Q1 Earnings Forecast for Mastercard Issued By Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research slightly lowered Mastercard’s Q1 2028 EPS forecast to $6.01 from $6.02, while estimating Q2 2028 EPS at $6.27. The broader analyst consensus remains positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a $661.93 price target.
• Mastercard’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $5.04 versus the $4.77 consensus and revenue of $9.28 billion versus $9.08 billion expected. Revenue increased 14.1% year over year, supported by a 46.34% net margin.
• The stock recently traded near $569, while Mastercard declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87, equivalent to a 0.6% annualized yield. Insiders have sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, although institutional investors continue to own a substantial 97.28% stake.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2028 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Mastercard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $6.01 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $6.02. The consensus estimate for Mastercard's current full-year earnings is $19.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Mastercard's Q2 2028 earnings at $6.27 EPS.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $661.93.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $569.05 on Monday. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $498.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $530.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $516.48.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total value of $1,715,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,398,632.92. The trade was a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $497,311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s investment adds credibility: Pershing Square disclosed a new Mastercard position as part of its largest portfolio overhaul in years. Ackman’s stated focus on long-term earnings growth and Mastercard’s potential in agentic commerce is providing a positive sentiment catalyst. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin expansion creates a new growth opportunity: Mastercard is making a major push into digital dollars and euros, positioning its network and services to benefit as stablecoins gain wider use in payments. This could expand transaction volumes and value-added services, although execution and regulatory risks remain. Motley Fool article
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-payments expansion in Africa: Mastercard and TeamApt announced a strategic collaboration to broaden digital payments across Africa, opening a potentially large market for payment acceptance and financial services. Mastercard and TeamApt article
• Positive Sentiment: Most Zacks Research revisions were favorable: FY2026 EPS estimates increased to $19.72 from $19.40, while FY2027 and FY2028 estimates rose to $22.34 and $25.74, respectively. Estimates for the first three quarters of fiscal 2027 were also raised, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst described Mastercard as a rare growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, citing double-digit revenue growth, strong margins, cybersecurity services and resilient consumer spending. However, the shares still trade at a premium valuation, making continued execution important. Seeking Alpha article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $4.99 from $5.01 and Q4 2027 EPS to $5.92 from $6.27. These modest cuts introduce some near-term caution despite the higher full-year forecasts.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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