Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin59.1%
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin46.2%
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Financial Health
F
Years to Pay Off Debt4.9 yrs
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt-$17.6B
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital-$436M
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Valuation
F
Margin of Safety0.0%
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book63.93x
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Cash Flow
A
Free Cash Flow$2.7B
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income8.6%
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings$4.5B
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
About Mastercard Incorporated
Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers products and services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; consumer bill payment services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from an existing account and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; and a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Move, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and partners with central banks, fintechs, and financial institutions, as well as enables various cross-border payment flows. Further, it provides security solutions; marketing, personalization, and issuer and merchant loyalty services; business and operational intelligence, advanced analytics and AI, consulting and agentic solutions, and payments and portfolio optimization; digital and authentication; processing and gateway solutions; and other solutions. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus names. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.
Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers products and services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; consumer bill payment services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from an existing account and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; and a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Move, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and partners with central banks, fintechs, and financial institutions, as well as enables various cross-border payment flows. Further, it provides security solutions; marketing, personalization, and issuer and merchant loyalty services; business and operational intelligence, advanced analytics and AI, consulting and agentic solutions, and payments and portfolio optimization; digital and authentication; processing and gateway solutions; and other solutions. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus names. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.
Metric Explanations
What each dimension measures and where the thresholds come from.
Gross Profit Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Years to Pay Off Debt
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Margin of Safety
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Free Cash Flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
Mr. Market is currently offering Mastercard Incorporated at $489.79.
The business passes only 3 of 7 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.
At $489.79, the stock trades at a 1689% premium to its Graham Number of $27.38. Graham would consider this price speculative.
There is no margin of safety at the current price. Graham would advise patience and waiting for a better entry point.
Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign..
Conclusion: By Graham's standards, this stock is speculative at its current price. The intelligent investor would look elsewhere or wait.
Showing Key Metrics
Income Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Q4 2024
Gross Profit %
75.7%▼
79.4%•
N/A
Operating Margin %
59.1%▲
58.2%•
N/A
Net Income %
46.2%▲
46.1%•
N/A
Diluted EPS
4.35▼
4.52▲
3.64
Balance Sheet Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Q4 2024
Total Assets
$52.4B
$54.2B
N/A
Total Debt
$19.0B▼
$19.0B•
N/A
Working Capital
-$436M▼
$796M•
N/A
Years to Pay Debt
4.88
4.68
N/A
