freedom Broker moved it to Hold from Buy on Nov 6, 2026.

The day after each of these reports the stock moved +3.3% (Dec 2025, beat); −5.7% (Mar 2026, beat); +1.7% (Jun 2026, beat); +4.5% (Sep 2026, beat).

For the quarter ending Dec 2026 (Mastercard reports on Jan 28, 2027), analysts expect adjusted earnings of $5.12 a share, 7% more than the $4.76 of a year earlier, and revenue of $9.9B, up 13% on a year earlier. For the fiscal year ending Dec 2027, they expect adjusted earnings of $23.16 a share, 15% more than the year before's estimate of $20.06, and revenue of $42.1B, up 13% on the year before's estimate.

Targets, ratings and earnings estimates: Yahoo Finance. Rating and target changes: Yahoo Finance's list of upgrades and downgrades. The average target on each day is the average of every listed firm's latest target set in the 180 days before it, so it counts fewer analysts than the average target above, and the band is the middle half of those targets (a quarter of the firms are above it, a quarter below); a target set before a stock split is divided by the split. Expected figures: the average of the analysts' estimates (Yahoo Finance). Their EPS is adjusted, as analysts estimate it, so it is set against the adjusted EPS Yahoo reports for the same quarters, not the GAAP EPS of the growth and valuation sections; revenue against the SEC filings. No change is given against a quarter whose reported EPS was more than 50% off its own estimate (often a one-off gain or charge), nor against a year that counts one. Each estimate is pinned to its fiscal period by the report date or the period's end, and one that cannot be is left out.

Where the cash goes

Generated $16.1B in free cash flow over the year and returned more than it generated: $18.5B went back to shareholders (dividends plus buybacks), so $2.4B came from cash on hand or borrowing.

Mastercard had 876M diluted shares in the quarter ended Sep 2026, 3.2% fewer than a year earlier, and 2.2% fewer each year on average since Jun 2020. It spent $15.5B on buybacks over the last four quarters.

Free cash flow: operating cash flow minus capital spending on property, plant and equipment, from SEC filings, for the last 4 quarters and by quarter. Shares: each quarter's diluted weighted average as filed with the SEC, since the stock's listing and its latest split.

Financial health

Current ratio 1.0, short-term debt is manageable; shareholder equity is only 14% of assets, so debt-to-equity (2.5) says little; net debt is 0.5 years of operating cash flow, which is light.

Latest fiscal year balance sheet. Source: Yahoo Finance.

Who holds it

In the filings of 3 members of Congress and 13 funds whose copy leaves MA out (not traded on the exchange): Pershing Square Capital Management, Polen Capital Management, Temasek Holdings (Private), Fundsmith, WELLCOME TRUST LTD (THE) as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST, Jia Investment Alliance and 10 more.

What did the funds Hunch tracks do?

Of the 83 funds whose 13F filings Hunch reads, 27 held MA at the end of their latest quarter (for most, Q2 2026). Over that quarter 8 added shares, 11 cut, 3 bought new, 2 sold all and 5 held the same. The largest of them is Norges Bank, 11.75M shares worth $6.0B at Jun 30, 2026, 0.1% more than at Dec 31, 2025.

From the 13F filings of the 83 funds Hunch tracks, not of every institution: each fund's shares of MA at its latest quarter end against the quarter before, as filed (long positions only, options left out), the quarter before put on the latest quarter's share count across a split. A fund files 45 days after its quarter ends, so some have a newer quarter than others. Value is at the quarter end. Norges Bank filed its 13F for Q1 2026 confidentially, with no holdings made public, so its row compares Q2 2026 with Q4 2025.

Insights that mention MA