MasterCard Inc

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.

Overall, tech stocks turned out to be the top performers for 2019. The gain in the technology sector helped the S&P 500 gain 29% in 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.

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

Alternative options, such as cryptocurrencies or payment platforms like PayPal (PYPL), may impact banks in the long term. They are here to stay.

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.

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

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

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

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

On August 24, in an interview with CNBC, Mario Gabelli encouraged value investing. He is the CEO, chairman, and founder of GAMCO Investors.

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.

Germany and France, Europe’s largest and third-largest economies, say they have no place for Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency.

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

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.

American Express (AXP) reported its second-quarter earnings results on Friday before the market opened. Its EPS beat analysts’ consensus estimate.

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

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

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

Fed Chair Powell’s testimony to Congress concluded yesterday. During his testimony, Powell said that Libra, Facebook’s (FB) cryptocurrency project, raises “serious concerns.”

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

Tech stocks made a stellar comeback in the first six months of 2019. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) has returned 15.8% so far this year.

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.

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.

MasterCard (MA) stock has risen ~34% in 2019. MasterCard stock has outperformed Visa (V) by ~11%.

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).

Visa (V) has seen three upward revisions in its target price in April. On April 10, Cowen increased its target price for Visa from $161 to $177.

The implied volatility in Visa fell by ~12.5 percentage points from January 2 to 18.73% on April 12. Visa stock has risen ~21% during this period.

According to data released on March 29, consumer spending rose 0.1% in January. Disposable personal income fell 0.2% in January.

Visa (V) is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on April 24. In the quarter ending December 31, Visa reported 7% sequential EPS growth.

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

On March 25, Apple (AAPL) announced that it would launch an Apple-branded credit card, known as Apple Card, this summer in the United States.

Last month, Goldman Sachs predicted the S&P 500 (SPY) will reach 3,000 by the end of 2019.

Although Amazon’s Amazon Web Services continues to be the most popular cloud platform, Microsoft’s Azure is growing faster.

Mastercard (MA) stock rose ~3% in premarket trading on October 30 following its announcement of its impressive third-quarter results.

Venmo processed $17.0 billion in transactions in the third quarter, up 78.0% year-over-year.

PayPal finished the third quarter with 254.0 million active customers on its platform.

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.

Alibaba has submitted 90 blockchain-related patent applications, compared to 89 blockchain patent applications submitted by IBM.

At current market prices, Mastercard (MA) trades at a premium valuation to most of its peers with the exception of PayPal Holdings (PYPL).

Mastercard’s (MA) third-quarter results are expected to benefit from the growing trend of cashless transactions around the world.

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

Analysts expect Mastercard’s (MA) third-quarter 2018 revenues to grow 13.7% YoY and reach $3.86 billion.

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%.

PayPal (PYPL) is giving its Venmo business a lot of attention lately.

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

Venmo’s transaction volume soared 78.0% YoY to $14.0 billion in the second quarter.

Blockchain technology could generate $60.7 billion in annual revenues by 2024, up from $708.0 million in 2017, according to Market Reports Center.

IBM (IBM) is making a huge bet on blockchain, the technology that underpins most cryptocurrencies.

About 93.0% of the 41 analysts covering Mastercard (MA) stock recommended a “strong buy” or a “buy.”

Based on Wall Street’s earnings forecast for the next 12 months, Mastercard’s price-to-sales ratio stands at 13.37x.

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.

According to Wall Street expectations, Mastercard’s revenues for Q3 2018 and fiscal 2018 are expected to rise 13.7% and 19.7%, respectively, on a YoY basis.

Mastercard (MA) stock has risen ~40% YTD. Visa (V) has risen 15%, PayPal (PYPL) has gained 18%, and American Express (AXP) has fallen 1.5%.

Alibaba (BABA) tops the list of companies seeking to patent ideas related to blockchain technology.

The price-to-earnings (or PE) ratio is considered to be the best multiple to value financial technology companies like Visa (V).

Payments are shifting rapidly from cash to digital mainly due to continuously evolving digital technology, increasing online transactions, and competitive forces.

Visa (V) is poised to benefit from the growing trend of cashless transactions around the world.

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%.

Alphabet’s Google has partnered with Mastercard (MA) on a program that could help it push back against Amazon in the digital advertising market.

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%.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

In the first quarter, Capital One’s net income totaled $1.3 billion while Discover’s net income reached $666.0 million.

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.

JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) CCB segment has benefited from consumer spending, credit card revenues, and business lending.

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

On Monday, June 25, PayPal’s (PYPL) Venmo introduced its debit card, which is part of a partnership with Mastercard (MA).

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

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.”