MasterCard Overtakes Wall Street Estimates As Customers Spending Improves
MasterCard Inc beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit, as a recovery in customer spending partially offset the decline in cross-border volumes due to limited travel demand since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
While travel has taken a massive hit due to the health crisis, contactless payments have surged and become mainstream; helping card companies such as Mastercard and Visa counter the impact of the pandemic on their bottom line.
Mastercard, in a recent presentation for investors, said transactions in the U.S. were up 7%, and down 2% outside the United States in the third week of January.
Shares of the company jumped nearly 3% in trading before the bell, as results showed that Mastercard managed to drive growth in overall volumes during the fourth quarter despite resurgence in COVID-19 cases.