Mastercard (MA) Q1 2026 Earnings

Q1 2026 Key Business Drivers (YoY growth)

Gross dollar volume

Cross-border volume

Switched transactions

(local currency basis)

(local currency basis)

up 7%

up 13%

up 9%

The following information is provided to aid in understanding Mastercard’s first quarter 2026 results, versus the year ago period.

**•**Net revenue increased 16%, or 12% on a currency-neutral basis versus the comparable period in 2025. This increase was attributable to growth in our payment network and value-added services and solutions.

▪Payment network net revenue increased 12%, or 8% on a currency-neutral basis. Primary drivers of the increase were as follows:

•Gross dollar volume growth of 7%, on a local currency basis, to $2.7 trillion.

•Cross-border volume growth of 13% on a local currency basis.

•Switched transactions growth of 9%.

This increase in payment network net revenue includes growth in payment network rebates and incentives provided to customers. Payment network rebates and incentives increased 23%, or 19% on a currency-neutral basis, primarily due to an increase in our key drivers, as well as new and renewed deals.

▪Value-added services and solutions net revenue increased 22%, or 18% on a currency-neutral basis. The increase was driven primarily by growth in our underlying key drivers, our security solutions, digital and authentication solutions, business and market insights and consumer acquisition and engagement services, and pricing.

**•**Total operating expenses increased 13% as compared to the same period in 2025, primarily due to higher general and administrative expenses which included a restructuring charge in the first quarter of 2026, partially offset by lower litigation provisions. Excluding the impact of First Quarter Special Items, adjusted operating expenses increased 11%, or 9% on a currency-neutral basis, primarily due to higher general and administrative expenses.

**•**Other income (expense) was favorable by $23 million versus the year ago period, primarily due to government grant agreements executed in the fourth quarter 2025, partially offset by higher net losses on our equity investments year over year. Excluding the impact of net gains and losses on our equity investments, adjusted other income (expense) was favorable by $61 million versus the year ago period primarily due to government grants.

**•**The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2026 was 19.3%, versus 18.6% for the comparable period in 2025, primarily due to lower net discrete tax benefits in 2026. The adjusted effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2026 was 19.2%, versus 19.1% for the comparable period in 2025.

**•**As of March 31, 2026, the company’s customers had issued 3.7 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards.

2

Return of Capital to Shareholders

During the first quarter of 2026, Mastercard repurchased 7.8 million shares at a cost of $4.0 billion and paid $777 million in dividends.

Quarter-to-date through April 27, the company repurchased 3.3 million shares at a cost of $1.7 billion, which leaves $11.7 billion remaining under approved share repurchase programs.

First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call Details

At 9:00 a.m. ET today, the company will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2026 results. The dial-in information for this call is 1-888-330-2508 (Toll-free) and 1-240-789-2735 (Toll dial-in), using passcode 6451878. A replay of the call will be available for 30 days and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-770-2030 (Toll-free) and 1-647-362-9199 (Toll dial-in), using passcode 6451878.

A live audio webcast of this call, along with presentation slides, can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at investor.mastercard.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “believe”, “expect”, “could”, “may”, “would”, “will”, “trend” and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to the company’s future prospects, developments and business strategies. We caution you to not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date they are made. Except for the company’s ongoing obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in financial condition, changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events.

Many factors and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control, influence whether any forward-looking statements can or will be achieved. Any one of those factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in writing in any forward-looking statements made by Mastercard or on its behalf, including, but not limited to, the following factors:

•regulation related to the payments industry (including regulatory, legislative and litigation activity with respect to interchange rates and surcharging)

•the impact of preferential or protective government actions

•regulation of privacy, data, AI, information security and the digital economy

•regulation that directly or indirectly applies to us based on our participation in the global payments industry (including anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, economic sanctions and anti-corruption, account-based payments systems, and issuer and acquirer practices regulation)

•the impact of changes in tax laws, as well as regulations and interpretations of such laws or challenges to our tax positions

•potential or incurred liability and limitations on business related to any litigation or litigation settlements

•the impact of competition in the global payments industry (including disintermediation and pricing pressure)

3

•the challenges relating to rapid technological developments and changes

•the challenges relating to operating a real-time account-based payments system and to working with new customers and end users

•the impact of information security incidents, account data breaches or service disruptions

•issues related to our relationships with our stakeholders (including loss of substantial business from significant customers, competitor relationships with our customers, consolidation amongst our customers, merchants’ continued focus on acceptance costs and unique risks from our work with governments)

•the impact of global economic, political, financial and societal events and conditions, including adverse currency fluctuations and foreign exchange controls

•reputational impact, including impact related to brand perception and lack of visibility of our brands in products and services

•the impact of environmental, social and governance matters and related stakeholder reaction

•the inability to attract and retain a highly qualified workforce, or maintain our corporate culture

•issues related to acquisition integration, strategic investments and entry into new businesses

•exposure to loss or illiquidity due to our role as guarantor as well as other contractual obligations and discretionary actions we may take

•issues related to our Class A common stock and corporate governance structure

For additional information on these and other factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from expected results, please see the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and any subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K.

