New York, Jan 6, 2026, 20:23 EST — Market closed
- Mastercard shares closed higher on Tuesday, outpacing payment peers.
- New objections to the Visa-Mastercard fee-settlement plan kept legal risk in view.
- Traders now look to Wednesday’s U.S. data and Mastercard’s late-January earnings window.
Mastercard Inc (MA) shares climbed 2.1% to close at $580.34 on Tuesday. The payments network outpaced Visa and American Express as investors stayed in risk-on mode.
The move comes as investors track a renewed challenge to a proposed Visa-Mastercard settlement aimed at cutting “swipe fees.” Swipe fees, also called interchange, are the charges merchants pay on card purchases. Consumer and small-business groups joined merchants in an objection, saying the proposal still falls short; it would trim posted credit interchange rates by 0.1 percentage point for five years and cap standard consumer card rates at 1.25% for eight years. 1
Holiday spending data also kept the focus on volume growth heading into earnings season. Visa pegged U.S. holiday retail sales growth at 4.2% year on year, while Mastercard said spending rose 3.9% from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21; “Consumers demonstrated flexibility and confidence this season,” Mastercard Economics Institute chief economist Michelle Meyer said. 2
U.S. stocks ended Tuesday at fresh highs, lifting sentiment across financials and consumer-linked names. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 6,944.82 and the Dow gained 1% to 49,462.08, both records, the Associated Press reported.
Traders now turn to Wednesday’s U.S. data slate, including ADP’s private payrolls report and the Institute for Supply Management’s services index. Those releases can move bond yields and the consumer-spending outlook that feeds card purchase volumes. 3
Mastercard also has a quarterly dividend of 87 cents per share payable Feb. 9 to shareholders of record on Jan. 9, and the board has approved a $14 billion share repurchase program, the company said in December. The upcoming record date keeps shareholder returns on the calendar into the next session. 4
Tuesday’s gain left the stock about 3.6% below its 52-week high of $601.77. About 3.6 million shares changed hands, above the 50-day average of roughly 2.7 million, MarketWatch data showed.
Zacks projects Mastercard’s quarterly earnings at $4.21 per share and revenue at $8.77 billion. MarketBeat expects the company to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 29, before the market opens. 5
But the fee-settlement fight remains a live risk: major retailers including Walmart and trade groups have urged a federal judge in Brooklyn to reject the deal, arguing it offers too little relief. Any ruling that forces deeper fee cuts or broader rule changes would pressure U.S. revenue, while a softer consumer backdrop would also curb volumes.
For the next session, traders will watch Wednesday, Jan. 7, data on jobs and services activity, then the Jan. 9 dividend record date and the Jan. 29 earnings report for updates on spending trends, pricing pressure and cross-border demand.
