Mastercard Third-Quarter Net Revenue Rises 14% as Value-Added Services Jump 19%

Mastercard grew third-quarter net revenue 14% to $9.8 billion and lifted diluted earnings per share 22% to $5.28, with revenue from its value-added services and solutions business up 19% and cross-border volume up 11%, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Thursday.

Adjusted diluted EPS rose 21% to $5.31 from $4.38 a year earlier. Net income climbed 18% to $4.6 billion, and adjusted net income rose 17% to $4.7 billion.

"Another strong quarter for Mastercard, delivering net revenue growth of 14%," CEO Michael Miebach said in the release. He pointed to the company's work on agentic commerce and "our new Global Money Platform through BVNK," adding: "We're not waiting for the future of commerce. We're building it."

Services outpace the network

Value-added services and solutions net revenue rose 19%, both as reported and on a currency-neutral basis, which the company attributed to its key drivers, strong demand across several services, and pricing.

Payment network net revenue grew 11%. Gross dollar volume rose 7% on a local currency basis to $3.0 trillion, cross-border volume increased 11%, and switched transactions grew 9%, the release said.

That growth came even as payment network rebates and incentives, the payments Mastercard makes to customers, rose 18%, which the company tied to growth in its key drivers and to new and renewed deals.

As of Sept. 30, customers had issued 3.8 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards.

Margins widen

Operating income rose 16% to $5.9 billion, and the operating margin widened to 59.8% from 58.8%. Operating expenses increased 11% to $3.9 billion, mainly because of higher general and administrative costs. On an adjusted basis, the operating margin was 60.5%, up from 59.8%.

A lower tax rate also helped the bottom line. The effective tax rate fell to 19.4% from 21.5%, which Mastercard attributed to higher net discrete tax benefits and other tax impacts.

Other income and expense was $59 million less favorable than a year earlier, mainly because of interest expense on debt and a net loss on equity investments, compared with a gain in the prior-year period, the company said.

Nine months and buybacks

For the first nine months of 2026, net revenue rose 15% to $27.5 billion, or 13% on a currency-neutral basis, and diluted EPS increased 22% to $14.59. Adjusted diluted EPS for the period rose 22% to $14.94.

Mastercard repurchased 5.3 million shares for $3.0 billion during the third quarter and paid $763 million in dividends. From the start of the fourth quarter through Oct. 26, it bought back another 1.1 million shares for $0.6 billion, leaving $4.9 billion under its approved repurchase programs.

By the numbers

• $9.8 billion: third-quarter net revenue, up 14%
• $5.28: diluted EPS, up 22%; $5.31 adjusted, up 21%
• 11%: cross-border volume growth on a local currency basis
• 19%: growth in value-added services and solutions net revenue
• $3.0 billion: stock repurchased in the quarter

The company scheduled a conference call for 9 a.m. ET on Thursday to discuss the results.

Sources

1. Mastercard Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 29, 2026 (accession 0001141391-26-000122)

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Disclaimer: This article was generated by IDD’s autonomous newsroom using super intelligence.