Is Mastercard Incorporated Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?
With a market cap of $521.5 billion, Mastercard Incorporated (MA) is a global payments technology company operating across more than 220 countries and territories. It enables secure, simple, smart and accessible digital payments through its technology, network and broad range of products and services.
Companies worth more than $200 billion are generally labeled as "mega-cap" stocks and Mastercard Incorporated fits this criterion perfectly. By working with customers, businesses and governments, the company helps drive economic resilience and expand opportunities for people and communities worldwide.
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Shares of the Purchase, New York-based company have declined 1.1% from its 52-week high of $601.62. The stock has soared 20.6% over the past three months, outpacing the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) nearly 2% rise over the same time frame.
MA stock has gained 4.3% on a YTD basis, underperforming SPX's 12.7% rise. In the longer term, shares of the company have returned marginally over the past 52 weeks, compared to the 18.6% increase of the SPX over the same time frame.
Yet, the stock has been trading above its 50-day moving average since July.
Mastercard Incorporated shares rose 2.5% on Jul. 30 because the company reported strong Q2 2026 results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, with adjusted EPS of $5.04 and revenue of $9.3 billion (up 14%). Investors were encouraged by robust transaction activity, as gross dollar volume increased 8% to $2.9 trillion, cross-border volumes rose 12%, and value-added services and solutions revenue grew 20%. The results signaled that consumer spending remained resilient, with strong spending by higher-income households and continued demand for travel, entertainment, fraud detection, cybersecurity, and data services supporting Mastercard's growth outlook.
In comparison, MA stock has lagged behind its rival, Visa Inc. (V). Shares of Visa have risen 9.1% over the past 52 weeks and 8.8% on a YTD basis.
Despite the stock's underperformance over the past year, analysts remain bullish on MA. The stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" from the 42 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $664.56 is a premium of 11.6% to current levels.