4

About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we are building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

www.mastercard.com

Contacts:

5

6

7

8

Non-GAAP Financial Information

Non-GAAP financial information is defined as a numerical measure of a company’s performance that excludes or includes amounts so as to be different than the most comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). Mastercard discloses the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted operating expenses, adjusted operating margin, adjusted other income (expense), adjusted effective income tax rate, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share (as well as related applicable growth rates versus the comparable period in the prior year). As described more fully below, these non-GAAP financial measures exclude (where applicable) the impact of gains and losses on the company’s equity investments, which includes mark-to-market fair value adjustments, impairments and gains and losses upon disposition, as well as the related tax impacts. These non-GAAP financial measures also exclude (where applicable) the impact of special items, which represent litigation judgments and settlements and/or certain one-time items, as well as the related tax impacts.

In addition, the company presents growth rates adjusted for the impact of currency, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Currency-neutral growth rates are calculated by remeasuring the prior period’s results using the current period’s exchange rates for both the translational and transactional impacts on operating results. The impact of currency translation represents the effect of translating operating results where the functional currency is different from the company’s U.S. dollar reporting currency. The impact of the transactional currency represents the effect of converting revenue and expenses occurring in a currency other than the functional currency of the entity. The impact of the related realized gains and losses resulting from the company’s foreign exchange derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedging instruments (specifically those that manage the impact of foreign currency variability on anticipated revenues and expenses) is recognized in the respective financial statement line item on the statements of operations when the underlying forecasted transactions impact earnings. The translational and transactional impact of currency and the related impact of the company’s foreign exchange derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedging instruments as specified above have been excluded from the company’s currency-neutral growth rates.

The company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures presented facilitate an understanding of operating performance and provide a meaningful comparison of its results between periods. The company’s management uses non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate its ongoing operations in relation to historical results, for internal planning and forecasting purposes and in the calculation of performance-based compensation, among other things. The company excluded these items because management evaluates the underlying operations and performance of the company separately from these recurring and nonrecurring items. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures should not be relied upon as substitutes for the company’s measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

The company includes reconciliations of the requisite non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the non-GAAP reconciliation tables below.

9

Note:    Tables may not sum due to rounding.

**    Not applicable

Gains and Losses on Equity Investments

1. Represents Q1'26 and Q1’25 net pre-tax losses of $66 million and $29 million, respectively, primarily related to unrealized fair market value adjustments on marketable and nonmarketable equity securities.

First Quarter Special Items

2. Represents Q1'26 pre-tax charge of $202 million as a result of a restructuring action primarily intended to enable reinvestment to support the realization of our long-term growth opportunities.

3. Represents Q1'25 pre-tax charges of $151 million primarily as a result of a change in estimate related to the claims of merchants who opted out of the U.S. merchant class litigation.

Other Notes

4. Represents the translational and transactional impact of currency and the related impact of our foreign exchange derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedging instruments (specifically those that manage the impact of foreign currency variability on anticipated revenues and expenses).

10

11

Footnote

The tables set forth the gross dollar volume (“GDV”), purchase volume, cash volume and the number of purchase transactions, cash transactions and cards on a regional and global basis for Mastercard™-branded cards. Growth rates over prior periods are provided for volume-based data.

Debit transactions on Maestro® and Cirrus®-branded cards and transactions involving brands other than Mastercard are not included in the preceding tables.

For purposes of the table: GDV represents purchase volume plus cash volume and includes the impact of balance transfers and convenience checks; “purchase volume” means the aggregate dollar amount of purchases made with Mastercard-branded cards for the relevant period; and “cash volume” means the aggregate dollar amount of cash disbursements and includes the impact of balance transfers and convenience checks obtained with Mastercard-branded cards for the relevant period. The number of cards includes virtual cards, which are Mastercard-branded payment accounts that do not generally have physical cards associated with them.

The Mastercard payment products are comprised of credit, charge, debit and prepaid programs, and data relating to each type of program is included in the tables. The tables include information with respect to transactions involving Mastercard-branded cards that are not switched by Mastercard and transactions for which Mastercard does not earn significant revenues.

Information denominated in U.S. dollars is calculated by applying an established U.S. dollar/local currency exchange rate for each local currency in which Mastercard volumes are reported. These exchange rates are calculated on a quarterly basis using the average exchange rate for each quarter. Mastercard reports period-over-period rates of change in purchase volume and cash volume on the basis of local currency information, in order to eliminate the impact of changes in the value of currencies against the U.S. dollar in calculating such rates of change.

The data set forth in the GDV, purchase volume, purchase transactions, cash volume and cash transactions columns is provided by Mastercard customers and is subject to verification by Mastercard and partial cross-checking against information provided by Mastercard’s transaction switching systems. The data set forth in the cards columns is provided by Mastercard customers and is subject to certain limited verification by Mastercard. A portion of the data set forth in the cards columns reflects the impact of routine portfolio changes among customers and other practices that may lead to over counting of the underlying data in certain circumstances. All data is subject to revision and amendment by Mastercard or Mastercard’s customers.

Performance information for prior periods can be found in the Investor Relations section of the Mastercard website at investor.mastercard.com.

12