MasterCard Inc

American Express (AXP) expects its full-year 2016 EPS to be between $5.40–$5.70. It looks to return to positive EPS growth in 2016 and is targeting a minimum of $5.60 EPS for 2017.

MasterCard’s rebates and incentives rose by 18% to $1.0 billion in 1Q16—higher than expected, mainly due to the timing of some deals and acquisitions.

Capital One Financial Corporation’s (COF) PE (price-to-earnings) ratio is 8.77x on an NTM basis compared to its competitors’ average PE ratio of 20.79x.

Visa (V) has maintained its operating margin above 60% over the past few years. The company’s major expenses include personnel, marketing, network and processing, and professional fees.

Visa’s total transactions grew by 11% on a YoY (year-over-year) basis in fiscal 4Q15. The company reported total transactions of 27.9 billion in fiscal 4Q15, as compared to 25 billion in fiscal 4Q14.

Payment processors are seeing major changes in 2016, including increased competition on pricing and the adoption of new technologies such as wearables.

Payment processors are rewarding their shareholders with 1%–2% dividend yields, largely dependent on operating performance.

MasterCard (MA) has debt of $3.3 billion with a total balance sheet of $15.9 billion as of March 31, 2016. This compares to $16.2 billion in 4Q15.

American Express (AXP) has been using its strong balance sheet position to consistently declare dividends to its shareholders.

PayPal’s (PYPL) chief financial officer, John Rainey, mentioned partnering with Amazon (AMZN) during a recent Credit Suisse technology event. He didn’t clarify whether the companies were still in active talks.

PayPal reported that its payment transaction per active account increased 12.0% year-over-year in 1Q17.

Wall Street analysts expect Mastercard (MA) to post earnings per share (or EPS) of $1.25 for 1Q18.

IBM (IBM) has built a blockchain platform that provides real-time tracking of the food supply chain.

Discover Financial’s (DFS) stock price rose from $14.70 at the end of 2009 to $65.50 at the end of 2014. This is an increase of 346%.

MasterCard plans to sustain its growth and revenue by improving its pricing and increasing its processed transactions.

Lone Pine Capital LLC, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, was founded in 1997 by Stephen Mandel and is one of the largest equity-focused hedge funds in the United States. It is estimated to have $28.3 billion of assets under management. In Q3 2013, it started new positions in Baidu Inc. (BIDU), MasterCard Inc. (MA), Davita Healthcare […]

Visa (V) reported total processed transactions of 27.9 billion in 4Q15 compared to 25 billion in 4Q14. Total transactions are payments and cash transactions reported by clients on operating certificates.

Payment processors are rewarding their shareholders with dividend yields of 1%–2%, depending largely on operating performance.

Visa announced partnerships with the China Foundation for Development of Financial Education and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

On Thursday, PayPal stock rose 2.6% and closed at $168.05 after an analyst upgrade. At the last closing price, PayPal’s market cap was $197.3 billion.

Today at 7:02 AM ET, AXP stock rose 1.1% to $84.10 in the pre-market session. The company reported its first-quarter earnings results on April 24.

Tech stocks have been on a roll since the start of 2019. The S&P 500 ETF (INDEXSP: INX) has gained 31.4% since January 2019.

I wouldn’t call 2019 a sea of tranquility for Bitcoin. But at least it wasn’t as much of a roller-coaster ride as the two preceding years.

In the coming weeks, Libra Association members will start committing to Facebook’s (FB) Libra cryptocurrency project formally.

PayPal announced its withdrawal from the 28-member team of Facebook’s Libra Project. Libra has received criticism from the public and private sectors.

Although Zuckerberg was banking on Libra, the cryptocurrency project has landed on shaky ground. Here’s a rundown of its challenges this month.

Last week, Facebook (FB) and other founding members of the Libra Association launched Libra. Libra will be governed by a handful of large organizations including Uber (UBER), Lyft (LYFT), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA). By the planned launch in 2020, Facebook expects to have 100 members in the governing body.

Last week, the US House of Representatives asked Facebook (FB) to stop developing its Libra cryptocurrency.

While Facebook set the middle of 2020 as the Libra Cryptocurrency’s launch date, many people think that the deadline might be too aggressive. 

