MA vs TTD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Mastercard Incorporated and The Trade Desk, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-16.
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
VS
The Trade Desk, Inc. · Technology
$22.76
+488.8% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
QuantHub Verdict
TTD has more upside to fair value
(+488.8%).
TTD trades at a lower forward P/E
(24.6x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MA |
TTD |
| Current Price |
$498.66 |
$22.76 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$610.00 |
$134.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+22.3%
|
+488.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$445.0B |
$10.8B |
| Forward P/E |
25.5x
|
24.6x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
22.4x
|
—
|
| Price / Sales |
13.6x
|
3.7x
|
| Price / FCF |
26.0x
|
13.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+16.4%
|
+14.5%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.4%
|
78.6%
|
| Operating Margin |
59.2%
|
20.3%
|
| Return on Equity |
198.4%
|
16.9%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.65% |
— |
| FCF Yield |
3.84%
|
7.3%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
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…
The Trade Desk is the largest independent demand-side platform for programmatic advertising with 78.6% gross margins. After recent sell-off, stock trades at 3.2x forward P/S vs historical higher multiples, offering upside if growth stabilizes at 15%+. A-tier business at cheap valuation.[1]
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MA |
TTD |
| Zone Low |
$460.00 |
$100.00 |
| Zone High |
$515.00 |
$114.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|