MA vs MCO vs AXP Stock Comparison

Mastercard, Moodys and American Express Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MA Mastercard Inc
$609.78 +7.4% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$530.94B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
0.57%
Payment Networks Financial Services
7 wins
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$473.76 +1.0% 1M -4.3% 1Y
Market cap
$81.68B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.85%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
1 win
AXP American Express Co
$312.92 +1.4% 1M -13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$209.97B
P/E
17.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
1.17%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 7, American Express 4, Moodys 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMAMCOAXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $530.94B $81.68B $209.97B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.1x 28.4x 17.2x AXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.1x 26.4x 17.8x AXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.0% +9.0% +10.2% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 46.3% 35.3% 15.8% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 59.0% 27.9% 19.6% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.3x 0.5x AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.57% 0.85% 1.17% AXP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.5% -4.3% -13.5% MA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.9%/yr +3.1%/yr +12.4%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.7% 28.4% 26.1% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 60/100 46/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

MAMCOAXP

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

AxisMAMCOAXP
Valuation 14 #809 of 940 19 #758 of 940 22 #282 of 360
Growth 66 #226 of 655 73 #179 of 655 39 #117 of 191
Profitability 99 #8 of 633 96 #25 of 633 67 #56 of 168
Financial Health 49 #363 of 714 53 #338 of 714 39 #107 of 175
Shareholder Returns 36 #457 of 709 61 #279 of 709 61 #134 of 341
Overall 53 60 46
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • MCO ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • AXP ranked among 368 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMAMCOAXPSPY
1 month +7.4%+1.0%+1.4% -0.2%
3 months +8.4%-2.2%-7.0% +3.9%
6 months +20.1%+3.4%-0.9% +8.2%
Year to date +6.8%-7.3%-15.4% +12.9%
1 year +6.5%-4.3%-13.5% +12.3%
3 years +67.5%+56.9%+121.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +18.8%+16.2%+30.4% +23.3%
5 years +83.1%+16.5%+79.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +12.9%+3.1%+12.4% +10.9%
10 years +488.6%+363.7%+367.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +19.4%+16.6%+16.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMAMCOAXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.7%28.4%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.5%30.3%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.260.480.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.29-0.15-0.52 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.6%-42.2%-32.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.6%-12.2%-18.7% -1.2%
52-week high $632.81$539.61$384.89 $779.14
52-week low $471.55$412.23$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.

MultipleMAMCOAXP
P/E now vs peer median 33.1xmedian 13.0x 28.4xmedian 13.0x 17.2xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 3.2x 10.0xmedian 3.2x 2.7xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 7.4x 21.0xmedian 7.4x 8.8xmedian 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.8xmedian 10.8x 27.4xmedian 10.8x 15.1xmedian 10.9x
P/B now vs peer median 94.6xmedian 1.2x 23.9xmedian 1.2x 5.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.69median 0.87 1.07median 0.87 0.93median 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 monthsMAMCOAXP
Revenue $35.08B $8.18B $77.59B
Gross profit – $6.10B –
Operating income $20.47B $3.64B –
Net income $16.26B $2.89B $12.26B
Free cash flow $16.70B $2.98B $13.91B
EPS (diluted) $18.41 $16.64 $18.18
Cash & equivalents $11.29B $1.51B $43.20B
Total debt $81.59B $6.91B $59.95B
Shares (diluted) 883.00M 173.30M 674.00M
Enterprise value $490.85B $74.75B $9.45B

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
MetricMAMCOAXP
P/E 33.1x 28.4x 17.2x
P/FCF 31.8x 27.4x 15.1x
P/Operating cash flow 30.4x 24.5x 11.9x
P/S 15.1x 10.0x 2.7x
P/B 94.6x 23.9x 5.9x
P/Tangible book 3,662x 47.5x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA 22.6x 21.0x 8.8x
EV/EBIT 26.6x 23.9x 9.5x
EV/Revenue 15.5x 10.6x 2.9x
EV/FCF 32.6x 29.2x 15.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.2x 26.1x 12.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.69 1.07 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAMCOAXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.0% 9.0% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 12.6% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.3% 16.0% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 23.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) 19.7% 28.5% 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.7% 24.0% 15.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.2% 33.1% 19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 26.5% 18.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% 22.5% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 17.5% -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.9% 24.1% -26.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 18.8% -9.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAMCOAXP
Gross margin – 74.6% –
EBITDA margin 68.6% 50.6% 32.6%
Operating margin 58.3% 44.6% –
Pretax margin 57.5% 45.2% 19.9%
Net margin 46.3% 35.3% 15.8%
FCF margin 47.6% 36.4% 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin 49.7% 40.7% 22.7%
Return on equity 263.6% 87.8% 35.0%
Return on assets 29.5% 19.6% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 59.0% 27.9% 19.6%
Return on capital employed 68.1% 31.8% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 2.8% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAMCOAXP
Debt / assets 42.7% 46.6% 19.3%
Debt / equity 4.4x 2.0x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.3x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 2.3x 4.3x
Liabilities / assets 90.3% 77.0% 88.5%
Equity / assets 9.7% 23.0% 11.5%
Interest coverage 27.4x – 3.0x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.3x –
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.3x –
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.5x –
Altman Z-score 10.15 7.58 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAMCOAXP
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.9% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 3.0% 3.6% 3.2%
Shareholder yield 3.5% 4.5% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 24.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 23.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.8% –

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.

ConsensusMAMCOAXP
Forward P/E 29.1xFY2026 26.4xFY2026 17.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.99FY2026 $17.93FY2026 $17.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.4%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026 +14.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% -1.5% +21.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.99BFY2026 $8.69BFY2026 $82.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% -2.0% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAMCOAXP
Held by institutions 87.5% 90.8% 84.9%
Institutions holding 3,583 1,404 3,009
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% -1.6% -0.3%
Institutions buying 1,588 644 1,473
Institutions selling 1,527 522 1,051
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.23 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.

MAMCOAXP
MA 1.00 0.45 0.46
MCO 0.45 1.00 0.39
AXP 0.46 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MA, MCO and AXP?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mastercard (MA) $530.94B, Moodys (MCO) $81.68B, American Express (AXP) $209.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, MA, MCO and AXP?

American Express (AXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mastercard (MA) 33.1x, Moodys (MCO) 28.4x, American Express (AXP) 17.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Express (AXP) is cheapest (Mastercard (MA) 29.1x, Moodys (MCO) 26.4x, American Express (AXP) 17.8x). 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) +16.0%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, American Express (AXP) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Mastercard (MA) 46.3%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%, American Express (AXP) 15.8%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Mastercard (MA) 59.0%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%, American Express (AXP) 19.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mastercard (MA) returned the most: Mastercard (MA) +6.5%, Moodys (MCO) -4.3%, American Express (AXP) -13.5%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Mastercard (MA) +12.9%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +3.1%/yr, American Express (AXP) +12.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

American Express (AXP) has the highest dividend yield: Mastercard (MA) 0.57%, Moodys (MCO) 0.85%, American Express (AXP) 1.17%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Mastercard (MA) 22.7%, Moodys (MCO) 28.4%, American Express (AXP) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MA, MCO 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, Mastercard (MA) leads on 7. 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.