Payment processor Mastercard's Q4 profit jumps 11% on resilient spending

Q4 Result: The second largest payment tech firm Mastercard on January 31 reported an 11 per cent jump in fourth-quarter profit, driven by resilient consumer spending during the holiday season as labor markets remained strong and fears of a recession eased.

The New-York headquartered company reported a profit of $2.8 billion, or $2.97 per share, for the three months ended December 31, compared with $2.5 billion, or $2.62 per share, a year earlier.

Growing expectations of a “soft landing”, where inflation cools without tipping the economy into a recession, has boosted consumer confidence.

A survey by the University of Michigan indicated that the US consumer sentiment hit its highest level in 2-1/2 years in January.

Gross dollar volume, the dollar value of all transactions processed on Mastercard's platform, climbed 10 per cent.

The cross-border volume, a gauge of travel demand that tracks spending on cards outside the country of their issue, jumped 18 per cent.

On the other hand, the net revenue rose 13 per cent to $6.5 billion, Mastercard said.

Last week, Visa also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, thanks to a strong holiday season.