13 Best Forever Stocks to Buy Right Now

4. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is the world’s second-largest payment processing firm. The firm provides its customers with a wide range of payment processing and related services, such as credit and debit cards, data analytics, settlements, payment deferrals, and more.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) reported sales of $7.5 billion, a 14% rise over the same time the year before. Compared to the previous year, the company’s net income increased to $3.5 billion during the quarter. In addition, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has provided its customers with 3.5 billion MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards by the end of Q4.

Following MasterCard’s fourth-quarter results, Raymond James maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and raised its price target from $614 to $640. The firm emphasized MasterCard’s sustained performance, noting that while the first guidance may result in lower projections, this is mostly due to foreign exchange changes and transaction-related operational expenditures.

Qualivian Investment Partners stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA): Q2 2024 revenues and EPS beat consensus expectations, growing 11% (+13% on a constant currency, CC, basis) and 24% (+27% on a CC basis) respectively. Overall payments volume increased 9%, with highly profitable cross-border volumes growing 17%. Management qualified their expectations for a solid FY2024 anchored around continued stable consumer spending, while noting there is uncertainty regarding the overall macroeconomic backdrop heading into the back half of 2024 and 2025. In the event of a weakening consumer, management noted they would adjust investment priorities as well as the company’s cost structure as appropriate if trends softened further. We continue to expect that over the longer term, MA will continue to drive and benefit from the digitization of payments globally.”