GPN vs. MA: Global Payments vs. Mastercard Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Global Payments (GPN) 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.

Company profile comparison for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Profile Item	GPN	MA
Name	Global Payments Inc.	Mastercard Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Transaction & Payment Processing Services	Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Market Capitalization	25.78 billion USD	568.62 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 16, 2001	May 25, 2006
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GPN

GSPC

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
Total Return (1Y)	31.53%	20.00%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-1.66%	19.98%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-4.82%	14.49%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GPN

GSPC

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.00%	23.57%
Beta (5Y)	0.80	0.76
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-57.06%	-28.25%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.69M	2.98M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GPN and MA are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.65	0.67
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.10	1.00

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 231.37% delivers above-range ROE, while Global Payments (GPN) at 0.84% falls into the bottom quartile — a wide split in profit generated from equity.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

0.84%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
GPN: 0.84%
Min: -18.71%

MA

Financial Services industry group

231.37%

MA: 231.37%
Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Global Payments (GPN) reports a negative net margin of -11.21%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile Mastercard (MA) reports 46.73%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

-11.21%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
GPN: -11.21%
Min: -28.52%

MA

Financial Services industry group

46.73%

Max: 62.84%
MA: 46.73%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 60.53% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Global Payments (GPN) at 15.73%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

15.73%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
GPN: 15.73%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

MA

Financial Services industry group

60.53%

Max: 107.33%
MA: 60.53%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
ROE (TTM)	0.84%	231.37%
ROA (TTM)	2.24%	24.45%
Net Margin (TTM)	-11.21%	46.73%
Operating Margin (TTM)	15.73%	60.53%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Mastercard (MA) at 16.42% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Global Payments (GPN) at -0.39% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Global Payments (GPN) at -6.17% and Mastercard (MA) at 18.93% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-0.39%	16.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-4.96%	13.82%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-6.17%	18.93%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	143.57%	17.36%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Global Payments (GPN) 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 / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Global Payments (GPN) 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

Financial strength metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Global Payments (GPN) at 1.05% and Mastercard (MA) at 0.53% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

1.05%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
GPN: 1.05%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MA

Financial Services industry group

0.53%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
MA: 0.53%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Global Payments (GPN) reports payout ratio above 100% at 178.57%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Mastercard (MA) reports 17.63%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

178.57%

Max: 241.07%
GPN: 178.57%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MA

Financial Services industry group

17.63%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
MA: 17.63%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.05%	0.53%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	178.57%	17.63%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Mastercard (MA) at 34.15 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Global Payments (GPN) at 173.93 is richer still, above its industry range.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

173.93

GPN: 173.93
Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

MA

Financial Services industry group

34.15

Max: 45.85
MA: 34.15
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Global Payments (GPN) at 2.24 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 15.67 clears its benchmark range — MA looks notably rich on sales.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

2.24

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
GPN: 2.24
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

MA

Financial Services industry group

15.67

MA: 15.67
Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Global Payments (GPN) at 1.11 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 84.30 prices above its benchmark range — MA looks rich relative to book.

GPN

Financial Services industry group

1.11

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
GPN: 1.11
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

MA

Financial Services industry group

84.30

MA: 84.30
Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

Global Payments (GPN) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Global Payments (GPN) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GPN	MA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	173.93	34.15
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.24	15.67
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.11	84.30
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--