Mastercard Incorporated (MA): One of the Best Financial Stocks to Buy According to Warren Buffett

We just covered the 10 Best Financial Stocks to Buy According to Warren Buffett and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) ranks 9th on this list.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) was one of the long-term holdings of Berkshire Hathaway for the past many years. The fund had first disclosed a stake in the company back in the first quarter of 2011. Back then, this position comprised a little over 2.1 million shares. By the next quarter, the fund had almost doubled this holding to 4 million shares. By late 2014, this stake had grown to around 5.4 million shares. Thereafter, the fund trimmed this holding very slowly. By late 2021, the fund owned just under 4 million shares in the firm. No activity was registered against this stock until the first quarter of 2026 when the fund disclosed that it had sold off the entire stake it owned in the payments company.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) kicked off the fiscal year with an earnings outperformance that underscored the sheer scalability of its business model. The firm delivered net revenues of $8.40 billion in Q1 2026, posting a 16% year-over-year increase that easily topped Wall Street projections.  Adjusted EPS skyrocketed 23% year-over-year to $4.60, up from $3.73 in Q1 2025, sailing past the consensus estimate of $4.41 to $4.53. The firm demonstrated incredible operating leverage, maintaining a 58% operating margin even while aggressively expanding strategic capital expenditure. Global cross-border volume surged 13%, fueled by a powerful mix of international travel recovery and cross-border digital merchant transactions.

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