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MA vs. NDAQ: Mastercard vs. Nasdaq Stock Comparison

How do Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
Profile ItemMANDAQ
NameMastercard Inc. Class A Common StockNasdaq, Inc. Common Stock
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryFinancial ServicesCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryTransaction & Payment Processing ServicesFinancial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization568.62 billion USD59.88 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENasdaq
Listing DateMay 25, 2006July 1, 2002
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MA
NDAQ
GSPC
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ), 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 Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
Total Return (1Y)20.00%26.55%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)19.98%30.18%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)14.49%10.68%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MA
NDAQ
GSPC
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ), 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 Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)23.57%28.74%
Beta (5Y)0.760.94
Max Drawdown (5Y)-28.25%-32.57%
Avg. Volume (3M)2.98M3.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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MA and NDAQ 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 Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.670.77
Sortino Ratio (1Y)1.001.09

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 231.37% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 17.33%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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%

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

17.33%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
NDAQ
17.33%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Mastercard (MA) at 46.73% and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 36.06% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

36.06%

Max
62.84%
NDAQ
36.06%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): 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 Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 50.57%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

50.57%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
NDAQ
50.57%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
ROE (TTM)231.37%17.33%
ROA (TTM)24.45%6.10%
Net Margin (TTM)46.73%36.06%
Operating Margin (TTM)60.53%50.57%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Mastercard (MA) at 16.42% and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 11.65% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 60.10% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Mastercard (MA) at 18.93% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for NDAQ.

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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
Revenue Growth (YoY)16.42%11.65%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)13.82%9.89%
EPS Growth (YoY)18.93%60.10%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)17.36%10.99%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Mastercard (MA) in Financial Services and Nasdaq (NDAQ) 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: Mastercard (MA) in Financial Services and Nasdaq (NDAQ) 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 Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Mastercard (MA) at 0.53% and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 1.09% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

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%

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

1.09%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
NDAQ
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Mastercard (MA) at 17.63% and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 31.69% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

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%

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

31.69%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
NDAQ
31.69%
Median
25.77%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.53%1.09%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)17.63%31.69%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Mastercard (MA) at 34.15 and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 29.27 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

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

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

29.27

Max
45.85
NDAQ
29.27
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Investors are paying well above the peer range per dollar of sales for both Mastercard (MA) at 15.67 and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 10.36 — each P/S ratio clears its industry’s benchmark range.

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

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

10.36

NDAQ
10.36
Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 4.99 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Mastercard (MA) at 84.30 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

NDAQ

Financial Services industry group

4.99

Max
7.79
NDAQ
4.99
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Mastercard (MA) vs. Nasdaq (NDAQ): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ)
MetricMANDAQ
P/E Ratio (TTM)34.1529.27
P/S Ratio (TTM)15.6710.36
P/B Ratio (MRQ)84.304.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----