Mastercard earnings: third quarter 2026

Mastercard's third quarter of 2026 was a quarter of fast growth. Sales rose 14% to $9.8 billion, with no help from currency, and costs grew more slowly than sales, so profit grew faster still. Earnings per share came to $5.28, helped by fewer shares in circulation and a lower tax rate. The other side is in the money: Mastercard handed back more to shareholders, mostly through buybacks, than the business brought in this year, and it borrowed to help pay for that and an acquisition. Debt and the interest bill went up, and the cash balance slipped. The release gives no forecast for the coming quarter or the year. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Earnings per share of $5.28 came in above the analysts' average forecast of $5.14, according to Nasdaq's earnings calendar. ¹²

The strong points

• Sales rose 14% from a year ago to $9.8 billion, and currency swings played no part in that growth. ¹
• Earnings per share rose 22% to $5.28, faster than sales, helped by fewer shares in circulation and a lower tax rate. ¹
• Costs grew more slowly than sales, so operating profit, the profit from running the business, reached 59.8% of sales against 58.8% a year ago. ¹

The weak points

• Long-term debt rose to about $22.2 billion from about $18.3 billion at the end of 2025, as Mastercard borrowed to help pay for buybacks and an acquisition. ¹
• Over nine months the cash balance fell by $306 million despite strong profit, because payouts to shareholders and an acquisition used more cash than came in without new borrowing. ¹
• Sales from the card payment network grew 11%, slower than total sales, while the rebates and incentives Mastercard pays its customers rose faster. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A strong report. Sales and profit grew fast and earnings per share came in above what analysts expected, with no forecast in the release to change the picture; the soft spot is rising debt and a cash balance drawn down by buybacks.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)

Notes

1. Mastercard's results release, 29 October 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 29 October 2026. ↩