Mastercard profit surges as travel spending back to pre-pandemic levels

Mastercard Inc beat quarterly profit expectations on Thursday as domestic spending through its cards rose and cross-border volumes grew following an uptick in international travel.

While increased vaccination and easing of pandemic-related curbs powered the recovery in spending, it was slightly dented by a surge in infections from the Omicron variant toward the end of the fourth quarter.

Gross dollar volumes, which represents the dollar value of the transactions processed, jumped 23% to $2.1 trillion from a year earlier. Cross border volumes, a key metric that track card spending beyond the country of issue, rose 53%.

“We had a strong fourth quarter as spending trends continued to improve, with Q4 cross-border spending now above pre-pandemic levels,” Chief Executive Michael Miebach said.

Operating expenses, however, rose 16% from a year earlier to $2.4 billion, dragging shares down 1.35% to $340.

The results were similar to rival American Express Co (NYSE:AXP), which beat quarterly profit estimates on record levels of spending through its cards.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA)’s net revenue rose 27% to $5.2 billion, above estimates of $5.16 billion.

The company’s profit rose to $2.4 billion, or $2.41 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.8 billion, or $1.78 per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Mastercard earned $2.35 per share, above the analysts’ average estimate of $2.21, according to Refinitiv data.