Why Mastercard and Visa Climbed Today

Shares of Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V) rose 4.8% and 3.1%, respectively, on Thursday, as investors cheered the credit card titans' strong quarterly earnings reports.

Mastercard's revenue jumped 24% year over year to $5.2 billion in the first quarter. Its operating leverage was once again on full display. With the digital payments giant's expenses rising only 13%, its operating income surged 34% to $3 billion. Better still, Mastercard's earnings per share, which were boosted by stock buybacks, soared 46% to $2.68.

This impressive growth was fueled by a 17% increase in gross dollar volume -- essentially, the total dollar amount of transactions processed on Mastercard's payments network. Growth was particularly strong in cross-border volume, which rose by 53% as demand for travel rebounded.

Source Fool.com