GS vs. MA: Goldman Sachs vs. Mastercard Stock Comparison

August 10, 2026

How do Goldman Sachs (GS) 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

Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but GS is classified in Capital Markets while MA is classified in Financial Services.

Company profile comparison for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Profile Item	GS	MA
Name	The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.	Mastercard Incorporated
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Financial Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Investment Banking & Brokerage	Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Market Capitalization	302.70 billion USD	493.15 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 4, 1999	May 25, 2006
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GSPC

Goldman Sachs (GS) 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 Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
Total Return (1Y)	47.35%	0.93%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	46.38%	13.03%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	24.15%	9.14%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GSPC

Goldman Sachs (GS) 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 Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.61%	22.28%
Beta (5Y)	1.29	0.73
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.84%	-28.25%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.17M	3.63M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GS 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 Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.37	-0.14
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.09	-0.20

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 241.20% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Goldman Sachs (GS) at 16.90%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

GS

Financial Services industry group

16.90%

Max: 46.75%
Q3: 21.47%
GS: 16.90%
Median: 12.65%
Q1: 4.20%
Min: -18.74%

MA

Financial Services industry group

241.20%

MA: 241.20%
Max: 46.75%
Q3: 21.47%
Median: 12.65%
Q1: 4.20%
Min: -18.74%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 31.04% and Mastercard (MA) at 46.34% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

GS

Financial Services industry group

31.04%

Max: 66.61%
GS: 31.04%
Q3: 29.41%
Median: 16.14%
Q1: 4.44%
Min: -28.52%

MA

Financial Services industry group

46.34%

Max: 66.61%
MA: 46.34%
Q3: 29.41%
Median: 16.14%
Q1: 4.44%
Min: -28.52%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 61.11% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Goldman Sachs (GS) at 42.18%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

GS

Financial Services industry group

42.18%

Max: 96.23%
Q3: 52.90%
GS: 42.18%
Median: 28.21%
Q1: 12.60%
Min: -46.79%

MA

Financial Services industry group

61.11%

Max: 96.23%
MA: 61.11%
Q3: 52.90%
Median: 28.21%
Q1: 12.60%
Min: -46.79%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
ROE (TTM)	16.90%	241.20%
ROA (TTM)	1.07%	24.06%
Net Margin (TTM)	31.04%	46.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)	42.18%	61.11%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 8.92% and Mastercard (MA) at 16.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 26.59% 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.

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.92%	16.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.16%	13.82%
EPS Growth (YoY)	26.59%	18.93%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.52%	17.36%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Goldman Sachs (GS) 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: Goldman Sachs (GS) 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 Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 1.65% and Mastercard (MA) at 0.59% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

GS

Financial Services industry group

1.65%

Max: 11.42%
Q3: 4.62%
GS: 1.65%
Median: 1.03%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MA

Financial Services industry group

0.59%

Max: 11.42%
Q3: 4.62%
Median: 1.03%
MA: 0.59%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 26.25% and Mastercard (MA) at 17.93% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

GS

Financial Services industry group

26.25%

Max: 223.44%
Q3: 89.89%
GS: 26.25%
Median: 25.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MA

Financial Services industry group

17.93%

Max: 223.44%
Q3: 89.89%
Median: 25.00%
MA: 17.93%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.65%	0.59%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.25%	17.93%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Goldman Sachs (GS) at 16.06 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 31.64 sits in the richer quartile — MA needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

GS

Financial Services industry group

16.06

Max: 50.71
Q3: 26.21
GS: 16.06
Median: 15.62
Q1: 9.53
Min: 1.87

MA

Financial Services industry group

31.64

Max: 50.71
MA: 31.64
Q3: 26.21
Median: 15.62
Q1: 9.53
Min: 1.87

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Goldman Sachs (GS) at 4.48 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 14.06 clears its benchmark range — MA looks notably rich on sales.

GS

Financial Services industry group

4.48

Max: 10.14
Q3: 4.96
GS: 4.48
Median: 2.96
Q1: 1.51
Min: -1.30

MA

Financial Services industry group

14.06

MA: 14.06
Max: 10.14
Q3: 4.96
Median: 2.96
Q1: 1.51
Min: -1.30

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Goldman Sachs (GS) at 2.84 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 88.02 prices above its benchmark range — MA looks rich relative to book.

GS

Financial Services industry group

2.84

Max: 7.67
Q3: 3.60
GS: 2.84
Median: 1.67
Q1: 0.87
Min: -0.46

MA

Financial Services industry group

88.02

MA: 88.02
Max: 7.67
Q3: 3.60
Median: 1.67
Q1: 0.87
Min: -0.46

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	GS	MA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	16.06	31.64
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.48	14.06
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.84	88.02
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--