Better Financial Stock: Mastercard or PayPal Holdings
It's been a wild year for the financial markets, but thanks in part to federal stimulus and relief money sent to households, e-commerce and related digital payments companies have been more than holding their own. PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) is one of them, reporting accelerating growth in Q2 2020. By contrast, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and its global digital payment processing network hasn't fared so well, although its long-term outlook remains positive.
Full disclosure: I own both stocks, and think PayPal and Mastercard will have plenty of growth in the decade ahead. But one of them looks like the much better stock buy at the moment.
PayPal's Q2 2020 report card, covering the period from April to the end of June and encompassing the worst of the economic lockdown, was stellar. Total payment volume (TPV) grew 29% year-over-year to $222 billion, leading to a 22% increase in revenue to $5.26 billion. As PayPal's transaction volume grows, it's leading to even faster bottom-line returns. Operating income grew 35% to $951 million, and earnings per share boomed 86% -- helped in large part by PayPal's investment in South American e-commerce leader Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI).
Source Fool.com
