GOOG vs MA: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Alphabet Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-18.
Alphabet Inc. · Communication Services
$339.40
-4.4% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
QuantHub Verdict
MA has more upside to fair value
(+22.3%).
MA trades at a lower forward P/E
(25.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
GOOG |
MA |
| Current Price |
$339.40 |
$498.66 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$324.34 |
$610.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-4.4%
|
+22.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$4,105.7B |
$445.0B |
| Forward P/E |
31.2x
|
25.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.1x
|
22.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
10.3x
|
13.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
56.4x
|
26.0x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.3%
|
+16.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
59.7%
|
83.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
32.0%
|
59.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
35.0%
|
198.4%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0.65% |
| FCF Yield |
1.77%
|
3.84%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Alphabet Inc. operates as a global leader in internet content, advertising, cloud computing, and AI technologies, with dominant market positions in search, browser, and mobile operating systems. The company benefits from a high-quality business model characterized by a durable competitive moat, strong revenue growth of 11.3% year-over-year, and robust profitability with net margins of 32.8%. Desp…
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 41…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
GOOG |
MA |
| Zone Low |
$243.25 |
$460.00 |
| Zone High |
$275.69 |
$515.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|