In the latest close session, MasterCard (MA) was down 1.44% at $531.74. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 2.06%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 1.76%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 2.39%.
Shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments witnessed a loss of 6.29% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Business Services sector with its loss of 3.38%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.63%.
The upcoming earnings release of MasterCard will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on January 29, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.21, signifying a 10.21% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $8.77 billion, indicating a 17.05% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $16.43 per share and a revenue of $32.75 billion, signifying shifts of +12.53% and 0%, respectively, from the last year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for MasterCard. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% higher. MasterCard is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, MasterCard is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 28.34. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.94, so one might conclude that MasterCard is trading at a premium comparatively.
It is also worth noting that MA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.83. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Financial Transaction Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.97.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 188, this industry ranks in the bottom 24% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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