Mastercard continued to grow during the quarter driven by the strength of the U.S. economy and as a result management has guided for double-digit revenue growth for 2019. The company’s balance sheet remains solid with manageable debt levels and positive free cash flow generation. The Indian payments market has been growing as the country demonetizes their currency.
Mastercard is intending to invest $1B in India to take advantage of a mobile payments market that has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 121% from 2013-2018 (RBC Capital Markets). Mastercard partnered with technology company R3 to develop a new cross-border payment system which aims to allow institutions to make secure real-time payments to each other. In 2018, 77% of the world’s transactions were completed with cash (McKinsey & Company). This number continues to fall as card payments become more widespread which could present further growth opportunities for Mastercard.
From Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio)'s third-quarter 2019 commentary.
