Mastercard Incorporated — Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Summary

Financial Performance:

• Third quarter net revenue was $9.8 billion, a 14% increase year-over-year on both a reported and currency-neutral basis.
• Third quarter net income was $4.6 billion, with diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $5.28, representing an 18% increase in net income and a 22% increase in diluted EPS compared to the prior year.
• Third quarter adjusted net income was $4.7 billion, with adjusted diluted EPS of $5.31, reflecting a 17% increase in net income and a 21% increase in adjusted diluted EPS year-over-year.
• Operating income was $5.9 billion, up 16% year-over-year, with an operating margin of 59.8% (up 0.9 percentage points).
• Adjusted operating margin was 60.5%, up 0.7 percentage points year-over-year.
• Total operating expenses were $3.9 billion, an 11% increase year-over-year; adjusted operating expenses increased 12%.
• Effective income tax rate was 19.4% (down 2.1 percentage points from 21.5% in the prior year); adjusted effective tax rate was 20.1% (down 1.4 percentage points).
• Year-to-date net revenue was $27.5 billion, a 15% increase (13% currency-neutral).
• Year-to-date net income was $12.9 billion, with diluted EPS of $14.59, up 18% and 22% respectively year-over-year.
• Year-to-date adjusted net income was $13.2 billion, with adjusted diluted EPS of $14.94, up 19% and 22% respectively.
• Cash and cash equivalents were $10.1 billion as of September 30, 2026.
• Short-term debt was $1.7 billion and long-term debt was $22.2 billion as of September 30, 2026.

Business Segments and Product Lines:

• Payment network net revenue increased 11% year-over-year, driven by Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) growth of 7% to $3.0 trillion and cross-border volume growth of 11%.
• Value-added services and solutions net revenue increased 19% year-over-year, driven by underlying key drivers, strong demand, and pricing.
• Payment network rebates and incentives increased 18% year-over-year.
• Switched transactions grew 9% year-over-year.
• As of September 30, 2026, customers had issued 3.8 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards.
• Year-to-date GDV grew 7% to $8.5 trillion, with cross-border volume up 12% and switched transactions up 9%.
• Year-to-date payment network rebates and incentives increased 21%.
• Year-to-date value-added services and solutions revenue increased 20%.

Market and Competitive Landscape:

• The company highlighted growth in Agentic Commerce and the new Global Money Platform through BVNK.
• The company operates in more than 220 countries and territories.
• Latin America showed strong growth with GDV up 21.6% and Purchase Volume up 16.1% in the third quarter.
• Europe GDV grew 6.1% and Purchase Volume grew 10.3% in the third quarter.
• APMEA GDV grew 5.5% and Purchase Volume grew 7.4% in the third quarter.
• United States GDV grew 5.9% and Purchase Volume grew 6.7% in the third quarter.

Risks and Challenges:

• Risks include regulation related to the payments industry, including interchange rates and surcharging.
• Regulatory impacts regarding privacy, data, AI, information security, and the digital economy.
• Anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, economic sanctions, and account-based payments systems regulations.
• Changes in tax laws and challenges to tax positions.
• Litigation and litigation settlements, including U.S. merchant class litigation and ATM non-discrimination rule surcharge complaints.
• Competition in the global payments industry, including disintermediation and pricing pressure.
• Rapid technological developments and challenges related to operating real-time account-based payments systems.
• Information security incidents, account data breaches, or service disruptions.
• Global economic, political, financial, and societal events, including adverse currency fluctuations.
• Inability to attract and retain a highly qualified workforce.
• Issues related to acquisition integration and exposure to loss due to contractual obligations.

Management Commentary and Tone:

• CEO Michael Miebach stated the quarter delivered "net revenue growth of 14%" and emphasized a "powerful foundation" backed by global reach and innovation.
• Management expressed confidence in shaping the future of commerce, stating, "We're not waiting for the future of commerce. We're building it."
• The tone regarding growth drivers was positive, citing strong demand across services and pricing power.
• Management noted that operating expense increases were primarily due to higher general and administrative expenses, partially offset by lower litigation provisions in the year-to-date period.

Other Key Points:

• During the third quarter, Mastercard repurchased 5.3 million shares at a cost of $3.0 billion and paid $763 million in dividends.
• Year-to-date through October 26, the company repurchased 1.1 million shares at a cost of $0.6 billion, leaving $4.9 billion remaining under approved share repurchase programs.
• Year-to-date 2026 included a $202 million restructuring charge intended to enable reinvestment for long-term growth opportunities.
• Year-to-date 2026 included $156 million in pre-tax charges related to litigation settlements and provisions.
• Year-to-date 2026 included a $73 million net pre-tax loss on equity investments, compared to a $16 million gain in the prior year.
• The company acquired businesses totaling $1.4 billion in cash used for investing activities year-to-date.
• A conference call to discuss results was held on October 29, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. ET.