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Just For You Why Mastercard and Visa Are the Definition of Forever StocksSubmitted by Jordan Chussler. Date Posted: 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: The Biggest IPO Ever: Claim Your Stake Today
After averaging nearly 23% annually over the past two years, the financials sector has struggled this year. With a year-to-date loss of around 9%, the group ranks last among the S&P 500's 11 sectors. Zooming out, however, many companies in the sector remain core holdings for long-term investors. Elon did the seemingly impossible – far faster than anyone expected… And it's sent the tech industry into PANIC MODE. ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek could soon become obsolete. And three little-known firms could soar 10X or higher as a result. Get the details here. With high-quality growth stocks harder to find, two legacy firms in global payment processing and digital payments continue to produce profit margins and structural advantages that make them attractive "forever" stocks. Why Digital Payment and Payment Processors Make for Good Forever Stocks Payment processors and digital-payment platforms typically enjoy higher profit margins than many other industries. Their high-volume, technology-driven models enable automation and low marginal costs per transaction. The industry is also set for strong growth. 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 top $361 billion. While such growth and attractive margins might suggest the space is crowded, two industry leaders effectively operate as a duopoly, controlling more than 90% of credit card and digital payments processed outside China. With roots stretching back to the mid-1900s, they control much of the payment infrastructure, which lets them set fees, limit competition and sustain strong margins. Disruptors such as Block (NYSE: XYZ) with Cash App, and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) with Venmo, have made inroads. Still, few names match the combination of scale, profitability and durability offered by the two below. Mastercard: The $450 Billion Market Cap Company Focusing on Tech Integration Since Michael Miebach became CEO of Mastercard (NYSE: MA) in 2021, management has prioritized expanding tech platforms, supporting cross-border commerce and building services that help clients reduce fraud, streamline payment flows and extract insights from payments data. That strategy helped Mastercard post 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 rose by a similar margin. Much of that profitability came from an effectively 100% gross margin throughout 2025—enabled 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, the consistency has shown up in earnings surprises. After missing in Q3 2020 amid the COVID-19 downturn, Mastercard has delivered 21 consecutive quarterly earnings beats. Most recently, Mastercard reported Q4 2025 EPS of $4.76, a nearly 25% YOY increase for the quarter. Analysts expect EPS to grow roughly 17% in the year ahead, from $15.91 to $18.61 per share. At the same time, Mastercard is shifting from a traditional network toward an AI-driven, software-focused business that emphasizes enhanced security, simplified B2B transactions with virtual cards and agentic AI tools. To top it off, Mastercard pays a dividend—not large by yield (currently 0.69%) but consistent, having increased its payout for 13 consecutive years. Its dividend payout ratio is a conservative 21.07%, and its annualized five-year dividend growth rate is 13.70%. Visa: Evolving and Adapting Since 1958 Visa (NYSE: V) operates a network-based model in which partner banks issue branded payment products while Visa focuses on infrastructure, standards and technology integration. Like Mastercard, Visa is integrating fintech innovations—focusing on AI-driven solutions and blockchain-based settlement—as it aims to shift from traditional card-based transactions toward more flexible, digital-first experiences by 2026. That evolution helped Visa deliver record revenue and net income in 2025: revenue of about $40 billion, an 11% YOY increase, and net income of nearly $20 billion. Visa's consistency on the bottom line is notable. While Mastercard's streak of beats is impressive, Visa has not missed on earnings once in the past 10 years, meeting analyst expectations twice and beating EPS estimates 38 times during that stretch. Much of Visa's stability stems from its healthy gross profit margin—about 83% in 2025—which aligns with its 10-year average. Like its counterpart, Visa pays a modest dividend (current yield: 0.87%). Its payout ratio is roughly 25.14%, its annualized five-year dividend growth rate is 14.48%, and the company has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years.
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