Mastercard (MA) 2012 Review

Mastercard (MA) is a global leader in electronic payments serving as a processor, franchisor and advisor to approximately 25,000 financial institutions for their credit, debit and other payment programs. 

In addition, it manages a family of payment card brands (Mastercard, Mastercard Electronic, Maestro, Cirrus). Importantly, MA does not extend credit; it simply acts as a toll collector and is paid on both transaction volume and dollar volume.

The company earns in excess of a 25% return on equity and has grown profits from $1.76 in 2004 to $18.70 in 2011 and its dividend from $.09 in 2006 to $.60 in 2011.

While the 2008-2009 pullback in global consumer spending impacted the gross dollar volume of transactions, the company continued to grow; further improvement should come as a result of: