MasterCard, Visa Beat Quarterly EPS Estimates

MasterCard and Visa reported their respective Q1 and Q2 2013 results yesterday, as the U.S.’ two largest payments networks both beat analyst earnings per share estimates.

MasterCard released their earnings in the early morning, reporting net income of $766 million for the quarter: a rise of 12 percent on a yearly basis. The company announced diluted EPS of $6.23, beating Wall Street estimates by $0.06 for a 16 percent boost over Q1 2012.

MasterCard’s revenue also rose to $1.9 billion, marking an 8 percent increase over a year ago. This mark just missed analyst estimates, however, which came in at $1.93 billion.

Most of MasterCard’s growth can be credited to its international growth,  with purchases in Asia, the Middle East and Africa jumping 20 percent. In the U.S., MasterCard saw more modest spending increases, processing $134 in credit and $160 in debit as opposed to respective marks of $132 and $152 a year ago.

Visa released its results just before market close, also besting its EPS estimates. The payments network posted net income of $1.27 billion, or $1.92 per share, beating estimates of $1.85 billion and $1.81 per share. Profit declined 1.7 percent to $1.27 billion, down from $1.29 billion a year ago. Revenue jumped 14.7 percent to $2.96 billion, which beat estimates of $2.85 billion.

Net income represented a 17 percent jump over Q2 2012 after a one-time tax adjustment taken in the previous year.

Visa predicted net revenue growth in the “low double digits” and an EPS growth of 20 percent for the fiscal year.

MasterCard ended the day down -2.37 percent at $539.82 per share, while Visa ended the day down -1.45 percent at $166.02. After hours trading estimates saw MasterCard up 0.04 percent and Visa up 2.11 percent.