Can Mastercard's Recorded Future Redefine Cyber Defense With AI?

Mastercard Incorporated MA is doubling down on its cybersecurity arena through its subsidiary, Recorded Future. It recently launched Autonomous Threat Operations, an innovative AI-powered system designed to continuously defend organizations against the ever-changing landscape of digital threats. Autonomous Threat Operations was unveiled at the Predict 2025 conference, marking a significant move in how threat intelligence is evolving from manual, reactive processes to proactive, real-time defense strategies.

By utilizing its unique Intelligence Graph, Recorded Future’s platform automates 24/7 threat hunting and correlates various third-party feeds into actionable insights. This method significantly reduces the 8-12 hours of manual investigation that many security teams endure each week, providing a flexible solution for cyber defense in an ever-evolving landscape where new attack vectors emerge daily.

For major players in the financial world like MA, which handles huge payment volumes and constantly grapples with cyber threats, this development represents more than just a tech achievement as it could serve as a blueprint for the financial defense systems in the future. The company has been actively pouring resources into predictive analytics and AI-powered fraud detection. Initially, Autonomous Threat Operations focuses on Cyber Operations transformation.

If Autonomous Threat Operations delivers on its promise, Mastercard’s Recorded Future could redefine cyber defense, showcasing how AI-driven, continuous protection can revolutionize financial security and set a new standard for intelligent, automated cybersecurity across the industry.

How Are Competitors Faring?

Some of MA’s competitors adopting AI to improve operations include Visa Inc. V and PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL.

Visa is leveraging predictive AI to enhance fraud detection, streamline transaction approvals and provide tailored financial solutions. Visa also enhanced its Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) offering with the VAAI Score, a tool that harnesses generative AI to pinpoint and evaluate enumeration attacks.

PayPal is increasingly adopting AI to enhance its platform, leveraging real-time data analysis to strengthen security. PayPal has also developed a robust suite of Commerce Tools, empowering developers and businesses to work smarter and faster, streamline payments, automate processes and deliver seamless, personalized experiences to its customers.

Mastercard’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

In the year-to-date period, MA’s shares have gained 9.2% against the industry’s fall of 3.4%.

From a valuation standpoint, MA trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, above the industry average of 21.96. MA carries a Value Score of D.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mastercard’s 2025 earnings implies 11.8% growth from the year-ago period.

Mastercard currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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