5 Most Profitable Cryptocurrency Stocks

2. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $9.9 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 139

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a data processing and outsourced services company that provides services in transaction processing and other payment-related services. The company also offers analytics, consulting, managed services, payment gateway solutions, and processing for e-commerce companies, leveraging the digital economy and the rise in digital transactions.

On January 30, Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev maintained a Buy rating on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and raised the price target on the company from $380 to $405.

The company has a 23.7% market share in credit card networks according to 2021 data and is the dominant shareholder in markets such as Sweden and the Netherlands where it had a market share of 70% and 88% respectively. With the global payments market forecasted to reach $3.1 trillion by 2031, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is expected to continue expanding. It had a strong fourth quarter in 2022, with a net revenue that beat analyst expectations by $23.8 million which was a year-over-year growth of 11.52%. Recently, the company released a crypto-backed payment card in a collaboration with Nexo to enable the real-time use of digital currency for consumers in everyday transactions.

As of the fourth quarter, 139 out of 943 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey held shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). Their total stake value was $15.7 billion.

Here is what RiverPark Advisors specifically said about Mastercard Incorporated (NASDAQ:MA) in its fourth-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA): On strong 3Q results, MA was our final top contributor for the quarter. Third quarter revenue grew 15% (23% on a currency neutral basis), while cross-border volumes (the key metric for travel) grew 44%. The company also reported strong expense discipline, which led to a 100-basis point improvement in operating margin (200 basis points currency neutral). EPS for the quarter was up 13% year over year (22% currency neutral), which was better than expected.

We believe that the long-term secular growth trend towards digital payments has been further enhanced by the COVID crisis. The growth in debit cards, contactless payments, e-commerce, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) are all driving digital payment penetration.”