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Mastercard's finances, and what holding MA would have done
Mastercard's revenue, profit, cash flow and debt from SEC filings, and what holding MA would have done in the past.
Mastercard (MA) was the number 19 US company by market value on 5 November 2026, at about $586 billion, on the companiesmarketcap.com ranking. Its figures come from its SEC filings, read on 5 November 2026. A figure a filing lacks is marked as not reported.
What Mastercard sells
Mastercard runs a payment network like Visa's. When a card is used, it carries the instruction between the shop's bank and the cardholder's bank, and takes a small fee. It also sells fraud checks and data services.
The finances
- Revenue: $32.8 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), up 16.4% from $28.2 billion. The 12 months to 30 September 2026: $36.3 billion. Double-digit growth is solid at this size.
- Net income: $15.0 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), against $12.9 billion a year earlier; net margin 45.6%. The 12 months to 30 September 2026: $17.0 billion. About $46 of every $100 of sales stayed as profit, a very high margin.
- Free cash flow: $17.2 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), which is $17.6 billion of operating cash flow minus $0.5 billion of capital spending. The 12 months to 30 September 2026: $16.1 billion. Cash left over was above reported profit.
- Cash and debt: $10.1 billion in cash and $23.9 billion of debt (10-Q, 30 September 2026). It owed more than it held in cash.
- Share count: 906 million average diluted shares in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), down 2.3% from 927 million. Fewer shares, usually from buybacks, make each one a bigger slice.
One thing to notice: The net margin was about 46%. Its average share count fell 2.3%, from 927 million to 906 million, which points to buybacks. It held $23.9 billion of debt against $10.1 billion of cash.
What holding it would have done
From our free long-term checker, which looks back only:
- Past returns, price only: 1-year +19% (SPY +10%), 3-year +68% (SPY +74%), 5-year +96% (SPY +62%), 10-year +519% (SPY +248%). That 10-year gain is 20.0% a year, against 13.3% for SPY.
- Worst fall: -41.0%, from the close on 19 February 2020 to the low on 23 March 2020 (33 days). Getting back to that high took another 155 days, to 25 August 2020. SPY's worst fall was -34.1%.
- How often holding ended higher: 82% of 1-year holds (worst -21%) and 100% of 5-year holds (worst +28%).
- Monthly buying against a lump sum: over the past 10 years, $100 a month ($12,100 in total) would have grown to $28,244. The same money in on day one would have grown to $74,937; in SPY, monthly buying ends at $24,571 and the lump sum at $42,078.
Price only: no dividends, fees or tax. Daily closes, 10 November 2016 to 3 November 2026. SPY is an S&P 500 fund.
What this does and does not tell you
A company can earn more and still see its shares fall, because the price already reflects what people expect. So the filings and the long test answer different questions, and neither says what comes next.
This is one company over one stretch of history: an in-sample look at the past, not a promise. It is general information, not a call to buy or sell MA, and it sets no price target.
More
The other 24 are in The 25 biggest US stocks. To check any other stock, use the long-term checker.
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