Citigroup is the world’s largest credit card issuer. Bank of America and Capital One follow Citigroup in terms of credit and charge volume.

Coach shares fell in June after the company said it will close 70 out of its 351 North American full-price stores by the end of the first half of 2015.

Facebook (FB) launched a new payment service that will work across its family of apps. The payment service is called Facebook Pay.

  Lone Pine Capital LLC, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, was founded in 1997 by Stephen Mandel and is one of the largest equity-focused hedge funds in the United States. It is estimated to have $28.3 billion of assets under management. In Q3 2013, it started new positions in Baidu Inc. (BIDU), MasterCard Inc. (MA), Davita […]

The US GDP increased at an impressive rate of 1.9% for the third quarter. The growth beat the expectations of around 1.6% for the quarter.

Mastercard just posted a solid earnings beat. It’s been a blockbuster Q3 for payment companies, with Visa and American Express beating projections, too.

The S&P 500 Index, which is trading close to an all-time high, could be affected by the Fed’s tone in its upcoming meeting.

PayPal (PYPL) has decided to drop out of Facebook’s (FB) Libra Association, the group set to run the Libra cryptocurrency network.

By 2020, Apple aims to double its Services revenue from 2016. Meanwhile, the iPhone is looking less and less important for the company.

Square (SQ) stock is up over 3% in today’s trading session. SQ jumped after Wells Fargo upgraded its rating to “outperform” from “market perform.”

Verizon (VZ) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are taking steps to integrate blockchain technology into their business models. Here’s why.

Despite not knowing the Apple Card’s launch date, the card moved from a promise to a reality. Apple Card is a reality inside Apple offices.

Late Thursday, Trump hurled three tweet bombs at cryptocurrencies, specifically naming Bitcoin and Facebook’s (FB) Libra.

Yesterday, Facebook’s (FB) David Marcus, head of Facebook’s Calibra wallet, visited Capitol Hill to testify in front of the Senate Banking Committee.

Ever since the news about Facebook’s (FB) cryptocurrency project broke, Bitcoin has rallied on the hope that Facebook’s entry in the space will help make cryptocurrencies mainstream. Facebook’s cryptocurrency will be called Libra and will be governed by an association with 28 founding members across industries.

Currently, MasterCard (MA) is trading at a forward PE ratio of ~33x—higher than Visa’s (V) ratio of ~30x.

Continuing with its innovative ways to expand its customer base, Mastercard (MA) is now targeting the “gig economy.”

Visa (V) is trading at a forward PE ratio of 27.7x, which is higher than its five-year average PE ratio of 24.5x.

StoneCo (STNE) was trading down 27.6% as of 1:30 PM ET. The negative price action was driven by an announcement by Itaú Unibanco Holding (ITUB).

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) has invested in several payment industry stocks like Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), American Express (AXP), and StoneCo.

Visa’s (V) fourth-quarter results benefited from the growing global trend of cashless transactions.

Visa’s adjusted fourth-quarter EPS jumped 34% year-over-year to $1.21 and surpassed Wall Street analysts’ estimates by a penny.

A healthy job market and a steady hike in wages have increased the spending power of consumers.

Mastercard (MA) is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on October 30.

Analysts gave Visa a target price of $164.47, which is a 16% increase from the current level of $141.74. In 2017, the stock gained ~46%.

The US GDP grew 4.2% in the second quarter, which was almost double the 2.2% increase registered in the first quarter.

Visa (V) plans to report its Q4 2018 earnings on October 24. Analysts expect Visa to report EPS of $1.20, marking YoY growth of 33.3%.

Mastercard made its first investment in the Indian market in 2010 by buying a stake in ElectraCard Services, which is a locally based software solutions and payments management firm.

The Consumer Confidence Index increased to 133.4 in August from 127.9 in July—its highest reading since its October 2000 reading of 135.8.

Statista projects that the total value of global digital payment transactions could increase to ~$5.41 trillion in 2022 from ~$2.75 trillion in 2017.

Since 2017, Mastercard has been working to accelerate the adoption of digital payments in the travel industry through its various platforms.

Improving GDP growth, a healthy job market, and steady wage growth have increased the disposable income of consumers, thereby giving them greater spending power.

