MA vs MORN vs AXP Stock Comparison

Mastercard, Morningstar and American Express Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MA Mastercard Inc
$672.46 +19.1% 1M +21.7% 1Y
Market cap
$583.56B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
7 wins
MORN Morningstar, Inc.
$244.25 +29.1% 1M +15.4% 1Y
Market cap
$9.18B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.62B
Div. yield
–
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
1 win
AXP American Express Co
$332.60 +9.4% 1M -7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$220.42B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionMAMORNAXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $583.56B $9.18B $220.42B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.4x 20.6x 18.0x AXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.0x 19.3x 18.9x AXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.3% +9.4% +10.2% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 46.7% 17.0% 15.8% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 56.6% 17.8% 19.6% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.4x 0.5x AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.7% +15.4% -7.7% MA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.0%/yr -4.8%/yr +13.5%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.4% 41.9% 26.5% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 64/100 39/100 MORN

Percentile Scorecard

MAMORNAXP

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

AxisMAMORNAXP
Valuation 14 #831 of 963 39 #585 of 963 16 #303 of 360
Growth 64 #297 of 823 81 #154 of 823 34 #229 of 344
Profitability 99 #12 of 845 76 #204 of 845 59 #141 of 345
Financial Health 53 #421 of 896 45 #494 of 896 35 #221 of 339
Shareholder Returns 25 #549 of 731 76 #175 of 731 50 #177 of 352
Overall 51 64 39
  • MA ranked among 1,001 companies in Financial Services
  • MORN ranked among 1,001 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

PeriodMAMORNAXPSPY
1 month +19.1%+29.1%+9.4% -1.0%
3 months +17.9%+22.5%-4.7% -0.4%
6 months +36.7%+45.7%+3.3% +4.5%
Year to date +17.8%+12.4%-10.1% +12.4%
1 year +21.7%+15.4%-7.7% +13.6%
3 years +74.2%-6.9%+117.7% +76.4%
3 years, per year +20.3%-2.4%+29.6% +20.8%
5 years +92.8%-21.9%+88.2% +63.7%
5 years, per year +14.0%-4.8%+13.5% +10.4%
10 years +552.7%+257.0%+407.7% +267.7%
10 years, per year +20.6%+13.6%+17.6% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureMAMORNAXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.4%41.9%26.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.7%43.4%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.280.040.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.920.37-0.29 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.6%-60.5%-32.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%0.0%-13.6% -1.6%
52-week high $672.46$244.25$384.89 $779.14
52-week low $471.55$141.84$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.

MultipleMAMORNAXP
P/E now vs peer median 35.0xmedian 13.8x 20.5xmedian 13.8x 18.3xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 3.3x 3.5xmedian 3.3x 2.9xmedian 3.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 6.0x 12.0xmedian 6.0x 9.3xmedian 4.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.2xmedian 11.0x 18.4xmedian 11.0x 16.0xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 86.2xmedian 1.3x 8.8xmedian 1.3x 6.2xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.91median 0.95 0.22median 0.95 0.99median 1.33

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 monthsMAMORNAXP
Revenue $36.29B $2.62B $77.59B
Gross profit – $1.65B –
Operating income $21.27B $643.50M –
Net income $16.96B $445.50M $12.26B
Free cash flow $16.08B $492.80M $13.91B
EPS (diluted) $19.20 $11.79 $18.18
Cash & equivalents $10.15B $496.70M $43.20B
Total debt $23.94B $1.68B $59.95B
Shares (diluted) 883.00M 37.80M 674.00M
Enterprise value $543.65B $7.07B $19.90B

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
MetricMAMORNAXP
P/E 35.0x 20.5x 18.3x
P/FCF 36.2x 18.4x 16.0x
P/Operating cash flow 34.5x 14.1x 12.7x
P/S 16.0x 3.5x 2.9x
P/B 86.2x 8.8x 6.2x
P/Tangible book 554.9x 19.1x 6.2x
EV/EBITDA 23.7x 12.0x 9.3x
EV/EBIT 28.0x 15.9x 10.0x
EV/Revenue 16.4x 3.9x 3.0x
EV/FCF 37.1x 20.7x 16.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 35.3x 15.9x 13.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.91 0.22 0.99

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAMORNAXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.3% 9.4% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 9.9% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 13.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.6% 20.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 55.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) 19.0% 18.5% 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 84.5% 15.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.0% 32.6% 19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 92.5% 18.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% 19.1% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 31.5% -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -5.4% 25.0% -26.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 46.4% -9.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAMORNAXP
Gross margin – 63.1% –
EBITDA margin 69.2% 32.4% 32.6%
Operating margin 58.6% 24.5% –
Pretax margin 57.6% 22.6% 19.9%
Net margin 46.7% 17.0% 15.8%
FCF margin 44.3% 18.8% 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin 46.5% 24.5% 22.7%
Return on equity 274.4% 43.5% 35.0%
Return on assets 29.3% 11.3% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 56.6% 17.8% 19.6%
Return on capital employed 63.1% 21.9% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 2.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAMORNAXP
Debt / assets 41.2% 42.5% 19.3%
Debt / equity 3.5x 1.6x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.4x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 3.4x 4.3x
Liabilities / assets 88.4% 74.0% 88.5%
Equity / assets 11.6% 26.0% 11.5%
Interest coverage 26.2x – 3.0x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x –
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.9x –
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x –
Altman Z-score 10.93 3.95 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAMORNAXP
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.8% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 2.6% 9.9% 3.0%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 10.7% 4.1%
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.

ConsensusMAMORNAXP
Forward P/E 32.0xFY2026 19.3xFY2026 18.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.99FY2026 $12.66FY2026 $17.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.4%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026 +14.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% +7.8% +21.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.99BFY2026 $2.50BFY2026 $82.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.9%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +19.2% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAMORNAXP
Held by institutions 87.5% 64.1% 84.9%
Institutions holding 3,588 421 3,015
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +2.1% -0.3%
Institutions buying 1,590 199 1,477
Institutions selling 1,530 169 1,052
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.18 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.

MAMORNAXP
MA 1.00 0.45 0.48
MORN 0.45 1.00 0.18
AXP 0.48 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MA, MORN and AXP?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mastercard (MA) $583.56B, Morningstar (MORN) $9.18B, American Express (AXP) $220.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, MA, MORN and AXP?

American Express (AXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mastercard (MA) 34.4x, Morningstar (MORN) 20.6x, American Express (AXP) 18.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Express (AXP) is cheapest (Mastercard (MA) 32.0x, Morningstar (MORN) 19.3x, American Express (AXP) 18.9x). 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%, Morningstar (MORN) +9.4%, American Express (AXP) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Mastercard (MA) 46.7%, Morningstar (MORN) 17.0%, American Express (AXP) 15.8%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Mastercard (MA) 56.6%, Morningstar (MORN) 17.8%, American Express (AXP) 19.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mastercard (MA) returned the most: Mastercard (MA) +21.7%, Morningstar (MORN) +15.4%, American Express (AXP) -7.7%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Mastercard (MA) +14.0%/yr, Morningstar (MORN) -4.8%/yr, American Express (AXP) +13.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Mastercard (MA) 23.4%, Morningstar (MORN) 41.9%, American Express (AXP) 26.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MA, MORN 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.