MA Value Scorecard - Mastercard

Value Scorecard · run 2026-10-18

13 value checks: 12 scored 1 to 5, plus moat evidence

45/60

moderate value score

Earnings & returns

EPS Trend

5/5

Diluted EPS: $10.22 (2022), $11.83 (2023), $13.89 (2024), $16.52 (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

ROE Trend

5/5

ROE (net income / common equity): 157.7% (2022), 161.6% (2023), 198.5% (2024), 193.5% (2025). Median 177.5%, lowest 157.7%; the framework scores a median above 20% as 5.

ROIC

5/5

ROIC of 60.2%: operating income of $18.90B divided by $31.39B of capital (total assets $54.16B minus current liabilities $22.76B), fiscal year to Dec 31, 2025, as filed in the 10-K (SEC EDGAR). The framework scores above 20% as 5.

Profit Margins

5/5

Net margin of 46.3%; the framework scores above 20% as 5; gross margin 100.0%, operating margin 61.1%.

Balance sheet & cash

Debt-to-Equity

1/5

Debt-to-equity of 4.40; the framework scores above 2.5 as 1 (total debt $24.64B, total cash $11.61B).

Free Cash Flow

5/5

Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure): $10.10B (2022), $10.89B (2023), $13.59B (2024), $16.43B (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

Retained Earnings

5/5

Retained earnings, as filed in the 10-Ks (SEC EDGAR): $53.61B (2022), $62.56B (2023), $72.91B (2024), $85.03B (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

Valuation models

Graham IV

4/5

IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y) = $18.18 x (8.5 + 2 x 18.2) x (4.4 / 4.5) = $798.14. Current price $617.42; price is 22.6% below the model value.

DCF Value

1/5

FCF/share = $19.508, stage 1 growth = 14.3% for 5 years, terminal growth = 3%, discount rate = 10%. Stage 1 PV = $109.59, PV of terminal value = $347.71, DCF value = $457.30. Current price $617.42; price is 35.0% above the model value.

Margin of Safety

3/5

Graham value $798.14 (price is 22.6% below the model value); DCF value $457.30 (price is 35.0% above the model value).

Price-to-Book

1/5

P/B of 96.53; the framework scores above 5.0 as 1.

Business quality

Moat Evidence

Not scored

A moat (a brand, a network, switching costs, patents, scale, a licence) is not a number in the filings, so Valerius doesn’t score it. Below are the figures and the words moat analysis starts from, from the company’s own 10-K filings. The conclusion is yours.

Return on capital, each year

Above 15% in 10 of 10 years (2016-2025); lowest 37.2%, highest 60.2%.

Gross margin, each year

Not reported: the filings don’t state a gross profit or cost of revenue figure, as is common for oil and gas companies, banks and insurers.

Competition, in the company’s own words · 10-K filed Feb 11, 2026

We face a number of competitors both within and outside of the global payments industry. We compete in all categories of payments (including paper-based payments and all forms of electronic payments) as well as in all categories in which we provide services and solutions: • General Purpose Payments Networks. We compete worldwide with payments networks such as Visa, American Express, JCB, China UnionPay and Discover,

The opening of the company’s “Competition” section in its 10-K, quoted word for word, not summarized or edited. It is the company’s own description, not Valerius’s view, and may include the company’s expectations. Open the filing.

Return on capital = operating income / (total assets − current liabilities), the ROIC row’s definition; 15% is the framework’s return threshold. Gross margin = gross profit / revenue. Both from each year’s 10-K via SEC EDGAR. Moat analysis commonly looks at whether returns and margins held up over many years. These figures don’t say whether the company has an advantage, what it is, or whether it will last.

Capital Allocation

5/5

Capital allocation, 2022-2025: dividends or buybacks paid in every year (pass); $49.73B paid out against $51.01B of free cash flow (pass); total debt $14.02B to $19.00B, up 35.5%, 0.9x EBITDA (pass: at most 2x EBITDA); shares outstanding 0.96B to 0.89B, down 6.5% (pass). 4 of 4 tests passed; the framework scores that as 5.

Filings

Company notices to the SEC

Not scored

Three kinds of event the company reported to the SEC in the last 5 years, from its filings on SEC EDGAR.

These are events the company reported to the SEC. An auditor change or a late filing can have many causes; each date links to the filing, where the company explains it. Valerius does not score these.

How the Graham and DCF values were calculated

  Graham Formula:
    IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y)
    EPS = $18.18, g = 18.2%, Y = 4.5
    IV = $798.14
    Current price $617.42 vs Graham value $798.14 — price is 22.6% below the model value.

  DCF:
    FCF/share = $19.508
    Stage 1 growth = 14.3% for 5 years | terminal growth = 3.0% | discount rate = 10.0%
      Y1: $22.297 → PV $20.270
      Y2: $25.486 → PV $21.063
      Y3: $29.130 → PV $21.886
      Y4: $33.296 → PV $22.742
      Y5: $38.057 → PV $23.631
    Stage 1 PV sum = $109.59
    Terminal value at end of Y5 = $559.99
    PV of terminal value = $347.71
    DCF value = $457.30
    Current price $617.42 vs DCF value $457.30 — price is 35.0% above the model value.

Data from yfinance summary figures and financial statements, and from the company’s 10-K filings via SEC EDGAR; computed at a price of $617.42. Every score is calculated from the figures by the framework’s fixed rules, and the explanation beside it is generated from the same figures: Graham value, DCF value, margin of safety, ROIC, profit margins, debt-to-equity, price-to-book, EPS trend, ROE trend, free cash flow, retained earnings and capital allocation. No AI is involved in this scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence, without a score. Read each score with the figures beside it. Intrinsic value calculations are model outputs based on stated assumptions, not predictions.

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