10 Best AI Stock Picks of Motley Fool Asset Management

8. Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA)

Motley Fool Asset Management’s Stake: $68.68 Million

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) is one of the best-positioned stocks to benefit from global economic growth and the continued shift toward digital payments. Based on Wall Street estimates, the company is expected to deliver around 15% EPS growth in 2026 and 2027,  and about 16%+ increase in 2028. This growth is supported by secular tailwinds such as rising digital payments penetration, cross-border travel recovery, and continued shift away from cash across both developed and emerging markets.

New growth catalysts for the stock include expansion into value-added services, deeper penetration in co-branded card partnerships, and strategic moves into next-generation payment rails, including stablecoin infrastructure through its planned BVNK acquisition.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) trades at a forward P/E of roughly mid-20s (~25x), below its historical average.

Ironvine Capital Partners stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q4 2025 investor letter:

“Global payment network Visa and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) are uniquely durable businesses, deeply embedded in the plumbing of global commerce thanks to network effects that have been reinforced over several decades. As the connective tissue between card issuers (deposit and lending institutions), merchants, and card holders, Visa and Mastercard remove friction and fraud from the payment process in mostly invisible ways across hundreds of millions of daily transactions. Today, one easily takes for granted the ability to safely pay nearly any entity in the world with minimal cost or complexity. Visa and Mastercard’s unrivaled scale allow them to provide essential payment services to billions of cardholders and 150+ million merchants for a fraction of a penny per dollar transacted while generating tremendous economics for owners… (Click here to read the full text).