Which was the better investment since 2015, Mastercard or Visa?

Mastercard was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Mastercard in 2015 would be worth $7,495 today, compared to $6,231 for Visa.

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

$1,000 invested in Mastercard in 2015 would be worth $7,495 today (+649.5%). The same $1,000 in Visa would be worth $6,231 (+523.1%).

How do Mastercard and Visa compare to the S&P 500 since 2015?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2015 would be worth $4,534 today (+353.4%). Mastercard returned $7,495 and Visa returned $6,231 over the same period.

Mastercard vs Visa: $1,000 invested since 2015

MA vs V · Data through 2026-07-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2015 would be worth

MastercardWinner

$7,494

+649.4%

Visa

$6,231

+523.1%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $4,534(+353.4%)

Growth of $1,000

Mastercard vs. Visa vs. S&P 500, 2015 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Mastercard vs. Visa, 2015 to present

Year	Mastercard	Return	Visa	Return	S&P 500
2015	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2016	$1,093	+9.3%	$1,177	+17.7%	$991
2017	$1,316	+20.4%	$1,317	+11.9%	$1,189
2018	$2,107	+60.0%	$1,992	+51.3%	$1,502
2019	$2,646	+25.6%	$2,179	+9.4%	$1,466
2020	$3,981	+50.4%	$3,232	+48.3%	$1,780
2021	$4,006	+0.6%	$3,159	-2.3%	$2,086
2022	$4,918	+22.8%	$3,720	+17.8%	$2,570
2023	$4,747	-3.5%	$3,815	+2.6%	$2,359
2024	$5,789	+22.0%	$4,564	+19.6%	$2,845
2025	$7,198	+24.3%	$5,752	+26.0%	$3,591
2026	$7,022	-2.4%	$5,455	-5.2%	$4,178

Which came out ahead

Starting in 2015, Mastercard (MA) was the better of the two against Visa (V). That $1,000 grew to $7,495 in MA versus $6,231 in V as of 2026-07-01, roughly $1,264 more in the end.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Mastercard returned +649.5% against Visa at +523.1%, a gap of about 126.4 percentage points over the 11.7-year window. Compounded, that is about 18.8% a year for MA against 17% for V.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $4,534 at roughly 13.8% a year. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

This is a record of what already happened, not financial advice or a recommendation of either name. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Mastercard vs Visa from a different starting point

Since 2010 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Mastercard since 2015+649.5%Visa since 2015+523.1%

Compare any two stocks

Pick any two companies, any start date, any amount. See the winner instantly.

Numbers worth sharing

Occasional data drops when something interesting surfaces. No schedule, just signal.

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.