Mastercard Inc vs VISA INC., two Internet Retail stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Mastercard and Visa are the closest thing to a toll booth in public markets, each keeping more than half of revenue as operating profit, 58% and 64%. Mastercard's 232% return on equity looks like the decisive number until you find the cause: a 2.8 debt-to-equity ratio and years of buybacks have left almost no equity to divide into. Visa earns a still-enormous 62% on a less levered base. They sit close on the measures that carry multiples, near 28 and 27 times earnings, and both convert close to 4% of price into free cash. This is less a contest than two halves of a duopoly priced for permanence.
Comparison updated 2026-06-11.
| Metric | MA | V |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $526.27 | $348.63 |
| Market cap | $470.0B | $648.5B |
| Sector | Internet Retail | Internet Retail |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +22.1% | +19.7% |
| P/E | 30.5 | — |
| P/B | 69.91 | 18.18 |
| P/S | 13.85 | 15.07 |
| EV/EBITDA | 23.1 | 23.9 |
| Revenue growth | +16.8% | +14.4% |
| Operating margin | 58.4% | 64.4% |
| Net margin | 45.9% | 51.7% |
| Return on equity | 231.6% | 62.4% |
| Return on assets | 29.7% | 23.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 61.7% | 37.0% |
| FCF yield | 3.8% | 3.3% |
| Dividend yield | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Debt / equity | 2.82 | 0.67 |
| Current ratio | 0.98 | 1.09 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.30 | 6.93 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.