We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) stands against the other Warren Buffett Stocks.

Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors the world has known. Additionally, he is arguably one of the strongest supporters of long-term investing. Buffett uses his hedge fund, Berkshire Hathaway, to invest in solid businesses, and he frequently keeps such stocks for years or even decades.

Warren Buffett wagered $1 million in 2007 that the broader market index fund would outperform a group of hedge funds over ten years. Buffett’s preferred Vanguard Index Fund Admiral Shares produced average yearly returns of 7.1%, despite the 2008 financial crisis, compared to the average of the hedge funds of 2.2%. While hedge funds only reached $121,000 by 2016, a $100,000 investment in Vanguard grew to $185,000. The primary issue was fees, with hedge funds’ 2% management fees and 20% profit share reducing earnings compared to index funds’ 0.03% fees. Buffett’s straightforward approach, supported by inexpensive investing, far outpaced pricey active management.

Warren Buffett made it clear in his 2025 shareholder letter that Berkshire is not abandoning stocks, even though some analysts claim that the company has a record $334 billion in cash that it is reserving. Buffett tells shareholders,

“Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities. That preference won’t change.”

Buffett’s longtime belief that equities, which represent ownership in successful companies, are still the best way to build wealth over the long run is reflected in this position. He cautions against turning to cash or bonds, particularly in inflationary times when bond returns lag behind price increases and the currency depreciates.

Buffett’s value investing concepts remain intact even as markets shift. He draws attention to the company’s growing stakes in five significant Japanese trading firms, which represents an exceptional but purposeful venture into international stocks. He mentioned that after reviewing the financial records, they were surprised by how undervalued the stocks appeared. Despite some of these equities declining by as much as 24% over the past year, he regarded these downturns as investment opportunities rather than reasons for concern. He also emphasized that their holdings in these five companies were intended to be long-term investments.

Buffett’s conviction that patient investors will eventually be rewarded by undervalued companies with solid fundamentals is seen in Japanese investments. He commends these businesses for their prudent capital management, shareholder-friendly practices, and fair executive pay. Buffett’s strategy highlights a key idea in value investing: if the underlying company is favorable, short-term price volatility doesn’t matter. Buffett has shown throughout his career that he does not hesitate to look for bargains, even if they are located outside of the United States.

The route to success continues to be apparent for investors who want to follow in Buffett’s footsteps: own up to your mistakes, stick with profitable assets like equities, and patiently invest where value is present despite short-term noise.

Methodology

For this article, we scanned Warren Buffett’s Q4 2024 portfolio. From the resultant dataset, we chose 10 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors, using Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to gauge hedge fund sentiment for stocks. We have used the stock’s revenue growth (year-over-year) as a tiebreaker in case two or more stocks have the same number of hedge funds invested.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 151

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), an American credit card company and one of the Best Warren Buffett Stocks, offers its clients a variety of payment processing and related services. Mastercard has shown an amazing total CAGR return of 29.9% since its initial public offering in 2006, making it one of the finest investments over time. This kind of success shows Mastercard’s tenacity and the durability of its business plan, which is protected against inflation and external competition.

Following the company’s strong fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, Raymond James raised its price objective from $614 to $640 and kept its Outperform rating on the stock. The business highlighted Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s consistent performance and noted that while initial projections may be lower, this is primarily due to changes in foreign exchange rates and transaction-related operating costs.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) generated $7.5 billion in sales, a 14% growth over the same time the year before. During the quarter, the company’s net income climbed from $3 billion to $3.5 billion. By December 31, 2024, 3.5 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards had been issued to customers.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) had over $8.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, while its total assets were over $19.7 billion. In fiscal year 2024, the company’s operating cash flow was $14.7 billion, up from $12 billion in fiscal year 2023. They were able to distribute $2.4 billion in dividends to shareholders throughout the year because of their strong financial position. It has increased dividends for 13 consecutive years.

Bretton Fund stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Visa and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) kept doing their thing, increasing earnings per share by 15% and 12%, respectively, with their stocks returning 22% and 24%. We continue to closely watch the evolving payments space as it seems like everyone’s always trying to displace the card networks. For now, we don’t see anything gaining much traction.”

Overall MA ranks 4th on our list of the best Warren Buffett stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential for 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 but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.