Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) stock traded higher Thursday after the payments giant reported better-than-expected third-quarter 2026 earnings and revenue, driven by strong consumer spending, cross-border transactions and demand for value-added services.

Mastercard Beats Earnings Estimates

Mastercard reported adjusted earnings of $5.31 per share, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.16.

Revenue increased 14% year over year to $9.81 billion, topping Wall Street’s estimate of $9.65 billion.

Net income rose 18% to $4.6 billion, while GAAP earnings per share climbed 22% to $5.28.

Operating income increased 16% to $5.9 billion, with operating margin expanding to 59.8% from 58.8% a year earlier.

Consumer Spending And Cross-Border Payments Drive Growth

Gross dollar volume increased 7% on a local-currency basis to $3 trillion, while purchase volume rose 9%.

Cross-border volume climbed 11%, and switched transactions increased 9%.

Payment network revenue grew 11%, while value-added services and solutions revenue surged 19%, supported by strong demand and pricing.

Mastercard ended the quarter with approximately 3.8 billion Mastercard- and Maestro-branded cards worldwide.

CEO Michael Miebach said consumer spending remained resilient despite economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

“While there continues to be economic and geopolitical uncertainty, consumers continue spend, businesses continue to invest and commerce continues to expand the economy,” he said.

Mastercard now reaches more than 200 million merchant acceptance locations and another 300 million digital access points. Merchant acceptance grew 20% in the first half of 2026.

Mastercard Expands Banking Partnerships

Mastercard secured new and renewed agreements with Handelsbanken, Swedbank, Bank of China, HDFC Bank and Pinnacle Financial Partners.

The HDFC Bank partnership is expected to add approximately 3 million cards to Mastercard’s network.

Its Essential Debit product secured 15 programs across seven markets, while the company won 100 affluent credit and debit programs this year.

Mastercard also expanded virtual-card partnerships with Tungsten Automation, Coupa and Checkout.com.

Travel-related agreements signed during the quarter could generate more than $20 billion in incremental network spending over their lifetimes.

Pushes Deeper Into AI And Stablecoins

Miebach identified agentic commerce as the next major evolution in digital payments.

Mastercard is expanding its AgentPay platform for secure, tokenized transactions and Agent Connect to improve merchant discoverability.

The company also announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI covering payments, services growth and artificial intelligence transformation.

Shopify is integrating AgentPay and Mastercard network tokens into Shop Pay to support AI-powered transactions.

Mastercard’s BVNK acquisition strengthens its stablecoin capabilities by connecting traditional currencies with digital assets.

The companies also launched the Mastercard Global Money Platform, enabling financial institutions and fintechs to hold, convert, send and receive fiat currencies and stablecoins.

Mastercard Maintains Revenue Outlook

Mastercard reaffirmed its 2026 forecast for GAAP net revenue growth in the low teens.

However, the company now expects operating expense growth at the low end of the low-double-digit range, compared with its previous forecast at the high end of the high-single-digit range.

On a non-GAAP, currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions and other inorganic activity, Mastercard continues to expect revenue growth at the high end of the low-double-digit range and operating expense growth in the low double digits.

CFO Ling Hai highlighted strength in consumer acquisition, marketing insights, security solutions and digital authentication.

However, management flagged pressure on intra-Europe cross-border activity from customs changes, promotional timing and tougher cryptocurrency-related comparisons.

Mastercard also continues to monitor geopolitical uncertainty, higher energy prices and monetary-policy developments.

Although the company has not issued formal 2027 guidance, management expressed confidence in its longer-term growth prospects, supported by new deals and demand for value-added services.

Returns Billions To Shareholders

Mastercard repurchased 5.3 million shares for $3 billion during the quarter and paid $763 million in dividends.

Through Oct. 26, the company repurchased another 1.1 million shares for approximately $600 million, leaving $4.9 billion under its existing authorization.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $10.15 billion, compared with $10.57 billion at the end of 2025.

Mastercard Price Action

MA Price Action: Mastercard shares were up 4.47% at $637.60 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to market data.