Mastercard posted mixed results for its first quarter Thursday, highlighting the challenges companies face in this economic climate.
Mastercard's (ticker: MA) revenue for the quarter was $5.7 billion, climbing 14% on a currency-adjusted basis from the year-ago quarter and coming in slightly ahead of the $5.6 billion expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Profits, however, slid 10% to $2.4 billion, or $2.47 per share according to generally accepted accounting principles. When adjusting for losses on equity investments and litigation provisions, earnings were $2.80 per share, 2% higher than the prior year's first quarter on a currency-neutral basis and coming in ahead of adjusted forecasts of $2.71 per share.
"We delivered strong revenue and earnings growth this quarter, reflecting resilient consumer spending and the continued recovery of cross-border travel," Michael Miebach, chief executive of Mastercard, said in a statement. "We are actively managing the business to capitalize on the significant digital payment and services opportunities ahead, and stand ready to navigate through any headwinds. "
Wall Street has been paying close attention to payments and card companies this quarter to see how their customers are dealing with an increasingly challenging economic picture. Even as households and businesses contend with higher costs their appetite for travel and entertainment has yet to wane . At Mastercard, cross-border volume climbed 35% year over year. Last week American Express (AXP) said travel and entertainment spending was up 39% while Visa (V) reported on Wednesday that cross-border volumes increased 24% .
During the first quarter, Mastercard paid $545 million in dividends and repurchased $2.9 billion in stock. Since the quarter ended, the company repurchased an additional $602 million in stock, leaving $8.7 billion under its current repurchase authority.
Mastercard stock was up 0.8% at 1:06 p.m.
