V vs PYPL vs MA Stock Comparison

Visa, PayPal Holdings and Mastercard Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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V Visa Inc.
$401.94 +9.5% 1M +15.6% 1Y
Market cap
$716.66B
P/E
27.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.90B
Div. yield
0.67%
Payment Networks Financial Services
4 wins
PYPL PayPal Holdings, Inc.
$56.09 +1.9% 1M -20.2% 1Y
Market cap
$46.95B
P/E
10.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.30B
Div. yield
1.00%
Payment Processing Technology
5 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$609.78 +7.4% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$530.94B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
0.57%
Payment Networks Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

PayPal Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (PayPal Holdings 5, Visa 4, Mastercard 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionVPYPLMALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $716.66B $46.95B $530.94B V
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.1x 10.1x 33.1x PYPL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.1x 10.1x 29.1x PYPL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.8% +4.4% +16.0% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 13.8% 46.3% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.6% 59.0% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.5x 0.6x PYPL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.67% 1.00% 0.57% PYPL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.6% -20.2% +6.5% V
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.9%/yr -25.0%/yr +12.9%/yr V
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.2% 43.9% 22.7% V
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 69/100 53/100 PYPL

Percentile Scorecard

VPYPLMA

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

AxisVPYPLMA
Valuation 10 #845 of 940 92 #9 of 99 14 #809 of 940
Growth 55 #294 of 655 62 #36 of 94 66 #226 of 655
Profitability 95 #33 of 633 87 #13 of 90 99 #8 of 633
Financial Health 79 #149 of 714 37 #67 of 105 49 #363 of 714
Shareholder Returns 7 #657 of 709 68 #20 of 61 36 #457 of 709
Overall 49 69 53
  • V ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • PYPL ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVPYPLMASPY
1 month +9.5%+1.9%+7.4% -0.2%
3 months +9.5%-3.8%+8.4% +3.9%
6 months +30.0%+13.0%+20.1% +8.2%
Year to date +14.6%-3.9%+6.8% +12.9%
1 year +15.6%-20.2%+6.5% +12.3%
3 years +75.3%+11.3%+67.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +20.6%+3.6%+18.8% +23.3%
5 years +91.5%-76.3%+83.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.9%-25.0%+12.9% +10.9%
10 years +390.6%+34.5%+488.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +17.2%+3.0%+19.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureVPYPLMASPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.2%43.9%22.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.9%48.4%22.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.281.020.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.70-0.460.29 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -24.5%-83.5%-28.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.0%-23.2%-3.6% -1.2%
52-week high $414.26$73.02$632.81 $779.14
52-week low $295.52$39.08$471.55 $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.

MultipleVPYPLMA
P/E now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 13.0x 10.1xmedian 20.0x 33.1xmedian 13.0x
P/S now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 3.2x 1.4xmedian 2.3x 15.1xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.4x 7.4xmedian 17.5x 22.6xmedian 7.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.1xmedian 10.8x 7.5xmedian 15.9x 31.8xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 19.8xmedian 1.2x 2.4xmedian 2.0x 94.6xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.87 0.59median 1.03 1.69median 0.87

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 monthsVPYPLMA
Revenue $45.90B $34.30B $35.08B
Operating income $28.11B $5.83B $20.47B
Net income $23.50B $4.73B $16.26B
Free cash flow – $6.30B $16.70B
R&D – $3.28B –
EPS (diluted) – $5.51 $18.41
Cash & equivalents $12.94B $7.16B $11.29B
Total debt – $13.47B $81.59B
Shares (diluted) 1.90B 858.00M 883.00M
Enterprise value $716.66B $5.65B $490.85B

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
MetricVPYPLMA
P/E 27.1x 10.1x 33.1x
P/FCF 31.1x 7.5x 31.8x
P/Operating cash flow 30.2x 6.6x 30.4x
P/S 15.6x 1.4x 15.1x
P/B 19.8x 2.4x 94.6x
P/Tangible book 82.0x 2.4x 3,662x
EV/EBITDA – 7.4x 22.6x
EV/EBIT – 8.6x 26.6x
EV/Revenue 15.6x 1.5x 15.5x
EV/FCF – 8.0x 32.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.2x 7.1x 31.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.59 1.69

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVPYPLMA
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.8% 4.4% 16.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 5.6% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.2% -2.8% 21.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 8.6% 16.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.2% -3.9% 19.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 7.9% 16.7%
EPS growth (1Y) – 7.6% 23.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 17.1% 19.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% 10.4% 2.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 22.9% 14.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 13.2% 0.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 25.5% 14.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVPYPLMA
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 19.8% 68.6%
Operating margin – 17.0% 58.3%
Pretax margin – 16.6% 57.5%
Net margin – 13.8% 46.3%
FCF margin – 18.4% 47.6%
Operating cash flow margin 51.7% 20.7% 49.7%
Return on equity 65.9% 24.1% 263.6%
Return on assets 24.9% 5.8% 29.5%
Return on invested capital – 14.6% 59.0%
Return on capital employed – 17.0% 68.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.5x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 2.8% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVPYPLMA
Debt / assets – 16.5% 42.7%
Debt / equity – 0.7x 4.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.5x 0.6x
Debt / FCF – 2.1x 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 61.7% 76.1% 90.3%
Equity / assets 38.3% 23.9% 9.7%
Interest coverage – – 27.4x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 1.1x
Quick ratio – 0.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 1.90 10.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVPYPLMA
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.0% 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 12.8% 3.0%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 13.8% 3.5%
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.

ConsensusVPYPLMA
Forward P/E 29.1xFY2026 10.1xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $13.83FY2026 $5.55FY2026 $20.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.6%FY2026 +4.5%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.6% -3.1% +14.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $44.22BFY2026 $33.55BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +1.1%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.9% +5.1% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVPYPLMA
Held by institutions 87.6% 74.2% 87.5%
Institutions holding 4,528 1,378 3,583
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% +0.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 2,328 521 1,588
Institutions selling 1,733 671 1,527
Buyers to sellers 1.34 0.78 1.04

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.

VPYPLMA
V 1.00 0.28 0.87
PYPL 0.28 1.00 0.26
MA 0.87 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, V, PYPL and MA?

Visa (V) is the largest by market capitalisation: Visa (V) $716.66B, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) $46.95B, Mastercard (MA) $530.94B.

Which stock is cheaper, V, PYPL and MA?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Visa (V) 27.1x, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 10.1x, Mastercard (MA) 33.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is cheapest (Visa (V) 29.1x, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 10.1x, Mastercard (MA) 29.1x). 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: Visa (V) +14.8%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) +4.4%, Mastercard (MA) +16.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 13.8%, Mastercard (MA) 46.3%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 14.6%, Mastercard (MA) 59.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Visa (V) returned the most: Visa (V) +15.6%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -20.2%, Mastercard (MA) +6.5%. Over five years, Visa (V) compounded fastest (Visa (V) +13.9%/yr, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -25.0%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +12.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has the highest dividend yield: Visa (V) 0.67%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 1.00%, Mastercard (MA) 0.57%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Visa (V) has been the steadiest (Visa (V) 22.2%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 43.9%, Mastercard (MA) 22.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, V, PYPL and MA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 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.