MCO vs MA vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Moodys, Mastercard and Nasdaq Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$483.45 +2.0% 1M +0.9% 1Y
Market cap
$83.73B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
1 win
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
7 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$102.56 +7.5% 1M +15.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.54B
P/E
28.1x
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.

QuestionMCOMANDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $83.73B $541.87B $58.54B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.0x 33.3x 28.1x NDAQ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.8x 29.7x 25.6x NDAQ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.0% +16.0% +11.5% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.3% 46.3% 22.8% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 27.9% 59.0% 10.5% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.6x 2.4x MA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.9% +8.7% +15.5% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.8%/yr +11.7%/yr +8.8%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 22.6% 28.4% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 51/100 56/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

MCOMANDAQ

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

AxisMCOMANDAQ
Valuation 18 #771 of 945 13 #822 of 945 43 #56 of 97
Growth 73 #219 of 822 68 #268 of 822 46 #38 of 69
Profitability 97 #26 of 835 99 #11 of 835 80 #15 of 70
Financial Health 53 #424 of 905 49 #461 of 905 48 #53 of 101
Shareholder Returns 58 #304 of 726 28 #521 of 726 62 #16 of 40
Overall 60 51 56
  • MCO ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • MA ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • NDAQ ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMCOMANDAQSPY
1 month +2.0%+11.3%+7.5% -1.0%
3 months +2.5%+15.5%+11.4% +2.9%
6 months +6.0%+23.7%+14.1% +6.4%
Year to date -5.4%+9.2%+5.6% +11.4%
1 year +0.9%+8.7%+15.5% +13.1%
3 years +58.2%+61.1%+107.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +16.5%+17.3%+27.5% +21.5%
5 years +26.7%+73.8%+52.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.8%+11.7%+8.8% +10.9%
10 years +372.9%+506.2%+364.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +16.8%+19.7%+16.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMCOMANDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%22.6%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.2%22.4%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.510.270.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.030.380.54 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-28.6%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.4%-1.5%-0.7% -2.5%
52-week high $539.61$632.81$103.30 $779.14
52-week low $412.23$471.55$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.

MultipleMCOMANDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 29.0xmedian 13.4x 33.8xmedian 13.4x 27.5xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 3.2x 15.5xmedian 3.2x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.4xmedian 5.9x 23.1xmedian 5.9x 19.3xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.0xmedian 11.1x 32.5xmedian 11.1x 25.4xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 24.4xmedian 1.2x 96.7xmedian 1.2x 4.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.09median 0.89 1.73median 0.89 1.50median 0.51

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 monthsMCOMANDAQ
Revenue $8.18B $35.08B $9.15B
Gross profit $6.10B – $5.78B
Operating income $3.64B $20.47B $2.73B
Net income $2.89B $16.26B $2.08B
Free cash flow $2.98B $16.70B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $16.64 $18.41 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $1.51B $11.29B $365.00M
Total debt $6.91B $81.59B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 173.30M 883.00M 563.31M
Enterprise value $76.65B $501.79B $55.98B

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
MetricMCOMANDAQ
P/E 29.0x 33.8x 27.5x
P/FCF 28.0x 32.5x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 25.0x 31.1x 22.5x
P/S 10.2x 15.5x 6.3x
P/B 24.4x 96.7x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 48.5x 3,744x 9.7x
EV/EBITDA 21.4x 23.1x 19.3x
EV/EBIT 24.3x 27.2x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 10.8x 15.9x 7.2x
EV/FCF 29.8x 33.3x 29.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.6x 31.9x 25.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.09 1.73 1.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMCOMANDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.0% 16.0% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 14.1% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% – 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.6% – 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.0% 21.3% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.3% 16.1% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.5% 19.7% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 24.0% 16.7% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 33.1% 23.2% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.5% 19.5% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.5% 2.9% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 14.6% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.1% 0.9% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 14.4% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMCOMANDAQ
Gross margin 74.6% – 63.2%
EBITDA margin 50.6% 68.6% 37.0%
Operating margin 44.6% 58.3% 29.8%
Pretax margin 45.2% 57.5% 28.5%
Net margin 35.3% 46.3% 22.8%
FCF margin 36.4% 47.6% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 40.7% 49.7% 27.8%
Return on equity 87.8% 263.6% 17.4%
Return on assets 19.6% 29.5% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 27.9% 59.0% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 31.8% 68.1% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.1x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% 1.8% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMCOMANDAQ
Debt / assets 46.6% 42.7% 31.9%
Debt / equity 2.0x 4.4x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.6x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 2.3x 1.5x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 77.0% 90.3% 56.2%
Equity / assets 23.0% 9.7% 43.8%
Interest coverage – 27.4x 7.9x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.1x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.7x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 7.67 10.29 3.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMCOMANDAQ
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.6% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 3.5% 2.9% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 3.4% 3.7%
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.

ConsensusMCOMANDAQ
Forward P/E 26.8xFY2026 29.7xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.07FY2026 $20.99FY2026 $4.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +21.0%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.2% +14.7% +10.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.74BFY2026 $38.98BFY2026 $6.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.2%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.8% +0.4% +13.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMCOMANDAQ
Held by institutions 90.8% 88.6% 83.8%
Institutions holding 1,404 3,581 1,082
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.6% +0.6% +1.0%
Institutions buying 644 1,587 538
Institutions selling 522 1,526 397
Buyers to sellers 1.23 1.04 1.36

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.

MCOMANDAQ
MCO 1.00 0.45 0.64
MA 0.45 1.00 0.41
NDAQ 0.64 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MCO, MA and NDAQ?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Moodys (MCO) $83.73B, Mastercard (MA) $541.87B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, MCO, MA and NDAQ?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Moodys (MCO) 29.0x, Mastercard (MA) 33.3x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nasdaq (NDAQ) is cheapest (Moodys (MCO) 26.8x, Mastercard (MA) 29.7x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.6x). 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: Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, Mastercard (MA) +16.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Moodys (MCO) 35.3%, Mastercard (MA) 46.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Moodys (MCO) 27.9%, Mastercard (MA) 59.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Moodys (MCO) +0.9%, Mastercard (MA) +8.7%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +15.5%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Moodys (MCO) +4.8%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +11.7%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Moodys (MCO) 0.01%, Mastercard (MA) 0.00%, 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 (Moodys (MCO) 28.5%, Mastercard (MA) 22.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MCO, MA 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.