Mastercard stock: fundamental analysis

Stocks · MA · Financial Services

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. Below are its fundamentals, explained in the order worth reading them: business quality, debt, growth and, last, whether the price is reasonable.

Data as of September 18, 2026 · Yahoo Finance

Quick read

Business quality

ROE of 241.2%: it earns a high return on shareholders' money. An ROE this high is usually driven by debt or buybacks, not only by the business. Out of every 100 in sales, 46.3 end up as profit.

Financial health

Net debt/EBITDA of 0.6x: it could repay its debt with less than two years of operating profit. Comfortable leverage.

Growth

Revenue is growing 14.1% year on year: a solid pace. Earnings are up 22.1%.

Valuation

It trades at a P/E of 31.1, above the 14.4 median of the financial services companies we track. On expected earnings the P/E falls to 24.5: the market expects profits to rise. Paying more can be justified by faster growth or a higher-quality business.

Dividend

Dividend yield of 0.6% (3.48 USD per share per year) with a payout ratio of 17.9%.

Tools

All metrics

MastercardSector median
Business quality
ROE241.2%17.4%
ROA24.1%1.4%
Gross margin100.0%64.0%
Operating margin61.1%57.4%
Net margin46.3%34.9%
Financial health
Net debt/EBITDA0.6x
Debt/equity4.4x0.5x
Current ratio1.1x2.0x
Growth
Revenue growth14.1%13.4%
Earnings growth22.1%12.8%
Valuation
P/E ratio31.1x14.4x
Forward P/E24.5x11.9x
EV/EBITDA22.9x
Price/book88.4x2.2x
FCF yield3.4%3.4%
Dividend
Dividend yield0.6%3.8%
Payout ratio17.9%47.5%
Beta (volatility)0.7x0.6x

Frequently asked questions

What is Mastercard's P/E ratio?

Mastercard's P/E is 31.1 based on trailing 12-month earnings and 24.5 on expected earnings. The median for its sector among the companies we track is 14.4. Data as of September 18, 2026.

What dividend does Mastercard pay?

Dividend yield of 0.6% (3.48 USD per share per year) with a payout ratio of 17.9%.

Is Mastercard stock expensive?

It trades at a P/E of 31.1, above the 14.4 median of the financial services companies we track. On expected earnings the P/E falls to 24.5: the market expects profits to rise. Paying more can be justified by faster growth or a higher-quality business. This is an educational reading based on ratios, not a buy or sell recommendation.

Does Mastercard have a lot of debt?

Net debt/EBITDA of 0.6x: it could repay its debt with less than two years of operating profit. Comfortable leverage.

What is Mastercard's market cap?

Mastercard has a market cap of 495.2B USD and its shares trade at 565.24 USD, with a 52-week range of 464.52 USD to 601.23 USD (data as of September 18, 2026).

Other companies in the sector

Trailing 12-month metrics. Educational content, not investment advice.