Mastercard management check
MA · Financials · Transaction & Payment Processing Services · CEO Michael Miebach
Filings as of
5 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $165, against $203 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.70 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.2% of net income$35.4m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $15.0bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.5 years of payThe CEO holds 93,162.721 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.5 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $65.3m sold in six months. 51 of 51 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -2.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
5 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Miebach. 5 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 27 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 85 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 100 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | 43 | 51 | |
| Dilution | 77 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 100 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Transaction & Payment Processing Services, by management score. Mastercard is 27th of 72 in its sector.
- 107MAMastercard76
- 209CPAYCorpay68
- 250XYZBlock, Inc.64
- 273VVisa Inc.63
- 316GPNGlobal Payments60
- 359PYPLPayPal57
- 389FISVFiserv55
- 433JKHYJack Henry & Associates49
- 462FISFidelity National Information Services42
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 27, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Miebach | $35.4m | $35.7m | $10.6m | $165 | $203 | $15.0bn |
| 2024 | Mr. Miebach | $30.1m | $53.8m | $10.6m | $151 | $177 | $12.9bn |
| 2023 | Mr. Miebach | $25.7m | $47.1m | $8.1m | $122 | $135 | $11.2bn |
| 2022 | Mr. Miebach | $21.1m | $19.0m | $7.7m | $98 | $121 | $9.9bn |
| 2021 | Mr. Miebach | $16.1m | $10.2m | $9.1m | $101 | $135 | $8.7bn |
The board says pay is tied most to •Adjusted Net Revenue. Its other key measures: •Adjusted EPS, •Adjusted Net Income, •Relative Total Shareholder Return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Michael Miebach (President & CEO) held 93,162.721 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 1, 2026, roughly $51.4m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $65.3m sold in six months. 51 of 51 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldMichael MiebachPresident & CEO · 10b5-1 plan$27.9mAug 5, 2026
- SoldEdward Grunde McLaughlinPresident & CTO, MA Tech · 10b5-1 plan$18.1mJul 15, 2026
- SoldJ. Mehra SachinChief Business Officer · 10b5-1 plan$8.5mSep 2, 2026
- SoldLinda Pistecchia KirkpatrickChief Services Officer · 10b5-1 plan$3.7mAug 31, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 7, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 26, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 10, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 19, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Mar 3, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 10, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 10, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 9, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 12, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 1, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 17, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $57.4bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 100% of net income, and $2.2bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $29.8bn | $22.2bn | $25.1bn | $28.2bn | $32.8bn |
| Net income | $8.7bn | $9.9bn | $11.2bn | $12.9bn | $15.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $273.0m | $295.0m | $460.0m | $526.0m | $597.0m |
| Buybacks | $5.9bn | $8.8bn | $9.0bn | $11.0bn | $11.7bn |
| Dividends | $1.7bn | $1.9bn | $2.2bn | $2.4bn | $2.8bn |
| Diluted shares | 992m | 971m | 946m | 927m | 906m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.