MasterCard (MA) quarterly earnings shine bright


After the world's largest credit and debit card processor, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), reported earnings last night, today was its main competitor MasterCard Inc.'s (NYSE: MA) turn to step up to the plate. The company posted quarterly earnings figures that topped analysts' expectations, pushing its shares up 10% in morning trading.

MasterCard reported that its first quarter profit more than doubled to $446.9 million, or $3.38 a share, helped by gains from the sale of its investment in Redecard S.A. in Brazil. The weak dollar and more customers who used their credit and debit cards for purchases also boosted the company's earnings.

Included in MasterCard's earnings was 37 cents a share related to the terminating of a customer business agreement. Excluding that, the credit-card giant posted earnings of $3.01 a share, exceeding analysts' estimates for a profit of $2.00 a share.

MasterCard posted a respectable 29% growth for its first quarter revenue, which climbed to $1.18 billion. During the period, the card processor benefited from higher volume of transactions processed. The company also attributed its revenue gain to currency fluctuations, with the euro and the Brazilian real volatile in relation to the U.S. dollar. Analysts expected the company show lower sales of $1.07 billion in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.

Looking ahead, there is some concern regarding the impact that the weak economy will have on credit card processors like MasterCard. The main fears are tied to consumers who may have to cut their spending, adding pressure on MasterCard's revenue too. However, MasterCard's Chief Executive showed optimism over its further gains, and stated that the company "continues to see growth in the U.S. region despite continued economic uncertainty."

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 13, 2012: 04:30 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    WalletPop Headlines

    DailyFinance BlackBerry App

    My Portfolios

    Track your stocks here!

    Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

    BloggingStocks Partners

    More from AOL Money & Finance

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    Page Loaded in 1329125429365 ms.