Should You Buy Mastercard Incorporated (MA)’s Shares?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is one of the 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Richard Chilton.

Payment platform Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s shares are down by 8.8% over the past year and 11.7% year-to-date. In today’s AI-driven market, the firm made a key announcement on June 10th when it announced its Agent Pay for Machines platform. The platform enables transactions between AI agents and its network. A day earlier, on the 9th, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and peer firm Visa’s longstanding dispute with merchants also made headway after a court granted preliminary approval to a $38 billion settlement.

As part of its fiscal first quarter 2026 earnings, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) posted $8.4 billion in net revenues and $4.60 in adjusted earnings per share. The figures beat analyst estimates of $8.26 billion and $4.41. The shares currently trade at a forward P/E ratio of 24.94, which is slightly higher than the S&P’s 21.

Should You Buy Mastercard Incorporated (MA)’s Shares?

A mobile phone with Mastercard app

L1 Capital International Fund discussed Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

“Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and Visa remain two of the Fund’s largest holdings. Both businesses continue to deliver consistent financial performance, with double-digit earnings growth. Despite this, share prices have drifted over the past 12 months and underperformed the broader market, including a decline of more than 10% during the March quarter. This underperformance reflects concerns that emerging technologies – including agentic commerce, stablecoins and alternative payment rails – may disrupt the traditional payments ecosystem.”

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 the cheapest AI stock.

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