If You Invested $10,000 in Mastercard Stock 10 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today
Key Points
Mastercard’s total return over the past decade was significantly higher than the S&P 500's.
It's surprising to learn that valuation expansion played a minor role, with the main catalyst being earnings growth.
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Mastercard (NYSE: MA) is one of the largest payments networks on the face of the planet. In 2025, it handled $10.6 trillion in volume. It counted 3.4 billion active cards as of Dec. 31. And the business has a presence in more than 210 countries.
Over the last 10 years, this financial stock has worked out extremely well for investors.
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Image source: Mastercard.
Mastercard shares produced a total return of 461% in the past decade (as of March 19), turning a starting $10,000 investment into $56,150 today. This crushes the 283% total return of the S&P 500 index. Mastercard's impressive performance is also much better than that of bigger rival Visa.
During the last 10 years, Mastercard's valuation didn't play a significant role in its investment gains. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio rose by just 8%. And it currently sits at a 29.7 multiple, which is 25% cheaper than six months ago.
So the key driver was net income growth. Between 2015 and 2025, the company's diluted earnings per share (EPS) climbed 393%. This trend is a nod to Mastercard's strong earnings power, with its robust margins. Consensus analyst estimates call for EPS to increase at a 16% compound annual rate over the next three years.
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Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Mastercard and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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