Stocks / MA
What If You Had Invested in Mastercard 10 Years Ago?
Mastercard Incorporated (MA) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
MA $655.92 ▼ -2.49% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in MA in November 2016, today it would be worth
$6,804
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into MA since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$146,185
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
MA live price chart
MA returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +0.0% | ||
| Jul 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +0.0% | ||
| Apr 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +0.0% | ||
| Jan 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +14.5% | ||
| Oct 09, 2025 | $0.7600 | +0.0% | ||
| Jul 09, 2025 | $0.7600 | +0.0% | ||
| Apr 09, 2025 | $0.7600 | +0.0% | ||
| Jan 10, 2025 | $0.7600 | +15.2% | ||
| Oct 09, 2024 | $0.6600 | +0.0% | ||
| Jul 09, 2024 | $0.6600 | +0.0% | ||
| Apr 08, 2024 | $0.6600 | +0.0% | ||
| Jan 08, 2024 | $0.6600 | — |
MA year by year
Best full year: 2007 (+119.4%). Worst: 2008 (-33.4%).
| Year | MA | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +15.6% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +9.0% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +24.2% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +23.4% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -2.7% | -18.2% | |
| 2021 | +1.2% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +20.2% | +18.3% | Travel and cross-border spending collapsed in lockdowns, hurting the most profitable transactions, though the stock still finished the year higher. |
| 2019 | +59.2% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +25.3% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +47.7% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +6.9% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +13.8% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +3.7% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +70.7% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +32.1% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +66.7% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | -12.2% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +79.7% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -33.4% | -36.8% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. |
| 2007 | +119.4% | +5.1% |
MA: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 2006 (235 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 193 (82%). That is lopsided: for MA, waiting to invest has usually cost money. The best case for monthly investing was a start in May 2008, when it finished the year 71% ahead.
Worst drop
MA's worst fall in this history was -55.9%, a loss of more than half, from May 2008 to January 2009. Getting back to the old high took until August 2011: 31 months from the bottom and 3.2 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $441 at the low.
Mastercard dividends
MA paid $3.48 per share over the last 12 months, quarterly. At $655.92 that is 0.53%, a small yield; nearly all of the return has come from the price. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +13.7% a year, well ahead of inflation. The yearly total did not fall once in the last ten years. Amounts are adjusted for splits.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3.04 | +15.2% | 0.53% |
| 2024 | $2.64 | +15.8% | 0.50% |
| 2023 | $2.28 | +16.3% | 0.53% |
| 2022 | $1.96 | +11.4% | 0.56% |
| 2021 | $1.76 | +10.0% | 0.49% |
| 2020 | $1.60 | +21.2% | 0.45% |
| 2019 | $1.32 | +32.0% | 0.44% |
| 2018 | $1.00 | +13.6% | 0.53% |
| 2017 | $0.88 | +15.8% | 0.58% |
| 2016 | $0.76 | +18.8% | 0.74% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
MA dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +0.0% |
| Jul 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +0.0% |
| Apr 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +0.0% |
| Jan 09, 2026 | $0.8700 | +14.5% |
| Oct 09, 2025 | $0.7600 | +0.0% |
| Jul 09, 2025 | $0.7600 | +0.0% |
| Apr 09, 2025 | $0.7600 | +0.0% |
| Jan 10, 2025 | $0.7600 | +15.2% |
| Oct 09, 2024 | $0.6600 | +0.0% |
| Jul 09, 2024 | $0.6600 | +0.0% |
| Apr 08, 2024 | $0.6600 | +0.0% |
| Jan 08, 2024 | $0.6600 | — |
Stock splits
- January 2014: 10-for-1
About Mastercard
| Company | Mastercard Incorporated |
| Listed | May 2006 (NYSE) |
| Sector | Financials (payments) |
| Dividend | Paid quarterly |
Mastercard is the second-largest card network. Like Visa, it does not lend money and earns fees on transactions, so it grows with consumer spending and the move away from cash.
Mastercard went public in 2006 at $39 a share. After a 10-for-1 split in 2014, that is $3.90 a share today, and it has been one of the best-performing large companies since.
Mastercard and Visa have moved closely together over the years. Comparing the two in the simulator shows how small the gap has been.
Questions about MA
How much would $10,000 invested in MA 20 years ago be worth today?
About $713,019 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 7030.2% in total, or 23.8% a year.
When does MA pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out in January, April, July and October, $3.48 per share in total.
Did MA beat the S&P 500?
Yes. Over the last 20 years it was ahead by 13.2 percentage points a year: +23.8% a year for MA against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. It also fell harder at its worst (-55.9% against -50.8% for SPY over the same history).