Visa stock (V), which was around $78 at the beginning of 2017, now trades close to $143, a jump of over 83%.

In the fiscal third quarter, Visa (V) witnessed strong growth on a YoY (year-over-year) basis in all its primary business metrics.

In the third quarter, Visa (V) witnessed a rise in payment volumes from the United States on a sequential basis from 10.1% to 10.5%.

Analysts’ rating on Mastercard (MA) improved in July compared to June.

Visa (V) has been making efforts to increase the use of contactless payments in the United States after experiencing a positive response.

Mastercard (MA) has a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04x on an NTM (next-12-month) basis compared to the peer average of 15.95x.

Visa (V) posted total payment volumes amounting to $2.1 trillion in its fiscal third quarter.

In the second quarter, Mastercard (MA) witnessed total gross dollar volumes (or GDV) of $1.5 trillion.

The total spending on Visa’s (V) network rose 11% to $2.1 trillion in the second quarter—slightly better than analysts’ estimates of $2.09 trillion.

On July 26, Discover Financial Services (DFS) released its earnings report for the second quarter.

On July 25, Visa (V) posted its third fiscal quarter results. The company posted an EPS of $1.20, which exceeds Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

On July 25, Visa (V) is scheduled to report its results for the third fiscal quarter. Analysts expect Visa to post an EPS of $1.09.

Mastercard (MA) is set to release its second-quarter earnings report on July 26. What can we expect?

Capital One Financial (COF) posted second-quarter results on July 19.

On July 18, American Express (AXP) is expected to report its Q2 2018. Analysts expect EPS to be $1.82 compared to $1.86 in the first quarter.

Capital One (COF) is expected to release its Q2 2018 earnings on July 19. Analysts expect EPS of $2.68, a YoY rise of 38.1%.

Growing trade tensions are a primary concern, as they could impact the performances of Discover Financial Services (DFS) and its peers.

Discover Financial Services (DFS) generated net interest income amounting to $2.1 billion in the first quarter.

The economic and business environment prevailing in an economy affects the business fundamentals of payment processing giants like Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA).

In June, eight of the 32 analysts covering the stock have given it a “buy” rating, and two analysts have given it a “strong sell.”

On June 25, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw strong downward pressure primarily due to escalating US-China trade tensions.

American Express’s (AXP) Global Commercial Services segment’s non-interest revenues rose 9% YoY in the first quarter.

The second quarter could be beneficial for American Express (AXP) due to an expected rise in consumer loans and transactions.

In fiscal Q3 2018, Visa’s (V) service revenue could rise YoY (year-over-year) due to its payment volumes rising YoY in fiscal Q2 2018.

Mastercard (MA) is focused on connecting consumers to their bank accounts to drive transactions and eliminate the need for cash.

Square (SQ) stock rose ~11.5% to close at $54.73 last week (ended May 11).

The top cryptocurrencies have been on a surge. The overall market cap of all cryptocurrencies has increased to $457.7 billion.

Mastercard (MA) released its earnings report this morning. The company reported earnings per share or EPS of $1.50 in 1Q18.

It’s an action-packed week for earnings, and a lot of stocks are on the move in today’s trading session. Let’s take a quick look at three that are moving higher on strong results.

Last big week of earnings kicks off with not a lot to show for it in the market The week of April 30 is an exciting one in terms of earnings, and here are 18 companies we will be watching closely: Monday McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) – before the market opens – great year last […]

On February 27, 2018, Visa (V) announced that it had added 14 technology companies to its Visa Ready for Transit program.

The demonetization effect in India has created the need for digital payments, and Visa has seen a substantial rise in transactions as a result.

On March 6, 2018, Mastercard (MA) announced the acquisition of Oltio in order to streamline its payment processes in the Middle East and Africa.

On February 27, 2018, Mastercard (MA) announced a partnership with Dream Payments to facilitate payments to insurance customers.

On February 26, 2018, Mastercard (MA) announced that it has entered a partnership with M-Kopa, a solar energy company.

Over the past few years, Mastercard’s (MA) revenues have remained consistent.

In fiscal 2017, TSS returned nearly $363.0 million in share repurchases and dividend payments to its stakeholders.