MA vs CSCO vs AXP Stock Comparison

Mastercard, Cisco Systems and American Express Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (V) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
MA Mastercard Inc
$635.70 +12.8% 1M +14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$563.07B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
3 wins
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$108.59 +1.5% 1M +52.2% 1Y
Market cap
$412.20B
P/E
31.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
AXP American Express Co
$323.70 +6.0% 1M -9.6% 1Y
Market cap
$214.16B
P/E
17.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

American Express leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (American Express 4, Cisco Systems 4, Mastercard 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMACSCOAXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $563.07B $412.20B $214.16B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.6x 31.1x 17.5x AXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.3x 22.9x 18.4x AXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.3% +11.8% +10.2% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 21.0% 15.8% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 15.9% 19.6% AXP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x 0.5x AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.6% +52.2% -9.6% CSCO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.6%/yr +14.2%/yr +13.3%/yr CSCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.9% 35.5% 26.2% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 55/100 47/100 CSCO

Percentile Scorecard

MACSCOAXP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMACSCOAXP
Valuation 9 #857 of 941 33 #75 of 112 20 #289 of 361
Growth 66 #213 of 615 40 #65 of 108 42 #89 of 153
Profitability 95 #29 of 586 88 #13 of 104 69 #41 of 128
Financial Health 43 #380 of 667 30 #81 of 116 45 #78 of 140
Shareholder Returns 6 #660 of 704 81 #16 of 78 59 #138 of 335
Overall 44 55 47
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AXP ranked among 368 companies in Banking

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMACSCOAXPSPY
1 month +12.8%+1.5%+6.0% +0.7%
3 months +10.1%-4.4%-4.1% +3.7%
6 months +26.4%+18.7%+0.2% +7.1%
Year to date +11.4%+41.0%-12.5% +12.8%
1 year +14.6%+52.2%-9.6% +11.9%
3 years +70.7%+110.6%+125.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +19.5%+28.2%+31.2% +22.8%
5 years +89.5%+94.0%+86.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year +13.6%+14.2%+13.3% +10.9%
10 years +494.7%+255.0%+387.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year +19.5%+13.5%+17.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMACSCOAXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.9%35.5%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.5%37.1%30.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.251.100.92 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.641.47-0.37 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.6%-38.6%-32.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-16.5%-15.9% -1.2%
52-week high $635.70$130.00$384.89 $779.14
52-week low $471.55$71.04$292.27 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMACSCOAXP
P/E now vs peer median 30.6xmedian 13.0x 32.4xmedian 32.9x 17.8xmedian 12.2x
P/S now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 3.2x 6.8xmedian 2.9x 2.8xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.7x 24.7xmedian 20.0x 9.0xmedian 5.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 10.7x 33.6xmedian 30.2x 15.6xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 82.1xmedian 1.2x 8.5xmedian 2.9x 6.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.90 12.01median 1.08 0.96median 1.34

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMACSCOAXP
Revenue $36.29B $63.33B $77.59B
Gross profit – $40.86B –
Operating income $21.27B $15.37B –
Net income $16.96B $13.27B $12.26B
Free cash flow – $12.77B $13.91B
R&D – $9.56B –
EPS (diluted) – $3.33 $18.18
Cash & equivalents $10.15B $7.22B $43.20B
Total debt – $29.53B $59.95B
Shares (diluted) 883.00M 3.99B 674.00M
Enterprise value $563.07B $348.13B $13.64B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMACSCOAXP
P/E 30.6x 32.4x 17.8x
P/FCF 29.4x 33.6x 15.6x
P/Operating cash flow 32.8x 30.2x 12.3x
P/S 15.3x 6.8x 2.8x
P/B 82.1x 8.5x 6.1x
P/Tangible book 534.3x 10.0x 6.1x
EV/EBITDA – 24.7x 9.0x
EV/EBIT – 28.8x 9.8x
EV/Revenue 15.3x 7.0x 2.9x
EV/FCF – 34.6x 16.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.8x 31.2x 13.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 12.01 0.96

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMACSCOAXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.3% 11.8% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 3.6% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 11.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 4.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.6% 30.7% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 0.7% –
Net income growth (1Y) 19.0% 30.3% 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 1.7% 15.2%
EPS growth (1Y) – 30.7% 19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 2.7% 18.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% -0.1% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% -10.7% -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -3.9% -26.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -12.5% -9.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMACSCOAXP
Gross margin – 64.5% –
EBITDA margin – 28.3% 32.6%
Operating margin – 24.3% –
Pretax margin – 25.3% 19.9%
Net margin – 21.0% 15.8%
FCF margin – 20.2% 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin 46.5% 22.4% 22.7%
Return on equity 274.6% 26.8% 35.0%
Return on assets 29.3% 10.4% 4.0%
Return on invested capital – 15.9% 19.6%
Return on capital employed – 17.9% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 6.0% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMACSCOAXP
Debt / assets – 22.8% 19.3%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x 0.5x
Debt / FCF – 2.3x 4.3x
Liabilities / assets 88.4% 61.2% 88.5%
Equity / assets 11.6% 38.8% 11.5%
Interest coverage – 10.5x 3.0x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.9x –
Quick ratio – 0.6x –
Cash ratio – 0.4x –
Altman Z-score – 4.11 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMACSCOAXP
Dividend yield 0.5% 1.5% 1.1%
Net buyback yield – 1.3% 3.1%
Shareholder yield 0.5% 2.9% 4.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMACSCOAXP
Forward P/E 30.3xFY2026 22.9xFY2027 18.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.99FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $17.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.4%FY2026 +9.5%FY2027 +14.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% +20.7% +21.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.99BFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $82.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.9%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +0.6% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMACSCOAXP
Held by institutions 87.5% 80.1% 84.9%
Institutions holding 3,585 4,047 3,011
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +5.0% -0.3%
Institutions buying 1,590 1,847 1,474
Institutions selling 1,527 1,818 1,052
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.02 1.40

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MACSCOAXP
MA 1.00 -0.06 0.47
CSCO -0.06 1.00 0.11
AXP 0.47 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MA, CSCO and AXP?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mastercard (MA) $563.07B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $412.20B, American Express (AXP) $214.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, MA, CSCO and AXP?

American Express (AXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mastercard (MA) 30.6x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 31.1x, American Express (AXP) 17.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Express (AXP) is cheapest (Mastercard (MA) 30.3x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.9x, American Express (AXP) 18.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mastercard (MA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mastercard (MA) +15.3%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, American Express (AXP) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, American Express (AXP) 15.8%). On return on invested capital, American Express (AXP) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, American Express (AXP) 19.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cisco Systems (CSCO) returned the most: Mastercard (MA) +14.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +52.2%, American Express (AXP) -9.6%. Over five years, Cisco Systems (CSCO) compounded fastest (Mastercard (MA) +13.6%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.2%/yr, American Express (AXP) +13.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Mastercard (MA) 22.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.5%, American Express (AXP) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MA, CSCO and AXP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, American Express (AXP) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.