Mastercard vs. Visa: What Comparing Revenue Trends Tells Investors
Visa has held a clear revenue advantage, but both payment giants have posted consistent quarterly growth across the last eight periods.
By Robert Izquierdo
Mastercard: Steady Revenue Trajectory
Mastercard (MA +1.21%) primarily generates its revenue by providing global transaction processing and a wide array of payment solutions to individual account holders, merchants, and financial institutions.
While it recently announced plans to reduce its global workforce by approximately 4%, it reported 46% net income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Visa: Maintaining a Revenue Lead
Visa (V +1.17%) earns the majority of its revenue by enabling the secure and efficient digital transfer of funds among consumers, retail businesses, and banking institutions around the world.
It entered into a strategic partnership with OpenAI to explore artificial intelligence in commerce, and it recorded approximately 64% EBIT margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Why Revenue Matters for Retail Investors
Revenue serves as a gauge to help investors understand the total amount of money a business brings in before deducting any operational expenses. Understanding this top-line figure helps retail investors measure how effectively a business generates sales over time.
Quarterly Revenue for Mastercard and Visa
Data source: Company filings. Data as of June 23, 2026.
Foolish Take
Comparing revenue trends between Mastercard and Visa surfaces the unique quirks of their businesses. Visa experienced steady quarter-over-quarter sales growth in the past year. Over the same timeframe, Mastercard’s revenue expanded on a year-over-year basis, but saw uneven growth from quarter to quarter. The reason behind this is that Visa’s income relies heavily on payment processing transactions while Mastercard depends more on cross-border travel, which is not as consistent.
Both companies have seen revenue growth over time, given transaction fees automatically scale with global consumer spending. This doesn’t necessarily mean consumers are buying more. Part of the rising revenue is a sign that inflation has caused prices to increase, and since Visa and Mastercard’s fees are a percentage of every transaction, higher prices equate to more revenue.
Visa’s sales are larger than its rival’s because it has a greater market share of payment processing volume. That said, as digital payments continue to grow, both are poised to benefit for years to come.