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This Week's Bonus Article 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: This Could Turn $100 into $100,000
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 core holdings for buy-and-hold investors. The Fed is counting on ordinary Americans never reading a 93-page document. Martin Weiss has read every page, and what he found is urgent. He has identified 4 specific steps designed to protect your wealth before most investors realize what is coming. Time is the one thing you cannot get back. Act now while the window is still open. Get Your 4 Fed-Proof Steps With high-quality growth stocks increasingly difficult to find, two legacy companies in the global payment processing and digital payments markets continue to produce profit margins and cash flows that qualify them as classic "forever" stocks. Why Digital Payment and Payment Processors Make for Good Forever Stocks These firms typically enjoy higher profit margins than many other industries due to strong, recurring demand, automation, and technology-driven business models that keep marginal costs per transaction very low. The industry is also set for robust growth. According to 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. Grand View also forecasts the digital payment market, valued at more than $114 billion in 2024, will grow at a 21.4% CAGR through 2030 to exceed $361 billion. While that level of growth and attractive gross margins could attract competition, two of the largest names still operate in what is effectively a duopoly, processing more than 90% of credit card and digital payments outside of China. With roots that extend back to the mid-1900s, they control much of the payments infrastructure, allowing them to influence fees, limit competition, and sustain strong margins. Though challengers such as Block, with its Cash App, and PayPal, with Venmo, aim to disrupt the space, two incumbents stand out as particularly well-suited to long-term, buy-and-hold portfolios. Mastercard: The $450 Billion Market Cap Company Focusing on Tech Integration Since Michael Miebach became CEO of Mastercard (NYSE: MA) in 2021, management has emphasized expanding tech platforms, supporting cross-border commerce, and developing services that reduce fraud, streamline payment flows, and turn payments data into actionable insights. Those efforts helped Mastercard deliver record revenue and net income in 2025. Revenue of nearly $33 billion represented a year-over-year increase of more than 16%, while net income of nearly $15 billion rose by a similar percentage. Much of that profitability was enabled by an effectively 100% gross margin throughout 2025, driven by tech integrations and a minimal cost of goods sold, so the company's quarterly gross profit closely matched its quarterly net revenue. For investors, that has translated into consistently strong earnings. The last time Mastercard missed on earnings was Q3 2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the company has reported 21 consecutive quarterly earnings beats. Most recently, the company reported Q4 2025 EPS of $4.76, a nearly 25% year-over-year increase. Analysts expect Mastercard's EPS to grow roughly 17% over the next year, from $15.91 to $18.61. Mastercard is also shifting from a traditional payments network toward an AI-driven, software-focused enterprise that emphasizes enhanced security, simplified B2B transactions with virtual cards, and AI tools that deliver operational efficiencies. Additionally, Mastercard pays a dividend. While its yield is modest (currently about 0.69%), the company has increased its payout for 13 consecutive years, maintains a sustainable dividend payout ratio of roughly 21%, and has a five-year annualized dividend growth rate near 13.7%. Visa: Evolving and Adapting Since 1958 Visa (NYSE: V) operates a network-based model that enables partner banks and financial institutions to issue branded payment products while Visa concentrates on infrastructure, standards, and technology integration. Like Mastercard, Visa is rapidly integrating fintech capabilities, focusing on AI-driven solutions and blockchain-based settlement, with the goal of evolving from traditional card-based transactions to more flexible, digital-first experiences. Those initiatives contributed to Visa reporting record revenue and net income in 2025, with revenue of about $40 billion (an 11% year-over-year increase) and net income approaching $20 billion. Where Mastercard has a notable streak of recent beats, Visa hasn't missed on earnings once in the past 10 years. During that span it has matched analyst expectations twice and beaten EPS estimates 38 times. Visa's strong results are supported by a roughly 83% gross profit margin in 2025, consistent with its long-term averages. Like Mastercard, Visa pays a modest dividend, currently yielding about 0.87%. Its dividend payout ratio is near 25% and its five-year annualized dividend growth rate is roughly 14.5%. Visa has increased its payout for 17 consecutive years. Both Mastercard and Visa combine durable market positions, robust margins, recurring cash flows, and an ongoing transition toward higher-value technology services—characteristics that make them attractive candidates for long-term, buy-and-hold investors seeking exposure to the payments ecosystem. | 
