HD vs MA: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of The Home Depot, Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-04-11.
The Home Depot, Inc. ยท Consumer Cyclical
$337.34
+12.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade B
VS
Mastercard Incorporated ยท 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%). HD trades at a lower forward P/E (23.0x). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric HD MA
Current Price $337.34 $498.66
Fair Value Estimate $378.00 $610.00
Upside to Fair Value +12.1% +22.3%
Market Cap $336.0B $445.0B
Forward P/E 23.0x 25.5x
EV / EBITDA 18.1x 22.4x
Price / Sales 2.3x 13.6x
Price / FCF 29.7x 26.0x
Revenue Growth YoY +3.2% +16.4%
Gross Margin 33.3% 83.4%
Operating Margin 12.7% 59.2%
Return on Equity 110.5% 198.4%
Dividend Yield 2.44% 0.65%
FCF Yield 3.37% 3.84%
Analyst Consensus Buy Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
HD โ€” The Home Depot, Inc.
Home Depot remains the world's largest home improvement retailer with 2,350+ stores, dominant 52% market share, and a rapidly growing Pro contractor segment bolstered by the SRS Distribution acquisition. The stock has declined 21% from its $427 high to $337, but now trades at 2.28x P/S, near the 5-year median of 2.31x, and 26.5x P/E which is above the 5-year median of 23.5x. EPS declined 4.6% in โ€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 HD MA
Zone Low $285.00 $460.00
Zone High $320.00 $515.00
In Buy Zone? No Yes
โ† HD Research    MA Research โ†’    All Research