Free cash flow
Mastercard Free cash flow decreased by 41.8% to $2.85B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 28.1%, from $2.22B to $2.85B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 17.3% CAGR. This decline may warrant attention — for this metric, higher values are generally preferred.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $2.19B | $2.40B | $3.07B | $1.64B | $2.40B | $3.75B | $2.97B | $1.81B | $2.62B | $3.13B | $4.05B | $1.52B | $3.02B | $5.03B | $4.74B | $2.22B | $4.56B | $5.49B | $4.89B | $2.85B |
| QoQ Change | — | +9.9% | +27.6% | -46.7% | +46.8% | +55.9% | -20.7% | -39.1% | +44.7% | +19.5% | +29.5% | -62.6% | +99.5% | +66.4% | -5.8% | -53.1% | +105.4% | +20.2% | -10.8% | -41.8% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +9.8% | +55.8% | -3.2% | +10.6% | +9.0% | -16.4% | +36.5% | -16.3% | +15.5% | +60.7% | +16.9% | +46.6% | +50.9% | +9.1% | +3.2% | +28.1% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Mastercard's free cash flow?
- Mastercard (MA) reported free cash flow of $2.85B in Q1 2026.
- How has Mastercard's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Mastercard's free cash flow increased by 28.1% year-over-year, from $2.22B to $2.85B.
- What is the long-term trend for Mastercard's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Mastercard's free cash flow has grown at a 17.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $9.06B to $17.16B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.