Which was the better investment since 2010, Mastercard or Visa?

Mastercard was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Mastercard in 2010 would be worth $22,409 today, compared to $18,842 for Visa.

What would $1,000 in Mastercard vs Visa be worth today?

$1,000 invested in Mastercard in 2010 would be worth $22,409 today (+2140.9%). The same $1,000 in Visa would be worth $18,842 (+1784.2%).

How do Mastercard and Visa compare to the S&P 500 since 2010?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2010 would be worth $9,294 today (+829.4%). Mastercard returned $22,409 and Visa returned $18,842 over the same period.

Mastercard vs Visa: $1,000 invested since 2010

MA vs V · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2010 would be worth

MastercardWinner

$22,408

+2140.8%

Visa

$18,841

+1784.1%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $9,294(+829.4%)

Growth of $1,000

Mastercard vs. Visa vs. S&P 500, 2010 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Mastercard vs. Visa, 2010 to present

Year	Mastercard	Return	Visa	Return	S&P 500
2010	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2011	$949	-5.1%	$857	-14.3%	$1,222
2012	$1,429	+50.6%	$1,245	+45.2%	$1,273
2013	$2,089	+46.2%	$1,969	+58.1%	$1,483
2014	$3,064	+46.6%	$2,707	+37.5%	$1,801
2015	$3,342	+9.1%	$3,227	+19.2%	$2,056
2016	$3,653	+9.3%	$3,798	+17.7%	$2,038
2017	$4,399	+20.4%	$4,250	+11.9%	$2,445
2018	$7,040	+60.0%	$6,428	+51.3%	$3,088
2019	$8,844	+25.6%	$7,032	+9.4%	$3,013
2020	$13,303	+50.4%	$10,431	+48.3%	$3,659
2021	$13,389	+0.6%	$10,193	-2.3%	$4,288
2022	$16,437	+22.8%	$12,003	+17.8%	$5,282
2023	$15,863	-3.5%	$12,310	+2.6%	$4,850
2024	$19,345	+22.0%	$14,728	+19.6%	$5,849
2025	$24,054	+24.3%	$18,562	+26.0%	$7,383
2026	$23,468	-2.4%	$17,602	-5.2%	$8,588

Which came out ahead

Starting in 2010, Mastercard (MA) was the better of the two against Visa (V). That $1,000 grew to $22,409 in MA versus $18,842 in V as of 2026-06-01, roughly $3,567 more in the end.

In total-return terms the order is clear. Mastercard returned +2140.9% against Visa at +1784.2%, a gap of about 356.7 percentage points over the 16.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 20.6% a year for MA against 19.4% for V.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $9,294 at roughly 14.4% a year. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

Treat this as history rather than advice about either company. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Mastercard vs Visa from a different starting point

Since 2015 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Mastercard since 2010+2140.9%Visa since 2010+1784.2%

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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.