Michael Hakes - CFA, MBA Mastercard Inc. MA-N TOP PICK Aug 02, 2024

Good company. Fairly substantial move. Often in an up market, stocks that have performed well keep that momentum going. Bit expensive. Wait for a few % pullback for an entry point. In the right space, and making good use of technology.

Likes it still. Long-term, secular growth in digital payments. Cyclical growth due to cross-border travel and e-commerce. About 15% earnings growth rate. Technicals continue to look good. May benefit from DOJ action against Visa.

Retail sales are hitting new highs, despite worries about consumer turning over. Interest rates moving lower is a benefit to the consumer and, therefore, to a name like MA.

They delivered a good quarter a few weeks ago. Long-term secular growth lies ahead.

Increased demand for credit cards and online shopping will continue. Partnership with NFLX focuses on live events. None of these partnerships will generate a ton of revenue, but it's ingenious how they're gaining access to the consumer. Yield is 0.5%.

Trading at a high 32x forward PE, but shares are near 52-week highs. Is growing around 15% in earnings despite a challenging macro. Cross-border travel continues to beat expectations. Consumers are also seeing higher wages to fuel their spending.

Has owned for ~10 years. Excellent business that will continue to own. 

33x forward PE, a bit pricey but it's a premium name. Secular growth with growing electronic payments and rising consumer spending. Clear uptrend of higher highs and higher lows, 200-day and 200-week MAs are moving higher.

Capitalizing on shift to digital payments. Increasing cross-border travel helps names like this, as cross-border transactions are high margin. Fintech and AI are unlocking areas of revenue. Interesting partnerships and acquisitions. Cashflow remains high. Yield is 1.0%.

Exceeding expectations on quarterly results. Seeing ~13% annual earnings growth going forward. Shares are down 10-11%, attractive entry point.

Visa and Mastercard both have no credit risk and are doing incredibly well.

Down because everything's down. Concern that in an economic slowdown people will be slower to pay off credit cards, and there will be less travel. Doesn't have the credit risks that banks do.