Mastercard (MA) stock: Winston Score and insider trades

§Winston Score History

Mastercard runs one of the world's largest payment networks that connects banks, merchants, and consumers when people buy things with credit or debit cards. When you swipe or tap a Mastercard at a store or use it online, the company's technology processes that transaction between your bank and the merchant's bank in seconds. Mastercard is one of only four major global card networks, alongside Visa, American Express, and Discover.

The company makes money by charging small fees on every transaction that flows through its network, rather than lending money or taking credit risk like traditional banks. Mastercard operates in over 200 countries and territories, processing billions of transactions annually with particularly strong positions in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. The company benefits from a powerful network effect where more merchants accepting Mastercard makes it more valuable to cardholders, and more cardholders make it more attractive to merchants. Growth depends heavily on the continued shift from cash to digital payments globally, though the business faces regulatory pressure over interchange fees in key markets.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+14.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

Reported EPS Growth

+22.4% YoY

Quarterly reporting periods ended:

30 Jun 2025: $4.07

30 Jun 2026: $4.98

Reported/statutory EPS, not adjusted or underlying earnings. One-off items can affect this figure. Provider rounding can affect the growth rate.

YoY Growth Rate

Reported EPS increased year over year

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

1.0%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$13.3B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Mastercard Incorporated is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 14%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

100.0%

Premium pricing power — 100.0% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

60.2%

Excellent — 60.2% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

68.2%

Exceptional — 68.2% return on capital

ROIC above 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns more than 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+16.0%

Fast-growing sales (+16.0% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+22.6%

Earnings growing fast (+22.6% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

8/8 quarters

Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

107%

Turns 107% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

45.5%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (45.5%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

4.39

Heavy debt load (4.39)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

27.58x

Comfortably covers interest (27.6x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

34.2x

Pricey — P/E 34.2

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+12.8

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (34.2 → 21.4)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

0.61%

Small dividend — 0.61% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+14.6%

Dividend growing fast (14.6% YoY)

Payout Ratio

18%

no trend

Pays out a modest share of profit and keeps the rest to reinvest. Room to keep paying through a weak year.

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Mastercard Incorporated

§How the score breaks down

Share count falling — buybacks

§Winston Score History

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Growth Profile

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Quality

Growth

Cash Flow

Stability

Valuation

Dividends