MA vs V Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Mastercard and Visa are the closest possible investment peers — a true payment network duopoly with near-identical business models, margins, and competitive positions. Both earn transaction fees on global payment volume; both face identical regulatory, technological, and competitive pressures. Mastercard's value-added services revenue has grown slightly faster; Visa has marginally larger acceptance network. For practical purposes, investors choosing between MA and V are making a marginal distinction within an exceptional duopoly.
MA vs V is Mastercard versus Visa — essentially the same payment network duopoly business model with near-identical returns, margins, and growth rates; the choice is more about which stock has marginally better value or which company's services strategy (Mastercard's B2B focus vs Visa Direct's push payment growth) investors prefer.
V holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. V leads on both 1-year return (+24.88%) and forward P/E quality (25.43x vs 25.85x for MA), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. V leads on both revenue growth (14.40%) and operating margin (66.13%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +12.46% for MA and +9.51% for V.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prefer Mastercard's slightly more aggressive value-added services strategy in cybersecurity, data analytics, and real-time B2B payment infrastructure
- value Mastercard's Vocalink acquisition giving exposure to UK Faster Payments real-time infrastructure as a model for future payment rail diversification
- want payment network exposure with the assumption that MA and V will deliver nearly identical long-term returns, making either an excellent holding
- are comfortable with Visa's slightly larger acceptance network scale and the effectively equivalent risk profile of both duopoly members
- prefer the marginally larger payment network with the highest global brand recognition for card acceptance — the reference 'card network' brand globally
- value Visa Direct's push payment growth as a specific real-time payment strategy targeting gig economy, remittances, and insurance payout flows
- want the single largest-scale card network by volume as the anchor payment infrastructure holding in a portfolio
- are comfortable with near-identical competitive positioning to Mastercard — the choice is essentially between two excellent equivalents
| Metric | MA | V |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 60.2 | 52.9 |
| AI ranki | #160 | #572 |
| Latest closei | $658.10 | $425.51 |
| 1M returni | +19.16% | +17.98% |
| 3M returni | +15.26% | +16.36% |
| 6M returni | +30.38% | +30.19% |
| 1Y returni | +19.22% | +24.88% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | MA | V |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.1K (+21.0%) started 2025-11-03 | $12.63K (+26.3%) started 2025-11-03 |
| 5Y ago | $20.82K (+108.2%) started 2021-11-03 | $21.64K (+116.4%) started 2021-11-03 |
| 10Y ago | $70.06K (+600.6%) started 2016-11-03 | $59.7K (+497.0%) started 2016-11-03 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | MA | V |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $521.49B | $712.47B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 32.78 | 32.48 |
| Forward P/Ei | 25.85 | 25.43 |
| Price/Salesi | 18.43 | 18.85 |
| EV/Revenuei | 15.24 | 16.00 |
| Analyst targeti | $669.46 | $417.90 |
| Target upsidei | +12.46% | +9.51% |
| Metric | MA | V |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 14.10% | 14.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 22.10% | 10.20% |
| EPS growthi | +22.10% | +10.20% |
| FCF margini | +48.35% | +45.86% |
| Operating margini | 61.11% | 66.13% |
| Profit margini | 46.34% | 50.78% |
| ROIC proxyi | 241.20% | 61.19% |
| Return on equityi | 241.20% | 61.19% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.58% | 0.70% |
| Payout ratioi | 17.63% | 22.13% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.73 | 0.76 |
| Debt/equityi | 439.58 | 67.82 |
| Current ratioi | 1.06 | 0.98 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.67 | 0.63 |
Over the past year, MA and V have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.87), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | MA | V |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +20.96% | +26.30% |
| CAGRi | +21.03% | +26.39% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.11% | 22.53% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.75 | 0.96 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.12 | 1.55 | |
| Max drawdowni | 18.75% | 17.35% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.00% | 0.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.39% | 6.00% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.20% | 7.76% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.77% | 4.50% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 6.45% | 8.30% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +103.96% | +110.31% |
| CAGRi | +15.32% | +16.03% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.76% | 22.71% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.53 | 0.57 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.77 | 0.85 | |
| Max drawdowni | 28.25% | 24.14% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.00% | 0.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.15% | 6.49% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.39% | 8.42% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.69% | 7.74% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.28% | 11.76% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +566.23% | +460.70% |
| CAGRi | +20.89% | +18.82% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.06% | 24.59% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.67 | 0.64 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.97 | 0.93 | |
| Max drawdowni | 41.00% | 36.36% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.00% | 0.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.32% | 6.38% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.88% | 8.92% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.73% | 13.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 21.70% | 16.49% |
| Category | MA | V |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Mastercard Incorporated | Visa Inc. |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Credit Services | Credit Services |
| Core business | Mastercard is the world's second-largest payment network, operating alongside Visa in a near-duopoly that controls global card payment infrastructure. Mastercard processes transactions between financial institutions, merchants, and cardholders in 210+ countries. Mastercard's services business — data analytics, fraud management, cybersecurity, and digital identity solutions — is growing faster than the core transaction network and commands higher margins. Mastercard has been particularly aggressive in building value-added services revenue. | Visa is the world's largest payment network by volume, with slightly larger global acceptance than Mastercard. Visa operates the VisaNet payment processing network connecting 15,000+ financial institutions, 4.3B cardholders, and 100M+ merchant locations. Visa's value-added services (Visa Direct for real-time push payments, cybersecurity, data analytics) are also growing. Visa and Mastercard together control 85%+ of global card payment volume outside China. |
| Investor focus | Investors track payment volume growth, cross-border payment volume (high-margin international transactions recovering with travel), and value-added services revenue growth as a higher-margin revenue stream beyond core network fees. | Investors track payment volume growth, cross-border volume (highest margin), value-added services, and Visa Direct (real-time push payment platform) transaction growth. |
- Near-identical competitive position to Visa with global network acceptance — any advantage in one country is usually offset by Visa's advantage in another
- Value-added services (cybersecurity, data analytics, real-time payments infrastructure) growing faster than core network fees and carry higher margins
- Strong position in cross-border B2B payments through Mastercard Send and Vocalink real-time payment network acquisitions positioning Mastercard in new payment flows
- Slightly larger global acceptance network than Mastercard gives Visa marginal advantage in global card issuance competition — issuers choose Visa for the marginally wider acceptance
- Visa Direct processes 8B+ real-time push payment transactions annually — expanding Visa's utility beyond traditional card pull payments to gig economy payouts, insurance claims, and remittances
- The most recognized payment brand globally — Visa acceptance mark is the reference brand in markets where consumers think 'credit card'
- Visa's larger network slightly favors Visa in global acceptance head-to-head comparisons — Mastercard is always second in scale
- Real-time payment networks (RTP, FedNow in the US; Faster Payments in UK; UPI in India) create alternative payment rails that bypass Mastercard's card network
- Regulatory interchange fee pressure continues in the EU and Australia, potentially compressing per-transaction economics
- Near-identical to Mastercard in competitive positioning — differentiation within the duopoly is marginal
- Real-time payment alternatives (FedNow, PIX, UPI) reduce card payment relevance in some markets — Visa must adapt to non-card payment flows through Visa Direct and partnerships
- Continued interchange regulation could reduce per-transaction economics in regulated markets like the EU
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