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Mastercard Incorporated (MA), headquartered in Purchase, New York, is a global payments solutions company. Valued at $419.41 billion by market cap, the company provides an array of services in support of credit, debit, mobile, web-based and contactless payments, and other electronic payment programs for financial institutions and other organizations. It is best known for providing payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. The payments network provider is expected to announce its fiscal second-quarter earnings for 2024 before the market opens on Wednesday, Jul. 31.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect MA to report a profit of $3.51 per share on a diluted basis, up 21.5% from $2.89 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports.
For fiscal 2024, analysts expect MA to report EPS of $14.25, up 16.2% from $12.26 in fiscal 2023.
MA stock has underperformed the S&P 500’s ($SPX) 17.2% gains on a YTD basis, with shares up 5.6% during this period. Similarly, it underperformed the S&P 500 Financials Sector SPDR’s (XLF) 16.3% gains over the same time frame.
On Jul. 10, MA shares closed down more than 2% after Bank of America Global Research downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy.
On May 1, MA reported its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS was $3.31, beating the consensus estimates of $3.22. The company’s net revenue was $6.35 billion, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $6.33 billion. On a currency-neutral basis, its net revenue rose 11%, while its gross dollar volume (GDV) increased 10% on a local currency basis to $2.3 trillion. Moreover, cross-order volume jumped 18%, reflecting strong international transaction activity. MA shares closed down more than 2% on the day the results were released but have been on an uptrend since then.
Analysts’ consensus opinion on MA stock is bullish, with a “Strong Buy” rating overall. Out of 32 analysts covering the stock, 27 advise a “Strong Buy” rating, three have a “Moderate Buy” rating, and two recommend a “Hold.” The average analyst price target for MA is $502.21, indicating an 11.3% potential upside from the current levels.
On the date of publication, Dipanjan Banchur did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
