Mastercard Tops Third-Quarter Views as Cross-Border Volume Rises

01:48 PM EDT, 10/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Mastercard (MA) reported third-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates amid double-digit percentage growth in cross-border volume and resilient consumer spending. The payments giant's adjusted earnings rose to $5.31 a share for the September quarter from $4.38 a year earlier. A FactSet-polled consensus indicated $5.17. Revenue climbed 14% to $9.81 billion, surpassing the Street's views for $9.66 billion. The company's shares were up 4.8% in Thursday afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-date gains to nearly 12%. "While there continues to be economic and geopolitical uncertainty, consumers continue to spend, businesses continue to invest, and commerce continues to expand," Mastercard Chief Executive Michael Miebach said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "The economy, our overall business and our network have a resilient backdrop." Cross-border volume rose 11% on a local currency basis year over year, reflecting continued growth in travel and non-travel-related cross-border spending, Chief Financial Officer Ling Hai said on the call. Gross dollar volume, which reflects the value of all transactions processed on Mastercard's platform, increased 7.5% in local currency terms to $2.952 trillion. The US recorded an annual gain of 5.9% in GDV, while Latin America logged a roughly 14% increase. Earlier in the week, RBC Capital Markets said it expected Mastercard to meet or beat market estimates driven by strong value-added services and healthy cross-border spending. Mastercard continues to project full-year non-GAAP net revenue to increase by the low teens, it said in an earnings presentation Thursday. "Consumer and commercial spend was healthy in (the third quarter) and so far into (the fourth quarter)," Hai told analysts. "Our business fundamentals are strong and we continue to deliver solid growth across both our payment network and value added services and solutions." For the ongoing quarter, Mastercard expects net revenue growth at the high end of the low-double-digit range on a currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions and dispositions. Earlier in the week, rival Visa (V) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results as payments volume increased from a year earlier. Last week, American Express (AXP) logged third-quarter revenue just below the Street's expectations, while the payments company's CEO disclosed plans to terminate about 5% of its global workforce. Price: 636.82, Change: +26.51, Percent Change: +4.34