Mastercard 1Q EPS Tops By A Penny

Mastercard Inc

said that it delivered net income of $959 million for the first quarter, which was 6% down from $1.02 billion in the year-ago quarter. Similarly, its earnings fell 3% to $0.86 a share from $0.89 a share, and came in above the expectations by a penny. Mastercard said that its net revenues advanced 10% to $2.45 billion from $2.23 billion in the previous year quarter. This was also modestly higher than the analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. The company attributed the revenue growth to an increase of 14% in the processed transactions to 12.6 billion. Also, a 13% increase in gross dollar volume to $1.1 trillion and 12% cross-border volumes helped to generate better revenue. Mastercard's President and CEO, Ajay Banga, said that "The year is off to a good start with solid growth in revenue due to strong volume and transaction levels this quarter. We continue to deliver against our strategy, looking to our investments and acquisitions to create a better cardholder experience, supported by a relentless commitment to security." The CEO stated further that "Our encryption and token services are helping to support new ways to pay in an increasingly digital world, while our APT and Pinpoint businesses are helping to drive stronger connections between merchants and their customers." The company disclosed that it bought back approximately 15 million shares of Class A common stock at a cost of nearly $1.4 billion in the first quarter. Additionally, the company repurchased another 3.0 million shares at a cost of $288 million until now in the second quarter. It still has $2.9 billion remaining under current repurchase program authorizations.