ADBE vs MA: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Adobe Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-04-16.
Adobe Inc. ยท Technology
$248.16
+163.1% upside to fair value
High Conviction Grade B
VS
Mastercard Incorporated ยท Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction Grade A-
QuantHub Verdict
ADBE has more upside to fair value (+163.1%). ADBE trades at a lower forward P/E (14.1x). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric ADBE MA
Current Price $248.16 $498.66
Fair Value Estimate $653.00 $610.00
Upside to Fair Value +163.1% +22.3%
Market Cap $101.2B $445.0B
Forward P/E 14.1x 25.5x
EV / EBITDA โ€” 22.4x
Price / Sales 4.1x 13.6x
Price / FCF 9.8x 26.0x
Revenue Growth YoY +3.3% +16.4%
Gross Margin 89.1% 83.4%
Operating Margin 36.6% 59.2%
Return on Equity 62.3% 198.4%
Dividend Yield โ€” 0.65%
FCF Yield 10.2% 3.84%
Analyst Consensus Hold Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
ADBE โ€” Adobe Inc.
Adobe Inc. develops industry-leading creative software, digital experience platforms, and publishing tools, powering digital content creation and marketing for professionals worldwide. The business excels with high gross margins above 89%, a sticky subscription model driving recurring revenue over $17B ARR, and dominant moats in digital media, though it faces intensifying AI competition and slowiโ€ฆ
MA โ€” Mastercard Incorporated
Mastercard operates one of the world's two dominant payment networks, processing over $9 trillion in gross dollar volume annually across 220+ countries. The business generates 83% gross margins and 46% net margins with zero credit risk because Mastercard never lends money, only collecting tolls on every transaction. Value-Added Services (analytics, fraud prevention, cybersecurity) now comprise 41โ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric ADBE MA
Zone Low $490.00 $460.00
Zone High $555.00 $515.00
In Buy Zone? Yes Yes
โ† ADBE Research    MA Research โ†’    All Research