Cash Flow Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Free Cash Flow
$2.7B▼
$4.7B
Owner Earnings
$4.5B
$4.6B
CapEx % of Net Income
8.6%
7.1%
Income Statement
2026
2025
2024
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items
-8,310
-39,662
Tax Rate For Calcs
0
0
Normalized EBITDA
5,339,000
5,569,000
Total Unusual Items
-43,000
-237,000
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill
-43,000
-237,000
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest
3,882,000
4,060,000
Reconciled Depreciation
299,000
297,000
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue
2,037,000
1,818,000
EBITDA
5,296,000
5,332,000
EBIT
4,997,000
5,035,000
Net Interest Income
-185,000
-159,000
Interest Expense
185,000
159,000
Normalized Income
3,916,690
4,257,338
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation
3,882,000
4,060,000
Total Expenses
3,433,000
3,677,000
Total Operating Income As Reported
4,907,000
4,910,000
Diluted Average Shares
893,000
898,000
919,000
Basic Average Shares
891,000
897,000
Diluted EPS
0
0
0
Basic EPS
0
0
Diluted NI Availto Com Stockholders
3,882,000
4,060,000
Net Income Common Stockholders
3,882,000
4,060,000
Net Income
3,882,000
4,060,000
Net Income Including Noncontrolling Interests
3,882,000
4,060,000
Net Income Continuous Operations
3,882,000
4,060,000
Tax Provision
930,000
816,000
Pretax Income
4,812,000
4,876,000
Other Income Expense
32,000
-94,000
Other Non Operating Income Expenses
75,000
143,000
Special Income Charges
0
-174,000
Other Special Charges
174,000
280,000
Gain On Sale Of Security
-43,000
-63,000
Net Non Operating Interest Income Expense
-185,000
-159,000
Interest Expense Non Operating
185,000
159,000
Operating Income
4,965,000
5,129,000
Operating Expense
1,396,000
1,859,000
Depreciation Amortization Depletion Income Statement
299,000
297,000
Depreciation And Amortization In Income Statement
299,000
297,000
Selling General And Administration
1,097,000
1,562,000
Selling And Marketing Expense
153,000
319,000
General And Administrative Expense
944,000
1,243,000
Other Gand A
944,000
1,243,000
Gross Profit
6,361,000
6,988,000
Cost Of Revenue
2,037,000
1,818,000
Total Revenue
8,398,000
8,806,000
Operating Revenue
8,398,000
8,806,000
Balance Sheet
2026
2025
2024
Treasury Shares Number
526,000
518,000
Ordinary Shares Number
886,896
894,038
Share Issued
1,412,896
1,412,038
Net Debt
11,054,000
8,434,000
Total Debt
18,960,000
19,000,000
Tangible Book Value
-8,301,000
-7,377,000
Invested Capital
25,679,000
26,737,000
Working Capital
-436,000
796,000
Net Tangible Assets
-8,301,000
-7,377,000
Common Stock Equity
6,719,000
7,737,000
Total Capitalization
23,931,000
25,988,000
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest
6,722,000
7,746,000
Minority Interest
3,000
9,000
Stockholders Equity
6,719,000
7,737,000
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings
-928,000
-981,000
Other Equity Adjustments
-928,000
-981,000
Treasury Stock
87,342,000
83,224,000
Retained Earnings
88,146,000
85,035,000
Additional Paid In Capital
6,843,000
6,907,000
Total Liabilities Net Minority Interest
45,727,000
46,411,000
Total Non Current Liabilities Net Minority Interest
22,793,000
23,649,000
Other Non Current Liabilities
5,250,000
5,091,000
Non Current Deferred Liabilities
331,000
307,000
Non Current Deferred Taxes Liabilities
331,000
307,000
Long Term Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
17,212,000
18,251,000
Long Term Debt
17,212,000
18,251,000
Current Liabilities
22,934,000
22,762,000
Other Current Liabilities
7,490,000
6,942,000
Current Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
1,748,000
749,000
750,000
Current Debt
1,748,000
749,000
750,000
Other Current Borrowings
1,748,000
749,000
750,000
Payables And Accrued Expenses
13,696,000
15,071,000
Current Accrued Expenses
11,510,000
13,158,000
Payables
2,186,000
1,913,000
Total Tax Payable
1,156,000
914,000
Accounts Payable
1,030,000
999,000
Total Assets
52,449,000
54,157,000
Total Non Current Assets
29,951,000
30,599,000
Other Non Current Assets
8,426,000
8,809,000
Non Current Deferred Assets
1,396,000
1,567,000
Non Current Deferred Taxes Assets
1,396,000
1,567,000
Non Current Accounts Receivable
1,083,000
1,101,000
