# Mastercard Incorporated (MA)

> Mastercard runs a global card-payment network and sells payment, security, identity and data services to banks, businesses and governments.

- Exchange: NYSE · Sector: Financials · Industry: Credit Services
- Headquarters: Purchase, New York
- Founded: 1966
- SEC CIK: 0001141391 ([filings on EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001141391))
- Full page: https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/ma
- Data as of: price 2026-09-25; newest filing used 2026-07-30; latest fiscal period ended 2026-06-30

## Grade

**B+** on the growth-and-cash rubric, 4 of 5 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Revenue growing overall | passed | $35.1B | $27B |
| Revenue growing recently | passed | $35.1B | $32.8B |
| Free cash flow positive | passed | $16.7B |  |
| Free cash flow growing overall | passed | $16.7B | $11.1B |
| Free cash flow growing recently | failed | $16.7B | $17.2B |

Business quality (the + / − mark): 5 of 6 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Profitable | passed | 46.3% |  |
| Healthy profit margin | passed | 46.3% |  |
| Strong operating margin | passed | 58.3% |  |
| Good return on equity | passed | 210.1% |  |
| Debt under control | failed | 2.56 |  |
| Turns sales into cash | passed | 47.6% |  |

How the grade works: the letter counts failed checks (none → A, one → B, two → C, three → D, four or more → F). It is built from SEC filings only — the share price never enters it — and describes the business, not whether the stock is worth buying.

## Key figures

In US dollars, as filed.

| Measure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Revenue, trailing twelve months | $35.1B |
| Net income, trailing twelve months | $16.3B |
| Free cash flow, trailing twelve months | $16.7B |
| Net margin | 46.3% |
| Operating margin | 58.3% |
| Return on equity | 210.1% |
| Debt to equity | 2.56 |
| Diluted EPS, trailing twelve months | $18.18 |
| Share price | $567.65 |
| Market value | $504.1B |
| Price / earnings | 31.2x |
| Price / sales | 14.4x |

## What the business does

Mastercard's network helps banks and other payment providers authorize and process card transactions between cardholders and merchants. It earns revenue from payment network activity and from services such as fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity checks, business insights and money movement. It also works with customers and governments on payment infrastructure and digital disbursements.

### How it makes money

- **Payment Network** (58.9%) — Banks and other payment providers pay fees tied to payment volume and transaction processing on Mastercard's network.
- **Value-Added Services and Solutions** (41.1%) — Customers pay for services such as fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity checks, marketing, consulting and business insights, often through direct contracts or distribution partners.

### Products

- **Mastercard Move** — A service for moving money between people and businesses, including through partnerships with payment providers.
- **Mastercard Agent Pay** — A way for software agents acting for people or businesses to make payments using Mastercard's network, with features such as tokenization and dispute protections.
- **Mastercard Agent Pay for Machines** — A payment protocol for software agents and machines to pay each other for digital services, such as computing, data and content.
- **Mastercard Threat Intelligence** — A service that identifies threats related to payment fraud, including malicious activity aimed at testing stolen card details.
- **Mastercard Merchant Trust Services** — A set of artificial intelligence tools intended to identify fraudulent merchants.
- **Mastercard identity solutions** — Tools customers use to check identities and confirm that transactions or customer sign-ups are genuine.

### Customers

- Banks and credit unions that issue Mastercard-branded cards to their customers, usually through commercial agreements.
- Banks and payment processors that connect merchants to the network and handle payment acceptance.
- Businesses that use commercial cards, virtual cards or money movement services for company payments.
- Merchants that use Mastercard services for payment security, identity checks or customer engagement.
- Governments and public agencies that work with Mastercard to digitize benefits, disbursements or payment infrastructure.

### Competitors

- Visa (V) — Card payment networks and transaction processing for banks, cardholders and merchants.
- American Express (AXP) — Payment cards and payment services for consumers and businesses.
- Discover, a Capital One business (COF) — Card payment network services; the competing network is part of the listed parent, Capital One.
- PayPal (PYPL) — Digital checkout and payment services used by consumers and merchants.

### What it depends on

- The network relies on banks and other payment providers to issue cards, connect merchants and route transactions.
- Payment Network revenue depends on the amount and number of transactions processed through Mastercard's network.
- Some services use Mastercard transaction data and are distributed through the payment network or through partners.
- Domestic payment rules, local payment networks and data-storage or transfer requirements can affect how Mastercard operates in individual countries.

### What could go wrong

- A security incident or exposure of account data could interrupt payment services, harm Mastercard's reputation and increase costs.
- Governments may favor domestic payment providers, require local processing or restrict data transfers, which could limit Mastercard's ability to route or support transactions in some markets.
- Merchant disputes and other legal or regulatory proceedings can lead to costs, including claims related to payment rules and merchant litigation.

## More on this company

- [Overview](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/ma)
- [Financial statements](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/ma/financials)
- [Competitors](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/ma/peers)
- [Earnings](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/ma/earnings)

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Source: InspectStocks, built from the company’s own SEC filings. This describes a business — it is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.