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Special Report Why Mastercard and Visa Are the Definition of Forever StocksSubmitted by Jordan Chussler. Article Published: 3/14/2026. 
Key Points - The financials sector has lagged the S&P 500 this year, but two payment processing giants continue to deliver the kind of margins and earnings consistency that define long-term holdings.
- Despite recent sector-wide struggles, Visa and Mastercard function as a veritable duopoly, controlling over 90% of payments outside of China.
- Visa hasn't missed on earnings in 10 years, while Mastercard has secured 21 consecutive quarterly beats.
- Special Report: Elon Musk's $1 Quadrillion AI IPO
After finishing the past two years with an average annual gain of nearly 23%, the financials sector has struggled this year. With a year-to-date loss of around 9%, the cohort ranks last among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors. But zooming out, the companies that make up the sector have proven to be key components of buy-and-hold investors’ portfolios. With high-quality growth stocks increasingly difficult to find, two legacy companies operating in the global payment processing and digital payments markets continue to produce profit margins that qualify them as true "forever stocks." Why Digital Payment and Payment Processors Make for Good Forever Stocks These companies have historically enjoyed higher profit margins than many other industries because of high-volume demand, ease of automation, and technology-driven business models that translate into low marginal costs per transaction. The industry is also poised for strong growth. According to industry analytics firm Grand View Research, the global payment processing solutions market, valued at nearly $48 billion in 2022, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.5% through 2030, reaching nearly $140 billion by the start of the next decade. Grand View also forecasts that the digital payment market, valued at more than $114 billion in 2024, will grow at a 21.4% CAGR through 2030, reaching more than $361 billion. While that pace of growth and attractive gross margins might suggest a crowded field, two of the biggest names in the industry continue to operate in a near-duopoly, controlling over 90% of credit card and digital payments processed outside China. With roots dating back to the mid-1900s, these companies control much of the digital payment and payment processing infrastructure, allowing them to influence fees, limit competition, and maintain strong margins. Despite challengers such as Block (NYSE: XYZ), with its peer-to-peer payment service Cash App, and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), with its popular platform Venmo, none fit the "forever stock" bill better than the following two. Mastercard: The $450 Billion Market Cap Company Focusing on Tech Integration Since Michael Miebach took the reins at Mastercard (NYSE: MA) in 2021, management has focused on expanding tech platforms, supporting cross-border commerce, and developing services that help clients reduce fraud, streamline payment flows, and leverage payments data for insights. Those efforts helped Mastercard deliver record revenue and net income in 2025. Revenue of nearly $33 billion represented a year-over-year (YOY) increase of more than 16%, while net income of nearly $15 billion also rose by more than 16% YOY. That profitability was driven in large part by a 100% gross margin throughout 2025, enabled by tech integrations and a minimal cost of goods sold. As a result, the company’s quarterly gross profit consistently matched its quarterly net revenue. For investors, that has translated into rewarding earnings per share. The last time Mastercard missed on earnings was Q3 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the company has posted 21 consecutive quarterly earnings beats. Most recently, the company reported Q4 2025 EPS of $4.76, a nearly 25% YOY increase. Mastercard's earnings are expected to grow nearly 17% in the year ahead, from $15.91 to $18.61 per share. At the same time, the company has been embracing broader fintech trends, shifting from a traditional payment network to an AI-driven, software-focused enterprise that emphasizes enhanced security, simplified B2B transactions with virtual cards, and agentic AI tools. Icing the cake, Mastercard pays a dividend that, while not known for a substantial yield (currently 0.69%), has increased for 13 consecutive years. The firm maintains a sustainable dividend payout ratio of 21.07%, and its annualized five-year dividend growth rate stands at 13.70%. Visa: Evolving and Adapting Since 1958 Visa (NYSE: V) operates a network-based model that allows partnering banks and other financial institutions to issue branded payment products while Visa focuses on infrastructure, standards, and technology integration. Like Mastercard, the company is rapidly integrating fintech, focusing on AI-driven solutions and blockchain-based settlement, with the goal of moving from traditional card-based transactions to more flexible, digital-first experiences by 2026. That strategy helped Visa report record revenue and net income in 2025, with revenue of $40 billion—an 11% YOY increase—and net income approaching $20 billion. While Mastercard’s run of earnings beats is notable, Visa has not missed an earnings estimate once in the past 10 years. During that period, the company met analyst expectations twice and beat EPS estimates 38 times. Much of Visa’s consistency stems from its nearly 83% gross profit margin in 2025, which aligns with its 10-year average. Like its counterpart, Visa also pays a modest dividend that currently yields 0.87%. Its dividend payout ratio is a healthy 25.14%, and the annualized five-year dividend growth rate is 14.48%. The company has increased its payout for 17 consecutive years. | 
