AFRM vs. MA: Affirm vs. Mastercard Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Affirm (AFRM) and Mastercard (MA) are both classified in the Transaction & Payment Processing Services sub-industry within the broader Financial Services industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Mastercard (MA) has more than two decades of public-market history since May 25, 2006, whereas Affirm (AFRM) listed on January 13, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Affirm (AFRM) carries a highly aggressive beta of 3.70, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas Mastercard (MA) is closer to market-like at 0.76 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both companies show strong equity returns, but Mastercard (MA) at 231.37% is the standout with ROE above its industry range; Affirm (AFRM) at 44.49% also sits in the top quartile.

For every dollar of sales, both Affirm (AFRM) at 43.86% and Mastercard (MA) at 46.73% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

Mastercard (MA) at 60.53% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Affirm (AFRM) at 14.82%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 32.15% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Mastercard (MA) at 16.42% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AFRM.

Affirm (AFRM) at 3,586.67% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than Mastercard (MA) at 18.93%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and Mastercard (MA) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and Mastercard (MA) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Mastercard (MA) reports a yield of 0.53%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Mastercard (MA) reports a payout of 17.63%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Affirm (AFRM) at 11.80 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 34.15 sits in the richer quartile — MA needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

Both look expensive on sales: Affirm (AFRM) at 5.03 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Mastercard (MA) at 15.67 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Both look rich against book: Affirm (AFRM) at 4.01 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Mastercard (MA) at 84.30 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Valuation Metrics