Mastercard Inc.’s MA third-quarter 2020 earnings of $1.60 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.03% and were also down 25% year over year.
Earnings suffered lower switched transactions and weak cross-border business.
Rebates and incentives were flat but inched up 2% on a currency-neutral basis.
Mastercard’s revenues of $3.8 billion lag the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.6% and also fell 14% on a currency-neutral basis. Total adjusted operating expenses declined 5% to $1.7 billion owing to a dip in advertising and marketing, travel and professional fee spend.
Other revenues grew 5% or 6% on a currency-neutral basis. This also includes a 2% increase on acquisitions. Remaining growth was driven, primarily by the company’s Cyber & Intelligence and Data & Services solutions.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Adjusted operating margin of 54.9% was down 420 basis points year over year.
Gross dollar volume was up 1% to $1.6 trillion while cross-border volumes plunged 36% on a local-currency basis.
Switched transactions, which indicate the number of times a company’s products were used to facilitate transactions, were up 5% year over year.
As of Sep 30, 2020, the company’s customers issued 2.7 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards.
Share Repurchase and Dividend Payout
During the quarter, Mastercard bought back 6.5 million shares at a cost of $2.1 billion and paid $402 million in dividends.
Balance Sheet Position
The company’s long-term debt as of Sep 30, 2020 was $12.57 billion, up 47.5% from the level as of Dec 31, 2019 because a $4-billion long-term debt was issued in March. However, cash and cash equivalents of $10.23 billion soared 46.3% from the level as of Dec 31, 2019.
Zacks Rank
Mastercard carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Stocks to Consider
Some stocks worth considering from the finance sector with the apt combination of elements to surpass estimates this reporting cycle are as follows:
Visa Inc (NYSE:V). V has an Earnings ESP of +0.30% and a Zacks Rank #3, currently.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL has an Earnings ESP of +1.14% and a Zacks Rank of 3, currently.
Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) Corp. GDOT has an Earnings ESP of +5.88% and is Zacks #3 Ranked, currently.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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