Is MA a good stock to buy? We came across a bullish thesis on Mastercard Incorporated on Hated Moats’s Substack by Hated Moats Investors. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on MA. Mastercard Incorporated’s share was trading at $485.67 as of June 8th . MA’s trailing and forward P/E were 28.42 and 25.06 respectively according to Yahoo Finance.
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Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. MA is positioned as one of the highest-quality compounders in global financial services, operating a scalable payment network that benefits from the continued migration from cash and cheques toward digital payments.
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The company generates extraordinary margins through its asset-light “toll-road” business model, capturing a small percentage of transaction flows while benefiting from rising payment volumes, cross-border activity, and increasing adoption of value-added services.
Mastercard’s value-added services segment, which now contributes more than 40% of total revenue, continues to strengthen customer stickiness through cybersecurity, authentication, data analytics, processing, and open-finance capabilities. The company is expected to sustain durable long-term growth as commercial payment digitisation, global e-commerce expansion, and electronic payment penetration continue worldwide.
The valuation framework projects revenue growth from approximately $32.8 billion in 2025 to nearly $66.4 billion by 2035 while GAAP operating margins expand from 57.4% to 60.5%, supported by operating leverage, pricing power, automation, and disciplined reinvestment. Mastercard also maintains exceptional cash generation and incremental returns on capital above 25%, reinforcing its ability to compound shareholder value over long periods.
Based on the DCF analysis, the company’s intrinsic value is estimated at $568.5 per share versus a trading price of $498, implying upside in the base case. The bull-case valuation reaches $806 per share, if cross-border growth, services expansion, and margin improvement remain strong. Despite regulatory, litigation, and merchant-pricing risks, Mastercard remains a wide-moat business with highly durable long-term growth prospects.
Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on Mastercard Incorporated (MA) by Chit Chat Stocks in February 2025, which highlighted the company’s dominant payments network, durable competitive moat, and strong long-term compounding potential. MA’s stock price has depreciated by approximately 13.69% since our coverage. Hated Moats Investors shares a similar view but emphasizes on Mastercard’s intrinsic value upside, margin expansion, and long-term cash flow growth potential.
Mastercard Incorporated is on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 157 hedge fund portfolios held MA at the end of the first quarter which was 150 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of MA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MA and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
Disclosure: None.