Investments And Advances
1,677,000
1,705,000
Investmentin Financial Assets
1,677,000
1,705,000
1,607,000
Available For Sale Securities
1,677,000
1,705,000
1,607,000
Long Term Equity Investment
Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets
15,020,000
15,114,000
Other Intangible Assets
5,495,000
5,554,000
Goodwill
9,525,000
9,560,000
Net PPE
2,349,000
2,303,000
Accumulated Depreciation
-2,818,000
-2,756,000
Gross PPE
5,167,000
5,059,000
Leases
497,000
436,000
Other Properties
3,713,000
3,285,000
Machinery Furniture Equipment
105,000
101,000
Buildings And Improvements
744,000
709,000
Current Assets
22,498,000
23,558,000
Other Current Assets
6,701,000
5,369,000
Restricted Cash
2,858,000
2,682,000
Receivables
4,720,000
4,609,000
Accounts Receivable
4,720,000
4,609,000
Cash Cash Equivalents And Short Term Investments
8,219,000
10,898,000
Other Short Term Investments
313,000
332,000
Cash And Cash Equivalents
7,906,000
10,566,000
Cash Flow
2026
2025
Free Cash Flow
2,664,000
4,712,000
Repurchase Of Capital Stock
-4,035,000
-3,558,000
Repayment Of Debt
0
0
Issuance Of Debt
0
0
Capital Expenditure
-335,000
-290,000
End Cash Position
10,764,000
13,248,000
Beginning Cash Position
13,248,000
12,845,000
Effect Of Exchange Rate Changes
-116,000
8,000
Changes In Cash
-2,368,000
395,000
Financing Cash Flow
-5,005,000
-4,186,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities
-5,005,000
-4,186,000
Net Other Financing Charges
-204,000
-8,000
Proceeds From Stock Option Exercised
11,000
64,000
Cash Dividends Paid
-777,000
-684,000
Net Common Stock Issuance
-4,035,000
-3,558,000
Common Stock Payments
-4,035,000
-3,558,000
Net Issuance Payments Of Debt
0
0
Net Long Term Debt Issuance
0
0
Long Term Debt Payments
0
0
Long Term Debt Issuance
0
0
Investing Cash Flow
-362,000
-421,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Investing Activities
-362,000
-421,000
Net Other Investing Changes
-40,000
26,000
Net Investment Purchase And Sale
13,000
-157,000
Sale Of Investment
81,000
298,000
Purchase Of Investment
-68,000
-455,000
Net PPE Purchase And Sale
-154,000
-112,000
Purchase Of PPE
-154,000
-112,000
Capital Expenditure Reported
-181,000
-178,000
Operating Cash Flow
2,999,000
5,002,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Operating Activities
2,999,000
5,002,000
Change In Working Capital
-2,214,000
-163,000
Change In Other Working Capital
667,000
Change In Other Current Liabilities
135,000
-13,000
Change In Other Current Assets
-437,000
216,000
Change In Payables And Accrued Expense
-408,000
928,000
Change In Accrued Expense
-422,000
1,040,000
Change In Payable
14,000
-112,000
Change In Account Payable
14,000
73,000
Change In Prepaid Assets
-2,061,000
-449,000
Change In Receivables
-110,000
-469,000
Changes In Account Receivables
-110,000
-378,000
Other Non Cash Items
637,000
612,000
Stock Based Compensation
136,000
112,000
Deferred Tax
193,000
-20,000
Deferred Income Tax
193,000
-20,000
Depreciation Amortization Depletion
299,000
297,000
Depreciation And Amortization
299,000
297,000
Operating Gains Losses
66,000
104,000
Gain Loss On Investment Securities
66,000
104,000
Net Income From Continuing Operations
3,882,000
4,060,000
📊Quarterly mode — Graham Fair Value & 7 Criteria require annual data. Switch to Annual for full analysis.
Quarter vs Same Quarter Last Year
YoY strips seasonality
Revenue Growth (YoY)
Prior year: $7.2B▲ $8.4B+15.8%
Revenue growth vs same quarter last year strips seasonality. Consistent double-digit growth is a Buffett hallmark.
Gross Margin
Prior year: 76.7%▲ 75.7%-1.0pp
Buffett: consistent gross margin above 40% signals durable pricing power and competitive moat.
Operating Margin
Prior year: 68.5%▲ 59.1%-9.4pp
Graham: operating margin reflects true business economics before financing. Trend matters as much as level.
Net Margin
Prior year: 45.2%▲ 46.2%+1.0pp
Net margin can be distorted by one-time items, tax timing, or interest costs — compare to operating margin for signal quality.
Quarterly Health Checks
3 Graham/Buffett criteria that are valid and reliable on quarterly data
✅ Adequate Size
Graham required scale for resilience. Quarterly revenue × 4 gives an annualised proxy.
