MA vs. SCHW: Mastercard vs. Charles Schwab Stock Comparison

August 16, 2026

How do Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but MA is classified in Financial Services while SCHW is classified in Capital Markets.

Company profile comparison for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Profile Item	MA	SCHW
Name	Mastercard Incorporated	Charles Schwab Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Financial Services	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Transaction & Payment Processing Services	Investment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization	498.70 billion USD	192.11 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 25, 2006	September 22, 1987
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

SCHW

GSPC

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW), 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
Total Return (1Y)	-1.87%	15.06%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	13.29%	23.29%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.08%	9.92%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

SCHW

GSPC

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW), 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	22.17%	24.96%
Beta (5Y)	0.73	0.76
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-28.25%	-49.70%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.52M	10.24M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

MA and SCHW 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.26	0.44
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.37	0.59

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 241.20% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 20.27%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

MA

Financial Services industry group

241.20%

MA: 241.20%
Max: 48.53%
Q3: 22.22%
Median: 12.75%
Q1: 4.09%
Min: -22.61%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

20.27%

Max: 48.53%
Q3: 22.22%
SCHW: 20.27%
Median: 12.75%
Q1: 4.09%
Min: -22.61%

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Mastercard (MA) at 46.34% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 38.79% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

MA

Financial Services industry group

46.34%

Max: 66.61%
MA: 46.34%
Q3: 29.41%
Median: 16.08%
Q1: 4.44%
Min: -30.54%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

38.79%

Max: 66.61%
SCHW: 38.79%
Q3: 29.41%
Median: 16.08%
Q1: 4.44%
Min: -30.54%

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 52.28%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

MA

Financial Services industry group

61.11%

Max: 96.23%
MA: 61.11%
Q3: 53.97%
Median: 28.94%
Q1: 11.79%
Min: -46.79%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

52.28%

Max: 96.23%
Q3: 53.97%
SCHW: 52.28%
Median: 28.94%
Q1: 11.79%
Min: -46.79%

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
ROE (TTM)	241.20%	20.27%
ROA (TTM)	24.06%	2.07%
Net Margin (TTM)	46.34%	38.79%
Operating Margin (TTM)	61.11%	52.28%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Mastercard (MA) at 16.42% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 22.01% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 55.52% 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 SCHW.

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	16.42%	22.01%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	13.82%	4.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)	18.93%	55.52%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	17.36%	9.93%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Mastercard (MA) in Financial Services and Charles Schwab (SCHW) 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW) 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Mastercard (MA) at 0.59% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 1.08% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

MA

Financial Services industry group

0.59%

Max: 17.41%
Q3: 7.19%
Median: 1.49%
MA: 0.59%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

1.08%

Max: 17.41%
Q3: 7.19%
Median: 1.49%
SCHW: 1.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Mastercard (MA) at 17.93% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.49% 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

17.93%

Max: 223.44%
Q3: 89.87%
Median: 25.19%
MA: 17.93%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

21.49%

Max: 223.44%
Q3: 89.87%
Median: 25.19%
SCHW: 21.49%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.59%	1.08%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	17.93%	21.49%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 20.23 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 31.35 sits in the richer quartile — MA needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

MA

Financial Services industry group

31.35

Max: 50.93
MA: 31.35
Q3: 26.65
Median: 16.33
Q1: 10.01
Min: 2.15

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

20.23

Max: 50.93
Q3: 26.65
SCHW: 20.23
Median: 16.33
Q1: 10.01
Min: 2.15

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 7.38 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Mastercard (MA) at 14.21 prices even higher, above its industry range.

MA

Financial Services industry group

14.21

MA: 14.21
Max: 9.98
Q3: 4.93
Median: 2.98
Q1: 1.55
Min: -1.13

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

7.38

Max: 9.98
SCHW: 7.38
Q3: 4.93
Median: 2.98
Q1: 1.55
Min: -1.13

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 4.37 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Mastercard (MA) at 89.01 prices even higher, above its industry range.

MA

Financial Services industry group

89.01

MA: 89.01
Max: 7.91
Q3: 3.71
Median: 1.60
Q1: 0.85
Min: -0.34

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

4.37

Max: 7.91
SCHW: 4.37
Q3: 3.71
Median: 1.60
Q1: 0.85
Min: -0.34

Mastercard (MA) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Mastercard (MA) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Metric	MA	SCHW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	31.35	20.23
P/S Ratio (TTM)	14.21	7.38
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	89.01	4.37
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--