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Monday's Bonus Content Why Mastercard and Visa Are the Definition of Forever StocksSubmitted by Jordan Chussler. 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: Have $500? Invest in Elon's AI Masterplan
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. Zooming out, however, the companies that comprise the sector have proven to be durable holdings for buy-and-hold investors. I've worked for the CIA, personally met four US presidents, and spent 45 years studying the markets—calling Black Monday six weeks before it happened, predicting the fall of the Berlin Wall, and pinpointing the exact bottom in 2009. But what I'm about to share with you is the boldest prediction of my career. After meeting Elon Musk face-to-face at a private gathering of Wall Street elites and months of my own research, I'm now staking my reputation on one date: March 26, 2026. That's when I believe Elon will announce the SpaceX IPO—what Bloomberg is calling the biggest listing of all time. I have found an access code that lets you grab a pre-IPO stake before it happens, but in 72 hours, your window could close. Click here to see how to claim your SpaceX access code As high-quality growth stocks become harder to find, two legacy companies in global payment processing and digital payments continue to deliver profit margins and business durability that qualify them as "forever" stocks. Why Digital Payment and Payment Processors Make for Good Forever Stocks These companies typically enjoy higher profit margins than many other industries thanks to high-volume demand, automation-friendly operations and technology-driven models that produce low marginal costs per transaction. The industry also has strong growth tailwinds. Industry analytics firm Grand View Research estimates the global payment processing solutions market, valued at nearly $48 billion in 2022, will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.5% through 2030 to approach $140 billion. Grand View also projects the digital payment market, valued at more than $114 billion in 2024, will expand at a 21.4% CAGR through 2030 to exceed $361 billion. Even with that growth and attractive margins, two of the biggest names in the space still operate in a near-duopoly, processing over 90% of credit card and digital payments outside of China. With corporate histories stretching back to the mid-20th century, these firms control much of the payments infrastructure, which helps them set fees, limit competition and sustain strong margins. While competitors such as Block (NYSE: SQ), with its Cash App, and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), with Venmo, aim to disrupt the space, two incumbents remain the clearest examples of long-term, high-quality payment franchises. Mastercard: The $450 Billion Market Cap Company Focusing on Tech Integration Since Michael Miebach became CEO of Mastercard (NYSE: MA) in 2021, management has focused on 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 grew by a similar margin. Much of that profitability stems from an effectively 100% gross margin in 2025, enabled by tech integrations and minimal cost of goods sold—meaning quarterly gross profit closely tracked quarterly net revenue. For shareholders, the results have translated into steady earnings performance. The last time Mastercard missed on earnings was Q3 2020 after the initial COVID-19 shock; since then the company has produced 21 consecutive quarterly earnings beats. Most recently, Mastercard reported Q4 2025 EPS of $4.76, roughly 25% higher than the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts expect earnings per share to rise nearly 17% over the next year, from $15.91 to $18.61. Mastercard is also leaning into broader fintech trends, shifting from a traditional payment network toward an increasingly AI-driven, software-focused enterprise that emphasizes security, virtual B2B transactions and AI-enabled tools. Adding to the appeal for long-term investors, Mastercard pays a dividend. The yield is modest (around 0.69%) but the company has raised its payout for 13 consecutive years, maintains a sustainable payout ratio (about 21.1%) and has an annualized five-year dividend growth rate near 13.7%. Visa: Evolving and Adapting Since 1958 Visa (NYSE: V) operates a network-based model that lets partner banks and financial institutions issue branded payment products while Visa concentrates on infrastructure, standards and technology integration. Like Mastercard, Visa has moved aggressively into fintech, focusing on AI-driven tools and exploring blockchain-based settlement. The company aims to evolve from traditional card-centric transactions to more flexible, digital-first experiences. That strategy helped Visa report record revenue and net income in 2025: revenue of about $40 billion (an 11% year-over-year increase) and net income approaching $20 billion. Visa's earnings consistency is notable. Over the past 10 years the company has not missed earnings expectations: it has met expectations twice and beaten them 38 times in that span. Visa's profitability is also strong, with a gross profit margin near 83% in 2025, in line with its 10-year average. Visa, like Mastercard, offers a modest dividend (currently around a 0.87% yield). Its payout ratio is healthy (about 25.1%), the annualized five-year dividend growth rate is roughly 14.5%, and the company has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Together, Mastercard and Visa combine durable competitive moats, attractive margins, secular growth opportunities and steady capital returns—features that help explain why many investors consider them core holdings for long-term portfolios. | 
