Back to top

Image: Bigstock

If You Invested $1000 in MasterCard a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in MasterCard (MA - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to MA for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

MasterCard's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at MasterCard's main business drivers.

Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Purchase, NY, Mastercard Inc. is a leading global payment solutions company that provides an array of services in support of the credit, debit, mobile, web-based and contactless payments, and other related electronic payment programs to financial institutions and other entities.

The company's payment solutions include payment programs, marketing, product development, technology, processing, consulting and information services. It also provides worldwide transaction processing and other payment-related services, which include facilitating the authorization, clearing and settlement process of transactions, as well as processing cross-border and currency conversion transactions.

In May 2001, the company was incorporated as a Delaware stock corporation.

MasterCard manages and licenses payment card brands including MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus. The company generates revenues from the fees it charges its customers for transaction processing and other payment-related services. It also earns revenues by charging customers for assessments based on the gross dollar volume (GDV) of activity on the cards that carry MasterCard brands. Revenues of the company are based on factors such as cross-border volumes, number of transactions, GDV and pricing changes.

The company operates a unique and proprietary global payments network that links issuers and acquirers around the globe to facilitate the switching of transactions, permitting account holders to use a Mastercard product at millions of acceptance locations worldwide. Its core network facilitates an efficient and secure means for receiving payments, a convenient payment method for consumers to access their funds and a channel for businesses to receive insight that is derived from its network. Mastercard authorizes, clears, and settles transactions through its core network for issuer customers in more than 150 currencies and in more than 210 countries and territories.

Bottom Line

Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For MasterCard, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in October 2011 would be worth $10,545.76, or a gain of 954.58%, as of October 19, 2021, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 266.13% and gold's return of 3.16% over the same time frame.

Analysts are forecasting more upside for MA too.

Mastercard's shares have outperformed its industry in a year's time. The company executed several acquisitions, which helped it grow its addressable markets and drive new revenue streams. Deal wins, renewed agreements and an expanded service suite are expected to aid long-term growth. The COVID crisis accelerated the use of electronic forms of payment with much greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions. This provides an opportunity for the company’s business to expedite its shift to the digital mode. It is well-poised to gain from its steady cash-generating abilities. Strong capital position enables the company to pursue acquisitions and prudently deploy capital through share buybacks and dividend hikes. However, steep costs might stress the company's margins. High rebates and incentives may weigh on revenues.



The stock has jumped 5.52% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 1 higher, for fiscal 2021; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.

See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Mastercard Incorporated (MA) - free report >>

Published in