V vs MA: Visa vs Mastercard — Which Payment Stock Is Better?: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Visa and Mastercard are as close as any two large-cap stocks get — both operate the global card payment duopoly with near-identical business models, margins, and competitive moats. The differences are subtle: Visa is slightly larger by volume, while Mastercard typically grows revenue faster due to its higher services revenue mix and international weighting.
Use this V vs MA comparison to make a nuanced choice between two nearly equivalent payment compounders. Both are exceptional businesses; the comparison is about whether you prefer Visa's slightly larger scale or Mastercard's slightly faster revenue growth and international exposure.
MA holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. V has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+3.30% vs -0.94%), though MA has the better forward P/E setup (23.85x vs 24.12x for V). V leads on both revenue growth (17.10%) and operating margin (67.35%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for MA (+18.44%) than for V (+11.97%).
- →Want the largest global payment network with the deepest merchant and issuer acceptance
- →Prefer the slightly lower relative valuation that Visa often trades at versus Mastercard
- →Value the global scale of cross-border volume as international travel grows
- →Are content with a very high-quality, predictable compounder with modest valuation upside
- →Prefer slightly faster revenue growth driven by services and international mix
- →Want stronger European and emerging market payment network exposure
- →Value Mastercard's higher services revenue share as a premium growth driver
- →Are comfortable paying a slight premium for what has historically been a faster-growing business
| Metric | V | MA |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 50.3 | 57.4 |
| AI rank | #492 | #243 |
| Latest close | $360.57 | $547.44 |
| 1M return | +10.19% | +11.77% |
| 6M return | +9.83% | +1.47% |
| 1Y return | +3.30% | -0.94% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | V | MA |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.27K (+2.7%) started 2025-07-21 | $9.87K (-1.3%) started 2025-07-21 |
| 5Y ago | $15.71K (+57.1%) started 2021-07-21 | $15.05K (+50.5%) started 2021-07-21 |
| 10Y ago | $51.97K (+419.7%) started 2016-07-21 | $65.67K (+556.7%) started 2016-07-21 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | V | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $681.89B | $480.32B |
| Trailing P/E | 31.26 | 31.44 |
| Forward P/E | 24.12 | 23.85 |
| Price/Sales | 18.85 | 18.43 |
| EV/Revenue | 15.95 | 14.47 |
| Analyst target | $401.47 | $643.84 |
| Target upside | +11.97% | +18.44% |
| Metric | V | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 17.10% | 15.80% |
| Earnings growth | 35.50% | 21.20% |
| EPS growth | +35.50% | +21.20% |
| FCF margin | +48.43% | +47.58% |
| Operating margin | 67.35% | 60.84% |
| Profit margin | 51.68% | 45.88% |
| ROIC proxy | 60.35% | 232.08% |
| Return on equity | 60.35% | 232.08% |
| Dividend yield | 0.75% | 0.64% |
| Beta | 0.75 | 0.73 |
| Debt/equity | 67.23 | 282.06 |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 0.98 |
| Quick ratio | 0.67 | 0.56 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | V | MA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +2.74% | -1.30% |
| CAGR | +2.76% | -1.31% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.03 | -0.16 | |
| Max drawdown | 17.35% | 21.27% | |
| Max daily drop | 4.50% | 5.77% | |
| Max wkly drop | 8.30% | 6.45% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +52.41% | +47.25% |
| CAGR | +8.80% | +8.05% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.29 | 0.26 | |
| Max drawdown | 28.60% | 28.25% | |
| Max daily drop | 7.74% | 7.69% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.76% | 13.28% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +387.19% | +523.23% |
| CAGR | +17.16% | +20.09% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.59 | 0.65 | |
| Max drawdown | 36.36% | 41.00% | |
| Max daily drop | 13.55% | 12.73% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.49% | 21.70% |
| Category | V | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Visa Inc. | Mastercard Incorporated |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Credit Services | Credit Services |
| Core business | Operator of the world's largest payment network facilitating electronic funds transfers. Revenue from payment volume, transactions processed, and value-added services. Asset-light model with no credit risk. | Global payment network and technology company operating alongside Visa, processing payments across consumer cards, commercial cards, and new payment flows. Strong cross-border volumes and services revenue. |
| Investor focus | Payment volume growth in international markets, cross-border transaction recovery, value-added services revenue, and new payment flows (B2B, disbursements). | Switched transaction volume growth, cross-border volume recovery, services revenue expansion (Verizon, data analytics), and new payment flows in B2B and disbursements. |
- →Largest global payment network by payment volume with unmatched merchant and issuer acceptance
- →Asset-light business model with no credit risk generates exceptional free cash flow margins
- →Cross-border transaction volumes provide meaningful revenue uplift as global travel recovers
- →Co-duopoly with Visa in global card payments with equally strong merchant acceptance
- →Faster services revenue growth as a share of total revenue provides premium growth optionality
- →Strong international exposure, particularly in Europe and emerging markets
- →Regulatory pressure on interchange fees in the US and EU
- →Competitive threats from real-time payment networks that bypass card rails
- →Central bank digital currencies and open banking reducing reliance on card networks
- →Same regulatory and competitive risks as Visa in interchange and open banking
- →Slightly smaller scale than Visa in overall payment volume
- →Services revenue growth must continue to outpace transaction volume for multiple expansion
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