Head-To-Head Analysis: Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) versus Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Mastercard shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Corpay shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Mastercard shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Corpay has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Mastercard has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Corpay and Mastercard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Corpay	25.17%	39.13%	7.20%
Mastercard	44.93%	200.01%	29.26%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Corpay and Mastercard”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Corpay	$3.97 billion	5.19	$1.00 billion	$14.72	19.84
Mastercard	$28.17 billion	18.21	$12.87 billion	$14.83	38.26

Mastercard has higher revenue and earnings than Corpay. Corpay is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mastercard, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Corpay and Mastercard, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Corpay	0	5	9	0	2.64
Mastercard	0	2	24	2	3.00

Corpay currently has a consensus price target of $399.43, suggesting a potential upside of 36.77%. Mastercard has a consensus price target of $630.89, suggesting a potential upside of 11.20%. Given Corpay’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Corpay is more favorable than Mastercard.

Summary

Mastercard beats Corpay on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Corpay

Corpay, Inc. operates as a payments company that helps businesses and consumers manage vehicle-related expenses, lodging expenses, and corporate payments in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers vehicle payment solutions, which include fuel, tolls, parking, fleet maintenance, and long-haul transportation services, as well as prepaid food and transportation vouchers and cards. It also provides corporate payment solutions consisting of accounts payable automation; virtual cards, cross-border solutions; and purchasing and travel and entertainment card products, as well as lodging payments solutions for employees who travel overnight for work purposes; traveling crews and stranded passengers from airlines and cruise lines; and insurance policyholders displaced from their homes due to damage or catastrophe. In addition, the company offers gifts and payroll cards. It serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers. The company was formerly known as FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Corpay, Inc. in March 2024. Corpay, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from a physical card and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions; and treasury intelligence platform that offers corporations with recommendations to enhance working capital performance and accelerate spend on cards. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Send, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enables a range of payment flows through a distribution network with a single point of access to send and receive money globally through various channels, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and cash payouts. Further, it provides cyber and intelligence solutions; insights and analytics, consulting, marketing, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants; and open banking and digital identity services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.