MA vs MCO vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Mastercard, Moodys and Nasdaq Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MA Mastercard Inc
$647.17 +17.2% 1M +18.9% 1Y
Market cap
$592.22B
P/E
34.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
7 wins
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$503.74 +14.1% 1M +3.7% 1Y
Market cap
$91.25B
P/E
31.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
1 win
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$106.97 +18.4% 1M +23.8% 1Y
Market cap
$61.32B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 7, Nasdaq 3, Moodys 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMAMCONDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $592.22B $91.25B $61.32B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.9x 31.7x 29.4x NDAQ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.8x 28.1x 26.5x NDAQ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.3% +9.0% +11.5% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 46.7% 35.3% 22.8% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 56.6% 27.9% 10.5% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.3x 2.4x MA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.9% +3.7% +23.8% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.1%/yr +5.3%/yr +8.6%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.2% 28.3% 28.4% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 59/100 53/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

MAMCONDAQ

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

AxisMAMCONDAQ
Valuation 14 #831 of 965 18 #789 of 965 41 #61 of 103
Growth 64 #297 of 823 71 #237 of 823 39 #43 of 70
Profitability 99 #12 of 846 97 #30 of 846 77 #18 of 74
Financial Health 53 #424 of 899 52 #431 of 899 48 #52 of 99
Shareholder Returns 25 #547 of 732 55 #328 of 732 60 #17 of 41
Overall 51 59 53
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • MCO ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • NDAQ ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMAMCONDAQSPY
1 month +17.2%+14.1%+18.4% -2.0%
3 months +13.3%+4.1%+14.3% -2.2%
6 months +30.2%+10.8%+20.2% +4.2%
Year to date +13.4%-1.4%+10.1% +10.6%
1 year +18.9%+3.7%+23.8% +10.4%
3 years +67.6%+52.0%+113.0% +73.6%
3 years, per year +18.8%+15.0%+28.7% +20.2%
5 years +92.9%+29.5%+51.2% +61.6%
5 years, per year +14.1%+5.3%+8.6% +10.1%
10 years +523.6%+413.7%+400.2% +261.3%
10 years, per year +20.1%+17.8%+17.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMAMCONDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.2%28.3%28.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.7%29.8%29.9% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.230.460.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.820.130.84 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.6%-41.4%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.7%-6.6%-1.5% -3.2%
52-week high $658.39$539.61$108.62 $779.14
52-week low $471.55$412.23$76.85 $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.

MultipleMAMCONDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 33.7xmedian 13.4x 30.2xmedian 13.4x 28.7xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 3.3x 10.6xmedian 3.3x 6.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 5.8x 22.3xmedian 5.8x 20.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.8xmedian 10.7x 29.2xmedian 10.7x 26.5xmedian 14.8x
P/B now vs peer median 83.0xmedian 1.2x 25.5xmedian 1.2x 5.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.84median 0.91 1.14median 0.91 1.57median 0.55

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 monthsMAMCONDAQ
Revenue $36.29B $8.18B $9.15B
Gross profit – $6.10B $5.78B
Operating income $21.27B $3.64B $2.73B
Net income $16.96B $2.89B $2.08B
Free cash flow $16.08B $2.98B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $19.20 $16.64 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $10.15B $1.51B $365.00M
Total debt $23.94B $6.91B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 883.00M 173.30M 563.31M
Enterprise value $552.31B $84.18B $58.76B

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
MetricMAMCONDAQ
P/E 33.7x 30.2x 28.7x
P/FCF 34.8x 29.2x 26.5x
P/Operating cash flow 33.2x 26.1x 23.5x
P/S 15.4x 10.6x 6.5x
P/B 83.0x 25.5x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 534.0x 50.5x 10.1x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 22.3x 20.1x
EV/EBIT 27.0x 25.3x 24.9x
EV/Revenue 15.8x 11.3x 7.4x
EV/FCF 35.7x 30.9x 30.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 34.0x 27.7x 26.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.84 1.14 1.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAMCONDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.3% 9.0% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 12.6% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.3% 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.6% 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.6% 16.0% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 23.3% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 19.0% 28.5% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 24.0% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.0% 33.1% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 26.5% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% 22.5% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 17.5% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -5.4% 24.1% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 18.8% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAMCONDAQ
Gross margin – 74.6% 63.2%
EBITDA margin 69.2% 50.6% 37.0%
Operating margin 58.6% 44.6% 29.8%
Pretax margin 57.6% 45.2% 28.5%
Net margin 46.7% 35.3% 22.8%
FCF margin 44.3% 36.4% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 46.5% 40.7% 27.8%
Return on equity 274.4% 87.8% 17.4%
Return on assets 29.3% 19.6% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 56.6% 27.9% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 63.1% 31.8% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 2.8% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAMCONDAQ
Debt / assets 41.2% 46.6% 31.9%
Debt / equity 3.5x 2.0x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.3x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 2.3x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 88.4% 77.0% 56.2%
Equity / assets 11.6% 23.0% 43.8%
Interest coverage 26.2x – 7.9x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 10.68 7.85 3.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAMCONDAQ
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.8% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 2.7% 3.4% 2.5%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 4.2% 3.5%
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.

ConsensusMAMCONDAQ
Forward P/E 30.8xFY2026 28.1xFY2026 26.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.99FY2026 $17.93FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.4%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% -1.5% +11.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.99BFY2026 $8.69BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% -2.0% +13.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAMCONDAQ
Held by institutions 87.5% 90.8% 83.8%
Institutions holding 3,588 1,407 1,084
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% -1.6% +1.0%
Institutions buying 1,590 645 539
Institutions selling 1,530 524 398
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.23 1.35

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.

MAMCONDAQ
MA 1.00 0.46 0.41
MCO 0.46 1.00 0.63
NDAQ 0.41 0.63 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MA, MCO and NDAQ?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mastercard (MA) $592.22B, Moodys (MCO) $91.25B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $61.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, MA, MCO and NDAQ?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mastercard (MA) 34.9x, Moodys (MCO) 31.7x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 29.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nasdaq (NDAQ) is cheapest (Mastercard (MA) 30.8x, Moodys (MCO) 28.1x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 26.5x). 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%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Mastercard (MA) 46.7%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Mastercard (MA) 56.6%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Mastercard (MA) +18.9%, Moodys (MCO) +3.7%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +23.8%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Mastercard (MA) +14.1%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +5.3%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Mastercard (MA) 0.00%, Moodys (MCO) 0.01%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%. Mastercard (MA) and Nasdaq (NDAQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Mastercard (MA) 23.2%, Moodys (MCO) 28.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MA, MCO and NDAQ?

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.