Warren Buffett’s 10 Longest-Held Stocks

4. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Warren Buffett’s First Major Purchase: 2011

Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Q3 2024: $1.96 billion

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), a global leader in payment technology, serves a diverse range of clients, including consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, government agencies, large enterprises, banks, and credit unions. Known for its strong track record of rewarding investors through dividends, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has remained a favorite of Warren Buffett for more than a decade.

The company has forged strategic partnerships with Amazon Payment Services and Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecom provider, to boost digital payment acceptance in the Middle East, Africa, and Kenya. Additionally, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) expanded its offerings by acquiring Recorded Future, a company specializing in threat intelligence.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s third-quarter earnings and revenue topped analyst expectations, driven by strong consumer spending and high demand for its value-added services, pushing shares up by 1.7% after the announcement. The payment technology leader reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.89, above the consensus of $3.74. Quarterly revenue reached $7.4 billion, beating the expected $7.26 billion and marking a 13% year-over-year increase, or 14% on a currency-neutral basis. The company’s performance was fueled by a 10% YoY growth in gross dollar volume to $2.5 trillion and a 17% increase in cross-border volume, both on a local currency basis.

Baird raised its price target on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) to $575 from $545 on October 16, maintaining an Outperform rating. The updated outlook reflects optimism about the company’s performance, with third-quarter revenue and earnings per share expected to slightly exceed Wall Street expectations.

Here’s what L1 Capital International Fund mentioned about Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“The share prices of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and Visa, both long term Fund investments, have both drifted down over recent months. There have been no dramatic developments, but there has been a general slight softening in the rate of growth of consumer spending in the U.S. and globally, a court decision rejecting Mastercard and Visa’s proposed settlement of a long-lasting dispute with U.S. merchants as well as other modest adverse regulatory developments. We continue to view Mastercard and Visa as two of the highest quality businesses in the world, and both are well placed to continue to deliver attractive, risk adjusted returns to shareholders over time.”