MasterCard Q3 Profit Rises, Beating View (MA)

Created by Dividend.com

Credit card issuer MasterCard Incorporated (MA) on Tuesday said that its third quarter profit rose significantly from last year, beating analyst estimates.

The Purchase, New York-based company reported third quarter net income of $452 million, or $3.45 per share, compared with a net loss of $194 million, or $1.48 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, adjusted profit was $3.48 per share.

Revenue rose 2% from last year, to $1.4 billion.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a much lower profit of $2.94 per share, on smaller revenue of $1.35 billion.

U.S. card volumes declined once again in the quarter, however, and CEO Robert Selander said that “We don’t expect any global economic improvement until sometime in 2010.”

MasterCard shares fell $7.37, or -3.2%, in morning trading Tuesday.

The Bottom Line
We recently removed shares of MA from our “recommended” list back on Sept.30, when the stock was trading at $206.74. The company has a dividend yield of .27%, based on last night’s closing stock price of $ 222.65. The stock has near-term technical support in the $195-$200 price area. If the shares can rebound, we see near-term overhead resistance around the $225-$232 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now.

MasterCard Incorporated (MA) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.