MA vs MORN vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Mastercard, Morningstar and Nasdaq Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MA Mastercard Inc
$635.70 +12.8% 1M +14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$563.55B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
4 wins
MORN Morningstar, Inc.
$222.54 +19.4% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$8.39B
P/E
18.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.62B
Div. yield
–
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
5 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$105.60 +15.0% 1M +23.6% 1Y
Market cap
$59.23B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Morningstar leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Morningstar 5, Mastercard 4, Nasdaq 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMAMORNNDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $563.55B $8.39B $59.23B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.6x 18.8x 28.4x MORN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.3x 17.6x 26.2x MORN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.3% +9.4% +11.5% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 17.0% 22.8% NDAQ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 17.8% 10.5% MORN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.4x 2.4x MORN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.6% +6.6% +23.6% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.6%/yr -6.8%/yr +8.6%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.9% 41.6% 28.3% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 67/100 57/100 MORN

Percentile Scorecard

MAMORNNDAQ

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

AxisMAMORNNDAQ
Valuation 9 #857 of 941 45 #522 of 941 42 #56 of 96
Growth 66 #213 of 615 82 #111 of 615 42 #38 of 65
Profitability 95 #29 of 586 84 #97 of 586 80 #14 of 65
Financial Health 43 #380 of 667 49 #343 of 667 48 #49 of 93
Shareholder Returns 6 #660 of 704 75 #177 of 704 72 #12 of 40
Overall 44 67 57
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • MORN 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

PeriodMAMORNNDAQSPY
1 month +12.8%+19.4%+15.0% +0.7%
3 months +10.1%+15.2%+11.0% +3.7%
6 months +26.4%+31.9%+14.9% +7.1%
Year to date +11.4%+2.4%+8.7% +12.8%
1 year +14.6%+6.6%+23.6% +11.9%
3 years +70.7%-11.5%+115.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +19.5%-4.0%+29.3% +22.8%
5 years +89.5%-29.7%+50.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +13.6%-6.8%+8.6% +10.9%
10 years +494.7%+218.2%+394.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +19.5%+12.3%+17.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMAMORNNDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.9%41.6%28.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.5%43.3%29.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.250.030.57 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.640.160.83 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.6%-60.5%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-1.2%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $635.70$225.29$105.60 $779.14
52-week low $471.55$141.84$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.

MultipleMAMORNNDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 30.6xmedian 13.0x 18.7xmedian 13.0x 28.3xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 3.2x 3.2xmedian 3.2x 6.4xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.7x 11.1xmedian 7.7x 19.8xmedian 13.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 10.7x 16.8xmedian 10.7x 26.1xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median 82.1xmedian 1.2x 8.1xmedian 1.2x 4.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.90 0.20median 0.90 1.55median 0.48

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 monthsMAMORNNDAQ
Revenue $36.29B $2.62B $9.15B
Gross profit – $1.65B $5.78B
Operating income $21.27B $643.50M $2.73B
Net income $16.96B $445.50M $2.08B
Free cash flow – $492.80M $2.26B
EPS (diluted) – $11.79 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $10.15B $496.70M $365.00M
Total debt – $1.68B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 883.00M 37.80M 563.31M
Enterprise value $563.55B $6.28B $56.66B

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
MetricMAMORNNDAQ
P/E 30.6x 18.7x 28.3x
P/FCF 29.4x 16.8x 26.1x
P/Operating cash flow 32.8x 12.9x 23.2x
P/S 15.3x 3.2x 6.4x
P/B 82.1x 8.1x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 534.3x 17.4x 10.0x
EV/EBITDA – 11.1x 19.8x
EV/EBIT – 14.6x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 15.3x 3.6x 7.3x
EV/FCF – 19.1x 29.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.8x 14.7x 26.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.20 1.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAMORNNDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.3% 9.4% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 9.9% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.3% 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 13.1% 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.6% 20.2% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 55.3% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 19.0% 18.5% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 84.5% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) – 32.6% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 92.5% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% 19.1% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 31.5% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 25.0% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 46.4% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAMORNNDAQ
Gross margin – 63.1% 63.2%
EBITDA margin – 32.4% 37.0%
Operating margin – 24.5% 29.8%
Pretax margin – 22.6% 28.5%
Net margin – 17.0% 22.8%
FCF margin – 18.8% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 46.5% 24.5% 27.8%
Return on equity 274.6% 43.5% 17.4%
Return on assets 29.3% 11.3% 7.6%
Return on invested capital – 17.8% 10.5%
Return on capital employed – 21.9% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.4x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 2.5% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAMORNNDAQ
Debt / assets – 42.5% 31.9%
Debt / equity – 1.6x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.4x 2.4x
Debt / FCF – 3.4x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 88.4% 74.0% 56.2%
Equity / assets 11.6% 26.0% 43.8%
Interest coverage – – 7.9x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.9x 0.4x
Cash ratio – 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score – 3.79 3.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAMORNNDAQ
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.9% 1.1%
Net buyback yield – 10.8% 2.5%
Shareholder yield 0.5% 11.7% 3.6%
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.

ConsensusMAMORNNDAQ
Forward P/E 30.3xFY2026 17.6xFY2026 26.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.99FY2026 $12.66FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.4%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% +7.8% +11.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.99BFY2026 $2.50BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.9%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +19.2% +13.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAMORNNDAQ
Held by institutions 87.5% 64.1% 83.8%
Institutions holding 3,585 420 1,083
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +2.1% +1.0%
Institutions buying 1,590 199 538
Institutions selling 1,527 169 398
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.18 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.

MAMORNNDAQ
MA 1.00 0.43 0.39
MORN 0.43 1.00 0.56
NDAQ 0.39 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MA, MORN and NDAQ?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mastercard (MA) $563.55B, Morningstar (MORN) $8.39B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $59.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, MA, MORN and NDAQ?

Morningstar (MORN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mastercard (MA) 30.6x, Morningstar (MORN) 18.8x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Morningstar (MORN) is cheapest (Mastercard (MA) 30.3x, Morningstar (MORN) 17.6x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 26.2x). 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%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) has the highest net margin (Morningstar (MORN) 17.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Morningstar (MORN) leads (Morningstar (MORN) 17.8%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Mastercard (MA) +14.6%, Morningstar (MORN) +6.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +23.6%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Mastercard (MA) +13.6%/yr, Morningstar (MORN) -6.8%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.6%/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%, Morningstar (MORN) 41.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MA, MORN 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, Morningstar (MORN) leads on 5. 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.