Mastercard has reported net income of $3.9bn for the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2026). This marked an 18% increase on a reported GAAP basis compared with the same period a year earlier.
The update follows quarterly profit releases from Visa and American Express, driven by high consumer spending.
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Mastercard said net revenue for the quarter totalled $8.4bn, up 16% on a reported GAAP basis from $7.3bn in Q1 2025. The company attributed the growth across its payment network and its value-added services and solutions business.
Payment network net revenue rose 12% during the quarter. Mastercard cited gross dollar volume growth of 7% to $2.7trn, cross-border volume growth of 13% on a local currency basis, and switched transactions growth of 9% as the main drivers.
Net revenue from value-added services and solutions increased 22%, the company said.
Diluted earnings per share for Q1 2026 came in at $4.35, an increase of 21% year-on-year.
Operating expenses totalled $3.5bn, up 13% from the same quarter last year. The payment group said the increase was mainly due to higher general and administrative expenses, including a restructuring charge in Q1 2026.
Operating income also rose to $4.9bn in Q1 2026, compared with $4.1bn in Q1 2025.
As of 31 March 2026, Mastercard said its customers had issued 3.7 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards.
During the quarter, the company also repurchased 7.8 million shares for $4bn and paid $777m in dividends.
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said: “Mastercard is diversified, future-ready, and delivering. In Q1, net revenue increased 16%, and value-added services and solutions grew 22% year over year — or 12% and 18% respectively on a currency-neutral basis.
“Building on our strong foundation, we’re advancing agentic commerce with Mastercard Agent Pay and expanding our stablecoin solutions through the planned acquisition of BVNK. We’re well positioned to capture the next wave of digital payments growth and continue to support secure commerce around the world.”
In March, Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK, a stablecoin payments infrastructure provider, in a deal valued at up to $1.8bn. The transaction is intended to expand its end-to-end capabilities in digital assets and support the movement of value across currencies, payment rails and geographies.
