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Side-by-side financial comparison of Mastercard (MA) and McDonald's (MCD). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Mastercard is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($8.8B vs $7.0B, roughly 1.3× McDonald's). Mastercard runs the higher net margin — 46.1% vs 30.9%, a 15.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Mastercard posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.6% vs 9.7%). Mastercard produced more free cash flow last quarter ($4.9B vs $1.6B). Over the past eight quarters, Mastercard's revenue compounded faster (17.8% CAGR vs 6.6%).
Mastercard Inc. is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York. It offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related-payment services. Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the card-issuing banks or credit unions of the purchasers who use the Mastercard-brand debit, credit and prepaid cards to make purchases. Mastercard has been publicly traded since 2006.
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. As of 2024, it is the second-largest by number of locations in the world, behind the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.
MA vs MCD — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.8B | $7.0B |
| Net Profit | $4.1B | $2.2B |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 55.8% | 45.0% |
| Net Margin | 46.1% | 30.9% |
| Revenue YoY | 17.6% | 9.7% |
| Net Profit YoY | 21.5% | 7.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $4.52 | $3.03 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $8.8B | $7.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $8.6B | $7.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $8.1B | $6.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $7.3B | $6.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $7.5B | $6.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.4B | $6.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.0B | $6.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.3B | $6.2B |
| Q4 25 | $4.1B | $2.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.9B | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.7B | $2.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.3B | $1.9B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.3B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.3B | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.3B | $2.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.0B | $1.9B |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 90.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 90.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 89.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 90.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 90.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 89.8% |
| Q4 25 | 55.8% | 45.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 58.8% | 47.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 58.7% | 47.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 57.2% | 44.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 52.6% | 44.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 54.3% | 46.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 58.0% | 45.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 56.8% | 44.4% |
| Q4 25 | 46.1% | 30.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 45.7% | 32.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 45.5% | 32.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 45.2% | 31.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 44.6% | 31.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 44.3% | 32.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 46.8% | 31.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 47.4% | 31.3% |
| Q4 25 | $4.52 | $3.03 | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.34 | $3.18 | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.07 | $3.14 | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.59 | $2.60 | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.64 | $2.80 | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.53 | $3.13 | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.50 | $2.80 | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.22 | $2.66 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $10.6B | $774.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $40.0B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $7.7B | $-1.8B |
| Total Assets | $54.2B | $59.5B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $10.6B | $774.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $10.3B | $2.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $9.0B | $1.9B | ||
| Q1 25 | $7.6B | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $8.4B | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $11.1B | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.0B | $792.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $7.3B | $838.0M |
| Q4 25 | — | $40.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $38.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | $7.7B | $-1.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.9B | $-2.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $7.9B | $-2.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $6.7B | $-3.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.5B | $-3.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.4B | $-5.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.4B | $-4.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $7.2B | $-4.8B |
| Q4 25 | $54.2B | $59.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $53.3B | $60.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $51.4B | $59.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $48.5B | $56.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $48.1B | $55.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $47.2B | $56.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $42.3B | $53.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $42.6B | $53.5B |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $5.0B | $2.7B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $4.9B | $1.6B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 55.5% | 23.4% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 1.3% | 15.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 1.23× | 1.25× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $17.2B | $7.2B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $5.0B | $2.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.7B | $3.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.6B | $2.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.4B | $2.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.8B | $2.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.1B | $2.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.7B | $2.4B |
| Q4 25 | $4.9B | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.5B | $2.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.6B | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.2B | $1.9B | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.7B | $1.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.0B | $1.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0B | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.5B | $1.8B |
| Q4 25 | 55.5% | 23.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 63.8% | 34.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 56.1% | 18.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 30.6% | 31.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 63.3% | 28.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 68.2% | 28.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 43.4% | 16.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 23.9% | 29.9% |
| Q4 25 | 1.3% | 15.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.1% | 14.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.5% | 10.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.2% | 9.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.3% | 12.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.7% | 9.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 2.5% | 8.9% |
| Q4 25 | 1.23× | 1.25× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.44× | 1.50× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.24× | 0.89× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.73× | 1.30× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.45× | 1.30× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.57× | 1.21× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.96× | 0.84× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.56× | 1.24× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
MA
| Payment Network | $4.9B | 56% |
| Value Added Services And Solutions | $3.9B | 44% |
MCD
| International Operated Markets | $3.6B | 51% |
| Other | $2.8B | 40% |
| International Developmental Licensed Marketsand Corporate | $633.0M | 9% |
