Mastercard (MA) -) posted better-than-expected second quarter earnings Thursday, following payments rivals American Express and Visa in boosting sales and profits from the ongoing boom in international travel and resilient domestic spending.
Mastercard said diluted earnings for the three months ending in June were pegged at $2.89 per share, up 12.9% from the same period last year and just ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $2.82 per share.
Group revenues, Mastercard said, rose 14.75% to $6.3 billion, again topping analysts' estimates of a $6.18 billion tally. Gross dollar volumes were up 12%, the group said, while purchase volumes rose 14%.
“Our positive momentum continued this quarter. We delivered strong revenue and earnings growth supported by resilient consumer spending, particularly in travel and experiences, and the continued strength in services," said CEO Michael Miebach. "Cross-border travel volume showed strong growth again this quarter, reaching 154% of pre-pandemic levels.
"We had a number of notable wins with key customers as our innovative products and differentiated services position us as a partner of choice,” he added.
Mastercard shares were marked 0.1% lower in early Thursday trading immediately following the earnings release to change hands at $402.11 each.
Earlier this week, rival Visa (V) -) posted earnings of $2.16 per share, just ahead of Street forecasts, as group revenues jumped 11.3% to a Street-beating $8.1 billion.
Cross border spending volume was up 17%, Visa said, with payments volume up 10% on a constant-currency basis.
Last week, American Express (AXP) -) missed Street revenue forecasts and set aside a much higher amount of cash to cover potential bad consumer debts, clouding a stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings report.
American Express said earnings for the three months ending in June came in at $2.89 per share, up 9.31% from the same period last year and 8 cents shy of the Street consensus forecast of $2.81 per share.
