Sifting through countless of stocks in the Financial Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc.

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers products and 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; consumer bill payment 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 an existing account and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; and a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Move, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and partners with central banks, fintechs, and financial institutions, as well as enables various cross-border payment flows. Further, it provides security solutions; marketing, personalization, and issuer and merchant loyalty services; business and operational intelligence, advanced analytics and AI, consulting and agentic solutions, and payments and portfolio optimization; digital and authentication; processing and gateway solutions; and other solutions. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus names. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. provides cybersecurity solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It offers Prisma Access, a secure access service edge solution; Strata Cloud Manager, a network security management solution; and Prisma AIRS to protect customers’ entire AI ecosystem. It provides a comprehensive cloud native application protection platform; and Code to Cloud platform, as well as offers VM-Series and CN-Series virtual firewalls for inline network security on multi- and hybrid-cloud environments. It provides security operation solutions through the Cortex platform that includes Cortex XSIAM, an AI-driven security operations platform; Cortex XDR to prevent, detect, and respond to cybersecurity attacks; and Cortex XSOAR for security orchestration, automation, and response; and Cortex Xpanse for attack surface management, as well as offers threat intelligence and advisory services under the Unit 42 name. It provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline; and threat intelligence, data loss prevention, services to resolve network disruptions, and sensitive data protection. It offers professional services, including architecture design and planning, implementation, configuration, and firewall migration; education services, such as certifications, as well as online and in-classroom training; and support services. It sells its products and services through its channel partners, as well as directly to enterprises, service providers, and government entities operating in various industries, including education, energy, financial services, government entities, healthcare, Internet and media, manufacturing, public sector, and telecommunications. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Latest Financial Services and Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Mastercard Incorporated had a $515.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Financial Services median of $2.3 million. Mastercard Incorporated’s stock is up 2.7% in 2026, down 0.9% in the previous five trading days and down 0.63% in the past year.

Currently, Mastercard Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 32.3. Mastercard Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $35.1 billion with a 46.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 14.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $19.926 per share for the current fiscal year. Mastercard Incorporated currently has a 0.6% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. had a $267.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s stock is up 78.9% in 2026, down 13.9% in the previous five trading days and up 72.41% in the past year.

Currently, Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 286.4. Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $10.6 billion with a 2.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 31.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.196 per share for the current fiscal year. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Mastercard Incorporated	MA	A
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.	PANW	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Mastercard Incorporated has a Quality Score of 93, which is Very Strong. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a Quality Score of 28, which is Weak.

The Quality Grade Winner: Mastercard Incorporated

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Mastercard Incorporated has a better overall quality grade than Palo Alto Networks, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Mastercard Incorporated could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Mastercard Incorporated	MA	C
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.	PANW	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Mastercard Incorporated has a Momentum Score of 57, which is Average. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 86, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Mastercard Incorporated. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Mastercard Incorporated	MA	B
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.	PANW	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Mastercard Incorporated has a Earnings Estimate Score of 66, which is Positive. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks or Inc. is a better fit.

Other Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Mastercard Incorporated stock has a Momentum Score of 57, Estimate Revisions Score of 66 and Quality Score of 93.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 86, Estimate Revisions Score of 61 and Quality Score of 28.

Comparing Mastercard Incorporated, Palo Alto Networks and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.