$8.4B/qtr (≈$33.6B ann.)
vs > $1.5B annualised revenue
❌ Financial Condition
Current assets vs current liabilities — a real-time liquidity snapshot. Valid and reliable on quarterly data.
0.98x current ratio
vs ≥ 2.0x
✅ Free Cash Flow
Buffett's most important single metric. A positive FCF quarter means the business generated real cash for owners after maintaining its asset base.
$2.7B
vs Positive
Operating Cash Flow
$3.0B
Latest quarter · Buffett's cash reality check
ROIC
13.3%
Based on latest annual operating income
Return on Invested Capital — Buffett's preferred measure for asset-light businesses. ROIC > 15% consistently signals a durable competitive advantage (moat). More meaningful than P/B for software, pharma, and consumer brand companies where most value is intangible and off-balance-sheet.
Market Cap / Net Assets
63.9x
Net Assets: $6.7B
⚠️Revenue grew vs prior year but operating margin contracted. Possible explanations: deliberate investment in growth (hiring, marketing, R&D), input cost inflation, or pricing pressure from competition. Buffett distinguishes between spending that builds moat vs. spending that doesn't.
Peers & Industry
No auto-detected peers for Credit Services. You can manually compare MA against any stock using the Compare tool.
"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."
— Benjamin Graham
Capital Allocation & Alignment
Insider Ownership
0.11%
Low — management has little skin in the game
Return on Equity (ROE)
57.8%
Excellent — management generates strong returns on equity
Return on Assets (ROA)
7.4%
Strong — management uses assets efficiently
Share Buybacks (Latest Year)
$11.7B
Management is returning capital to shareholders via buybacks
Debt Trend YoY
-0.2% YoY
Debt is declining — management is deleveraging
Leadership Team
Michael Miebach
CEO, President & Director
Age 57
Pay: $9,761,053
0.251% of net income
Sachin Mehra
Chief Financial Officer
Age 54
Pay: $3,326,275
0.086% of net income
Edward Grunde McLaughlin
President & CTO of Mastercard Technology
Age 59
Pay: $2,064,752
0.053% of net income
Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick
President of the Americas
Age 48
Pay: $2,297,718
0.059% of net income
Devin Corr
Executive Vice President of Investor Relations
Top Institutional Holders
Institution
% Owned
Shares
Blackrock Inc.
7.64%
67,011,988
Mastercard Foundation Asset Management Corp
7.44%
65,234,702
Vanguard Capital Management LLC
5.97%
52,337,454
State Street Corporation
4.16%
36,478,022
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO
3.72%
32,656,501
FMR, LLC
2.77%
24,263,911
Geode Capital Management, LLC
2.40%
21,071,444
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC
2.22%
19,434,544
⚠️Current ratio below 1 — liquidity risk
Risk Analysis
Beta (Market Risk)
0.74
Low volatility — more stable than the market
Short Interest
0.7% of float
Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish
Debt-to-Equity
2.82x
High leverage — significant financial risk
Current Ratio
0.98x
Weak liquidity — current liabilities exceed current assets
52-Week Price Range
Low: $464.52Current: $489.79High: $601.77
Currently at 18% of 52-week range
Mastercard Incorporated (MA) fundamental analysis — Overall grade C based on profitability, financial health, valuation and cash flow. Graham's
Fair Value: $27.38. Margin of safety: 0%. Gross profit margin: 75.7%. Operating margin: 59.1%. Net margin: 46.2%. Market cap: $432.8B. Sector: Financial Services. Industry: Credit Services. Analysis powered by 360investing — free fundamental stock analysis based on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett
principles.
Disclaimer: 360investing is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. All data is sourced from public third-party providers
and may be delayed, inaccurate, or incomplete. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Analysis, scores, and valuations are algorithmic and do not represent professional investment recommendations. Always conduct your own due
diligence and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision. Use of this tool constitutes acceptance that 360investing and its operators bear no liability for decisions made based on information presented here.