Mastercard Inc (MA) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Strategic Expansions

In This Article:

  • Net Revenue: Up 16% year-over-year on a non-GAAP currency-neutral basis.

  • Adjusted Net Income: Increased 19% year-over-year on a non-GAAP currency-neutral basis.

  • EPS: $3.82, including an $0.08 contribution from share repurchases.

  • Gross Dollar Volume (GDV): Increased 12% year-over-year on a local currency basis.

  • Cross-Border Volume: Increased 20% globally for the quarter.

  • Switched Transactions: Grew 11% year-over-year in Q4.

  • Operating Expenses: Increased 15%, including a 1 ppt impact from acquisitions.

  • Share Repurchases: $3.4 billion worth of stock repurchased during the quarter.

  • Value-Added Services & Solutions Revenue: Increased 17%.

  • Commercial Credit and Debit Volumes: Represented 13% of total GDV, grew 11% year-over-year.

Release Date: January 30, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

  • Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) reported a strong fourth quarter with net revenues up 16% and adjusted net income up 19% year-over-year on a non-GAAP currency-neutral basis.

  • The company has successfully expanded its partnerships, including significant renewals and expansions with major banks and financial institutions globally.

  • Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is capitalizing on the secular shift to digital payments, with a focus on consumer payments, commercial flows, and services and solutions.

  • The company is leveraging its tokenization and biometric capabilities to enhance security and improve the consumer experience, with 4 billion transactions tokenized per month in 2024.

  • Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is actively pursuing growth in commercial flows, a $80 trillion addressable market, with commercial credit and debit volumes growing 11% year-over-year.

Negative Points

  • Operating expenses increased by 15%, partly due to acquisition-related costs, which were higher than anticipated.

  • The acquisition of Recorded Future and Minna Technologies will impact operating expenses growth by approximately 5 percentage points in 2025.

  • The company faces potential challenges from geopolitical concerns and shifts in monetary and fiscal policy, which could impact future performance.

  • Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is experiencing competitive pressures, particularly in the European market, where local payment solutions are being developed.

  • The company anticipates a headwind of approximately 2 percentage points from foreign exchange in 2025, which could affect revenue growth.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you discuss the drivers of cross-border growth and expectations for 2025? A: Sachin Mehra, CFO, explained that cross-border volume growth remains strong, driven by consumer and commercial spending. The first four weeks of January showed a slight decrease from 20% to 18% due to intra-Europe factors like travel spend pull-forward and calendarization. The overall health of cross-border spending is excellent, and they expect continued strength in 2025.