Mastercard Q4 Earnings Preview: Wall Street Sees Supportive Macro Environment In 2025, Retail Stays Bullish

Mastercard Inc (MA) shares edged higher and hovered near a 52-week high on Wednesday as investors awaited the payments firm’s earnings report on Thursday.

According to FinChat data, Wall Street expects Mastercard to report fourth-quarter (Q4) earnings per share of $3.69 on revenue of $7.38 billion. The company has topped market expectations for 16 prior quarters.

Earlier in January, TD Cowen analysts said that Q4 estimates are broadly reasonable. According to The Fly, the brokerage's focus remains on the 2025 outlook, where it sees limited surprises.

According to TheFly, Citi expects a greater return to the asset class in 2025, given the stable macroeconomic backdrop, diminished regulatory burden, potential for further acquisitions, and steadier growth profiles.

In a broader sector note, Citi analysts had said that investor interest in FinTech ‘continues to grind higher, echoing improvement in sector performance since the U.S. election.’

Meanwhile, Piper Sandler analysts noted that the benefits of margin expansion or revenue growth by applying generative AI (GenAI) within the payment ecosystem are vastly underappreciated, according to TheFly.

Mastercard and its peers are incorporating GenAI to conduct multiple tasks, including fraud detection. In 2024, the company said it had doubled the detection rate of compromised cards with its new technology.

Retail chatter on Stocktwits remained at ‘bullish’ (62/100) territory, albeit with a higher score, while retail chatter was ‘high.’

Last week, payments giant American Express narrowly missed Wall Street profit expectations.

https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MA

Over the past year, Mastercard stock has gained 24.2%.

Also See: General Dynamics Slips After 2025 Outlook Fails To Impress Wall Street, Retail Looks Past Weakness

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