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Featured Story from MarketBeat.com Why Mastercard and Visa Are the Definition of Forever StocksReported 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: 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 make up the sector have proven to be important components of buy-and-hold investors' portfolios. Elon Musk's AI Everywhere project isn't inside Tesla—it's a private venture with a global network of 150+ facilities embedding autonomous AI into devices everywhere, and Musk believes this could propel Tesla to become the most valuable company ever, worth more than Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Google combined. Private ventures like this are usually locked for elites, but I've found a legitimate brokerage backdoor under $100 with no special requirements, just a regular account, and this private play follows the same playbook as PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI using Tesla's proven autonomous AI copy-pasted across the world. See the 3 steps to profit before the summer regulatory shift As high-quality growth stocks become harder to find, two legacy companies in the global payment processing and digital payments markets continue to deliver profit margins and business characteristics 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 because of steady, high-volume demand, extensive automation, and technology-driven business models that keep marginal costs per transaction very low. The industry is also positioned 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. Grand View also forecasts the digital payment market, valued at more than $114 billion in 2024, will expand at a 21.4% CAGR through 2030 to more than $361 billion. That pace of growth and attractive gross margins might suggest the space is crowded, but two of the largest names still operate in what amounts to a duopoly, handling more than 90% of credit card and digital payments processed outside China. With roots stretching back to the mid‑1900s, these firms control much of the payment infrastructure, enabling them to influence fees, limit competition, and sustain strong margins. While competitors such as Block (NYSE: XYZ) and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) are pursuing disruptive payment models through Cash App and Venmo, respectively, two incumbents stand out as classic forever-stock candidates. 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 extract insights from payments data. Those efforts 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 stems from a very low cost of goods sold: Mastercard reported a 100% gross margin throughout 2025, so quarterly gross profit closely matched quarterly net revenue. For investors, that has translated into consistent earnings performance. The last time Mastercard missed on earnings was Q3 2020 following the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Since then, the company has delivered 21 consecutive quarterly earnings beats. Most recently, Mastercard reported Q4 2025 EPS of $4.76, a nearly 25% YOY increase. Analysts expect Mastercard's EPS to grow roughly 17% in the year ahead, from $15.91 to $18.61 per share. Mastercard has been evolving from a traditional payment network into a more AI‑driven, software-focused company that emphasizes enhanced security, simplified B2B transactions with virtual cards, and agentic AI tools. Mastercard also pays a dividend—modest at a current yield of about 0.69%—that has increased for 13 consecutive years. The company maintains a sustainable payout ratio of roughly 21.07% and an annualized five‑year dividend growth rate near 13.70%. Visa: Evolving and Adapting Since 1958 Visa (NYSE: V) operates a network-based model that lets partner banks issue branded payment products while Visa focuses on infrastructure, standards and technology integration. Like Mastercard, Visa is rapidly integrating fintech, concentrating on AI-driven solutions and blockchain-based settlement, with the stated goal of shifting from traditional card transactions toward more flexible, digital-first experiences by 2026. Those initiatives helped Visa report record revenue and net income in 2025. Revenue topped $40 billion—an 11% YOY increase—while net income approached $20 billion. Visa's consistency is notable: it hasn't missed an earnings report in the past decade, meeting analyst expectations twice and beating EPS estimates 38 times during that stretch. That performance is supported by a strong gross profit margin—about 83% in 2025—which is in line with the company's 10‑year average. Visa also pays a modest dividend, currently yielding about 0.87%. Its payout ratio is roughly 25.14%, with an annualized five‑year dividend growth rate of about 14.48%, and the company has increased its payout for 17 consecutive years. | 
