On the surface, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V), look similar enough as companies. Indeed, they appear almost interchangeable. They're both just credit card middlemen, collecting a small percentage of the transaction every time a customer makes a card-based purchase.

If you look more closely at their performances ... well, not a whole lot seems to change either. The two companies -- as well as their respective stocks -- also sport comparable results for the past several years. That makes sense, too. They're in the same business serving the same markets, after all.

MA data by YCharts

Continue reading

Source Fool.com