MA MasterCard Incorporated

By Aisha Al-Muslim 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (May 1, 2019).

Mastercard Inc. revenue rose in the latest quarter as the global payments company got a boost from its geographical expansion and a growing number of credit-card transactions from online shopping.

The Purchase, N.Y., company reported net revenue for the first quarter jumped 9% to $3.9 billion, within range of the consensus forecast of $3.86 billion from analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Profit rose to $1.9 billion, or $1.80 a share, from $1.5 billion, or $1.41 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $1.78 a share, rising above the $1.66 a share analysts were expecting.

The stock rose 0.5% to $248.39 in premarket trading. Shares are up 39% in the last 12 months.

Mastercard said its gross dollar volume -- or the value of card transactions -- increased 12% to $1.5 trillion. Total operating expenses fell 5% to $1.68 billion in the quarter.

On Monday, Europe's top antitrust authority said it has accepted commitments from Mastercard and competitor Visa Inc. to cut fees on payments made in the European Economic Area with cards issued elsewhere.

Both companies had pledged to reduce inter-regional interchange fees by an average of 40% in response to concerns raised by the European Commission in 2015.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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