Mastercard Inc reported a better-than-expected profit for the fourth consecutive quarter this week, as the easing of Covid-19 restrictions drove a healthy recovery in cross-border spending, which is back at pre-pandemic levels.
The growth was helped by an increase in both consumer and commercial travel, with business commutes also starting to kick in after leisure travel rebounded earlier, Chief Executive Michael Miebach said on a post-earnings call.
“People wanted to see their family first, now they want to see their customers,” Miebach said.
After more than a year of staying home bound, customers have started venturing out for travel, dining and other social activities made possible by vaccinations against the coronavirus, driving up spending volumes at payment companies like Mastercard.
On an adjusted basis, Mastercard earned $2.37 (R36.27) per share, shattering analyst estimates of $2.19 per share on average, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company said gross dollar volumes, the dollar value of the transactions processed, jumped 20 percent to nearly $2 trillion. Cross-border volumes, a metric that tracks spending on its cards beyond the country of issue, were up 52% from last year when the pandemic hit travel demand.
REUTERS