Mastercard is the IBD Stock Of The Day for Thursday. Shares are working on a buy point and near record highs after earnings last month.
The payments giant has racked up a number of price target hikes following its recent Q4 report.
Mastercard on Jan. 30 reported a 20% increase in earnings to $3.82 per share adjusted, beating FactSet views for $3.69 per share. Revenue growth accelerated for the third quarter in a row, increasing 14% to $7.49 billion.
Analysts expected $7.39 billion in revenue.
Gross dollar volume rose 12% for the quarter, while purchase volume increased 13%. Cross-border volume jumped 20%, partially driven by an uptick in cryptocurrency purchases.
Mastercard's switched transactions, which include authorization, clearing and settlement transactions, increased 11% from last year.
Mastercard is also building out its role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem after the September launch of its crypto debit card. That followed the launch of its crypto verification system, Crypto Credential, in May. CEO Michael Miebach during the earnings call noted that Mastercard has partnered with Crypto.com and MetaMask.
Elsewhere, Raj Dhamodhara, Mastercard's head of crypto and blockchain, told CoinDesk on Feb. 18 that the industry is now moving beyond experimentation into real-world solutions. The company last week partnered with crypto compliance firm Notabene, which will integrate Mastercard's Crypto Credential platform to make transactions more secure and user-friendly. Mastercard's goal, according to Dhamodharan, is to serve as a connector between traditional finance firms and blockchain networks, while ensuring regulatory compliance.
"As an industry as a whole, we need to be very open to making (crypto) available as broadly as possible," he told CoinDesk.
For 2025, Mastercard expects to generate low double-digit revenue growth for both Q1 and the full year.
Argus hiked its price target on Mastercard stock by $75 to $625 on the results, The Fly reported. The firm noted that earnings reflected healthy growth in spending volume and higher spending included a rebound in cross-border transactions as international travel increased.
Monness Crespi upgraded MA stock to buy with a $640 price target, calling the earnings a "strong" top and bottom line beat, with a pickup in consumer spending, travel demand and a spike in usage as a funding tool for crypto.
Mastercard Stock
Mastercard stock is trading in a three-weeks-tight pattern with a 576.94 buy point. The pattern could become a four-weeks-tight pattern if shares end the week below the 576.94 entry, and within 1.5% of the prior week's close.
The latest pattern formed on top of a series of prior bases, which stretch back to a mid-September cup breakout.
Shares have jumped more than 34% from their January 2024 low. MA stock is up more than 6% in 2025.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
