10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Right Now

4. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 151

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), an American credit card company and one of the Best Warren Buffett Stocks, offers its clients a variety of payment processing and related services. Mastercard has shown an amazing total CAGR return of 29.9% since its initial public offering in 2006, making it one of the finest investments over time. This kind of success shows Mastercard’s tenacity and the durability of its business plan, which is protected against inflation and external competition.

Following the company’s strong fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, Raymond James raised its price objective from $614 to $640 and kept its Outperform rating on the stock. The business highlighted Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s consistent performance and noted that while initial projections may be lower, this is primarily due to changes in foreign exchange rates and transaction-related operating costs.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) generated $7.5 billion in sales, a 14% growth over the same time the year before. During the quarter, the company’s net income climbed from $3 billion to $3.5 billion. By December 31, 2024, 3.5 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards had been issued to customers.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) had over $8.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, while its total assets were over $19.7 billion. In fiscal year 2024, the company’s operating cash flow was $14.7 billion, up from $12 billion in fiscal year 2023. They were able to distribute $2.4 billion in dividends to shareholders throughout the year because of their strong financial position. It has increased dividends for 13 consecutive years.

Bretton Fund stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Visa and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) kept doing their thing, increasing earnings per share by 15% and 12%, respectively, with their stocks returning 22% and 24%. We continue to closely watch the evolving payments space as it seems like everyone’s always trying to displace the card networks. For now, we don’t see anything gaining much traction.”