Is Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) One of the Best S&P 500 Stocks to Look For in 2026?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is one of the 15 Best S&P 500 Stocks to Look For in 2026.

On January 12, TheFly reported that Compass Point lifted Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) from Neutral to Buy, raising the price target from $620 to $735. Dominick Gabriele from Compass believes the sector is ‘finding a bottom’ that is likely to materialize after the Q4 2025 earnings reports. Gabriele remains more positive on the networks than all other payment companies heading into 2026. The analyst expects stocks in this space to rebound after the Q4 results. For Mastercard, he believes that the stock’s multiple is very low. Additionally, he expects the company to experience ‘superior’ net revenue growth.

In other news, on January 8, JPMorgan noted that Chase is set to become the new issuer of Apple Card, while Mastercard will continue to operate the payment network for Apple Card, per TheFly. Apple Card users will continue to access Mastercard’s global acceptance and benefits.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a financial technology company that offers transaction processing and other payment-related products and services. The company uses its payment processing technology across its debit, credit, prepaid, and commercial cards, as well as its other programs.

While we acknowledge the potential of MA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.