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 2026-07-17.
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$543.60
+45.0% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
VS
Microsoft Corporation · Technology
$379.40
+45.0% upside to fair value
Grade A
High Quality
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MA |
MSFT |
| Current Price |
$543.60 |
$379.40 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$788.22 |
$550.13 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+45.0%
|
+45.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$480.3B |
$2,818.3B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
22.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.3x
|
14.2x
|
| Price / Sales |
14.2x
|
8.9x
|
| Price / FCF |
27.1x
|
38.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+15.8%
|
+18.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.0%
|
68.3%
|
| Operating Margin |
59.4%
|
46.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
206.1%
|
33.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.62% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
3.69%
|
2.59%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Mastercard operates a global two-sided payments network that connects issuers, acquirers, merchants and cardholders, monetizing payment volumes and an expanding set of security, data, authentication and other value-added services. Business quality is high: the network benefits from powerful acceptance and scale effects, 83.0% gross margin, 59.4% operating margin, 45.9% net margin, 206.1% ROE, and…
Microsoft Corporation is a leading global technology company specializing in cloud computing, productivity software, and enterprise platforms. The company benefits from a very strong and widening competitive moat supported by scale, switching costs, an integrated ecosystem, and disciplined capital allocation including large buybacks and dividends. Its business quality is high, demonstrated by a 3…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MA |
MSFT |
| Zone Low |
$591.16 |
$412.60 |
| Zone High |
$669.99 |
$467.61 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|