MA vs SHOP vs AXP Stock Comparison

Mastercard, Shopify and American Express Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MA Mastercard Inc
$623.47 +11.3% 1M +8.7% 1Y
Market cap
$541.87B
P/E
33.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
6 wins
SHOP Shopify Inc.
$168.68 +18.5% 1M +1.0% 1Y
Market cap
$217.88B
P/E
113.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.27B
Div. yield
–
E-commerce Software Technology
2 wins
AXP American Express Co
$313.06 +3.6% 1M -11.8% 1Y
Market cap
$212.01B
P/E
17.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 6, American Express 3, Shopify 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMASHOPAXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $541.87B $217.88B $212.01B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.3x 113.0x 17.3x AXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.7x 90.7x 18.3x AXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.0% +32.5% +10.2% SHOP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 46.3% 14.5% 15.8% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 59.0% — 19.6% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x — 0.5x AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.7% +1.0% -11.8% MA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.7%/yr +3.4%/yr +10.9%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.6% 59.1% 26.1% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 57/100 41/100 SHOP

Percentile Scorecard

MASHOPAXP

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

AxisMASHOPAXP
Valuation 13 #822 of 945 19 #136 of 167 19 #293 of 361
Growth 68 #268 of 822 64 #56 of 153 36 #222 of 344
Profitability 99 #11 of 835 76 #38 of 153 61 #137 of 348
Financial Health 49 #461 of 905 92 #15 of 179 35 #222 of 340
Shareholder Returns 28 #521 of 726 37 #60 of 94 55 #159 of 352
Overall 51 57 41
  • MA ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • SHOP ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • AXP ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMASHOPAXPSPY
1 month +11.3%+18.5%+3.6% -1.0%
3 months +15.5%+48.3%-4.1% +2.9%
6 months +23.7%+34.1%-0.3% +6.4%
Year to date +9.2%+4.8%-15.4% +11.4%
1 year +8.7%+1.0%-11.8% +13.1%
3 years +61.1%+222.2%+116.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +17.3%+47.7%+29.4% +21.5%
5 years +73.8%+18.3%+67.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +11.7%+3.4%+10.9% +10.9%
10 years +506.2%+3,777.7%+364.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +19.7%+44.2%+16.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMASHOPAXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.6%59.1%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.4%60.6%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.271.880.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.380.02-0.45 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.6%-84.8%-32.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.5%-5.9%-18.7% -2.5%
52-week high $632.81$179.22$384.89 $779.14
52-week low $471.55$95.40$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.

MultipleMASHOPAXP
P/E now vs peer median 33.8xmedian 13.4x 113.3xmedian 17.5x 17.2xmedian 12.5x
P/S now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 3.2x 16.5xmedian 1.4x 2.7xmedian 3.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.1xmedian 5.9x 114.0xmedian 14.9x 8.8xmedian 4.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.5xmedian 11.1x 92.9xmedian 11.2x 15.1xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 96.7xmedian 1.2x 17.2xmedian 1.7x 5.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.73median 0.89 —median 0.42 0.93median 1.48

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 monthsMASHOPAXP
Revenue $35.08B $13.27B $77.59B
Gross profit – $6.34B –
Operating income $20.47B $1.84B –
Net income $16.26B $1.93B $12.26B
Free cash flow $16.70B $2.35B $13.91B
R&D – $1.65B –
EPS (diluted) $18.41 $1.49 $18.18
Cash & equivalents $11.29B $1.66B $43.20B
Total debt $81.59B – $59.95B
Shares (diluted) 883.00M 1.30B 674.00M
Enterprise value $501.79B $195.06B $11.49B

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
MetricMASHOPAXP
P/E 33.8x 113.3x 17.2x
P/FCF 32.5x 92.9x 15.1x
P/Operating cash flow 31.1x 91.9x 11.9x
P/S 15.5x 16.5x 2.7x
P/B 96.7x 17.2x 5.9x
P/Tangible book 3,744x 17.3x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA 23.1x 114.0x 8.8x
EV/EBIT 27.2x 115.8x 9.5x
EV/Revenue 15.9x 16.1x 2.9x
EV/FCF 33.3x 90.8x 15.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.9x 89.8x 12.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.73 – 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMASHOPAXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.0% 32.5% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.1% – 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 28.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.3% 48.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 16.1% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 19.7% -17.8% 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.7% – 15.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.2% -17.1% 19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.5% – 18.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% 29.7% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.6% – -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.9% 29.4% -26.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% – -9.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMASHOPAXP
Gross margin – 47.8% –
EBITDA margin 68.6% 14.1% 32.6%
Operating margin 58.3% 13.9% –
Pretax margin 57.5% 17.6% 19.9%
Net margin 46.3% 14.5% 15.8%
FCF margin 47.6% 17.7% 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin 49.7% 17.9% 22.7%
Return on equity 263.6% 15.3% 35.0%
Return on assets 29.5% 13.5% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 59.0% – 19.6%
Return on capital employed 68.1% 14.4% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.9x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 3.6% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMASHOPAXP
Debt / assets 42.7% – 19.3%
Debt / equity 4.4x – 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x – 0.5x
Debt / FCF 1.5x – 4.3x
Liabilities / assets 90.3% 12.3% 88.5%
Equity / assets 9.7% 87.7% 11.5%
Interest coverage 27.4x – 3.0x
Current ratio 1.1x 5.4x –
Quick ratio 0.7x 3.7x –
Cash ratio 0.5x 3.4x –
Altman Z-score 10.29 75.63 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMASHOPAXP
Dividend yield 0.6% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 2.9% 0.8% 3.2%
Shareholder yield 3.4% 0.8% 4.4%
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.

ConsensusMASHOPAXP
Forward P/E 29.7xFY2026 90.7xFY2026 18.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.99FY2026 $1.86FY2026 $17.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.4%FY2026 +31.0%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% +26.3% +23.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.98BFY2026 $15.58BFY2026 $82.06BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.9%FY2026 +36.1%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +14.8% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMASHOPAXP
Held by institutions 88.6% 68.9% 84.9%
Institutions holding 3,581 1,704 3,008
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +3.6% -0.3%
Institutions buying 1,587 788 1,473
Institutions selling 1,526 651 1,050
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.21 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.

MASHOPAXP
MA 1.00 0.31 0.47
SHOP 0.31 1.00 0.39
AXP 0.47 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MA, SHOP and AXP?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mastercard (MA) $541.87B, Shopify (SHOP) $217.88B, American Express (AXP) $212.01B.

Which stock is cheaper, MA, SHOP and AXP?

American Express (AXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mastercard (MA) 33.3x, Shopify (SHOP) 113.0x, American Express (AXP) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Express (AXP) is cheapest (Mastercard (MA) 29.7x, Shopify (SHOP) 90.7x, American Express (AXP) 18.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Shopify (SHOP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mastercard (MA) +16.0%, Shopify (SHOP) +32.5%, American Express (AXP) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Mastercard (MA) 46.3%, Shopify (SHOP) 14.5%, American Express (AXP) 15.8%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Mastercard (MA) 59.0%, American Express (AXP) 19.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mastercard (MA) returned the most: Mastercard (MA) +8.7%, Shopify (SHOP) +1.0%, American Express (AXP) -11.8%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Mastercard (MA) +11.7%/yr, Shopify (SHOP) +3.4%/yr, American Express (AXP) +10.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Mastercard (MA) 22.6%, Shopify (SHOP) 59.1%, American Express (AXP) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MA, SHOP 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 6. 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.