MA vs MSFT: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Mastercard Incorporated and Microsoft Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
VS
Microsoft Corporation · Technology
$372.20
+32.4% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
QuantHub Verdict
MSFT has more upside to fair value
(+32.4%).
MSFT trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.0x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MA |
MSFT |
| Current Price |
$498.66 |
$372.20 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$610.00 |
$493.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+22.3%
|
+32.4%
|
| Market Cap |
$445.0B |
$2,763.6B |
| Forward P/E |
25.5x
|
22.0x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
22.4x
|
17.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
13.6x
|
9.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
26.0x
|
35.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+16.4%
|
+14.9%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.4%
|
68.8%
|
| Operating Margin |
59.2%
|
45.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
198.4%
|
29.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.65% |
0.94% |
| FCF Yield |
3.84%
|
2.8%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
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…
Microsoft is the world's largest software company, operating a three-pillar empire across cloud (Azure), productivity (Office 365/Teams), and personal computing (Windows/Xbox). Azure is the second-largest cloud platform globally with 24% market share and growing at 38-39% in constant currency, while Microsoft Cloud revenue crossed $168.9B in FY2025. The stock has dropped 33% from its highs to $37…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MA |
MSFT |
| Zone Low |
$460.00 |
$370.00 |
| Zone High |
$515.00 |
$419.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|