Core Insights - The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted various industries, particularly through the introduction of products like DALL-E2 and ChatGPT by OpenAI, which have gained public attention since late 2022 and early 2023 [1] - The latest earnings season for the US stock market highlights the commentary from technology companies regarding AI's influence on their industries and business operations [2] Alphabet (Google) - The Gemini app has reached 750 million monthly active users, up from 650 million in Q3 2025, with increased user engagement following the launch of Gemini 3 in December 2025 [3][4] - Alphabet leads in AI model portfolios across text, vision, and image-to-video, with Gemini 3 Pro achieving the fastest adoption rate in the company's history, processing three times the daily tokens compared to its predecessor [3][6] - Google Cloud's backlog grew by 55% sequentially to $240 billion in Q4 2025, driven by strong demand for AI products, with revenue from AI solutions built by partners increasing nearly 300% year-over-year [7][10] - Google Cloud's revenue grew 48% year-over-year in Q4 2025, with operating margin increasing to 30.1% from 23.7% in Q3 2025 [23][24] - Alphabet's management anticipates significant capital expenditures of $175 billion to $185 billion in 2026 to enhance AI compute capacity and meet customer demands [25][26] AI and Advertising - Gemini is enhancing advertising quality and tools, allowing for better query understanding and ad relevance, with advertisers creating 70 million creative assets in Q4 2025 [19][20] - The introduction of Direct Offers in AI Mode aims to provide exclusive offers to users ready to purchase, indicating a shift towards monetizing AI-driven user experiences [22] Waymo - Waymo raised its largest investment round to date, surpassing 20 million fully autonomous trips and expanding its service to new markets, including Miami and plans for the UK and Japan [17] Amazon - AWS experienced a 24% year-over-year growth in Q4 2025, with a backlog of $244 billion, up 40% year-over-year, driven by increased demand for AI workloads [34] - Amazon's Bedrock service, which facilitates the use of multiple AI models, has reached a multi-billion dollar annualized revenue run rate, with customer spending increasing by 60% sequentially [35] - The launch of NovaForge allows enterprises to integrate their proprietary data into the pre-training phase of AI models, enhancing customization [38] AI Agents and Commerce - Amazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus, has expanded its capabilities, enabling it to research products and make purchases, with 300 million customers using it in 2025 [44] - The management believes that agentic commerce will enhance consumer experiences, with customers using Rufus being 60% more likely to complete a purchase [44] Industry Trends - Companies are increasingly adopting AI to improve operational efficiency and customer engagement, with successful SaaS companies deeply integrating AI into their workflows [30][31] - The demand for AI compute capacity remains a significant concern for companies, with management focusing on addressing supply chain constraints and optimizing investments [32]

Vault Payment Solutions has chosen Thredd to underpin new card programmes on Mastercard’s global network. The Australian payments firm plans to roll out new prepaid, debit and private-label card products in its home market and in the UK, with Thredd as the issuer processing partner. Vault has recently obtained Mastercard Principal Issuing Partner status. It supplies infrastructure for rewards schemes, gift cards, embedded finance propositions and closed-loop private-label arrangements. Under the new a ...

Mastercard launched a portfolio of fleet management solutions in the Asia-Pacific region.By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions .Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.Mastercard Fleet: Next Gen is designed for fleets of all sizes and brings tog ...

Mastercard Incorporated (MA), headquartered in Purchase, New York, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services. Valued at $494.5 billion by market cap, the company offers payment processing services for credit and debit cards, electronic cash, automated teller machines, and travelers checks. Shares of this payments giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. MA has declined 2.4% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has ralli ...

"十五五"规划建议提出，要扩大高水平对外开放，开创合作共赢新局面。"旅游业作为世界经济的重要 产业，是促进贸易畅通、资金融通、民心相通的重要纽带，也是我国扩大高水平对外开放的重点领 域。"中国工商银行副行长兼首席财务官姚明德表示，工银欧洲旅行信用卡为中国游客和出海企业"走出 去"提供安全可靠的支付工具，助力中欧文旅合作深化。 中国青年报客户端讯（中青报·中青网记者 夏瑾）"中国出境游市场正在复苏，规模已基本恢复至2019年 水平，但其内涵与结构已发生显著变化。如今的出境旅游更趋近于一种生活方式消费，游客不再以购物 为主要目的，更倾向于像当地人一样沉浸式体验目的地生活。"2月3日，在北京举办的欧洲旅游委员会 2026新年论坛上，万事达卡东北亚区首席经济学家李炜说。 为助力游客享受更顺畅、包容的旅行体验，论坛现场，中国工商银行与欧洲旅游委员会、万事网联联合 发布了工银万事达欧洲旅行联名信用卡。该卡支持人民币及欧元、英镑、瑞士法郎等10种外币直接支 付。持卡者可享有免收外汇兑换手续费、欧洲消费返现及境外取现补贴等金融权益。 "如今的旅行者追求的是安心、透明的体验，期待旅程顺畅易行、基于信任，并充分尊重当地社区与文 ...

Visa Inc. ( V ) and Mastercard ( MA ) are two of the most renowned companies in the world. And yet, sometimes they are either ignored or misunderstood. This is particularly trueI’m a long-term investor focused on U.S. and European equities, with a dual emphasis on undervalued growth stocks and high-quality dividend growers. Through years of experience, I’ve learned that sustained profitability—evident in strong margins, stable and expanding free cash flow, and high returns on invested capital—is a more reli ...

The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.Top 5 Upgrades: DA Davidson upgraded Q2 Holdings (QTWO) to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged $82 price target. The firm is "not making a call" on the upcoming Q4 results per se, but it believes that the pullback in the shares over the last 6-8 months has created a more attractive entry point.Citi upgraded JetBlue (JBLU) to Neutr ...

Core Insights - Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is recognized as a strong long-term investment with low volatility, reporting a 16% year-over-year increase in net revenue for fiscal Q4 and full year 2025, or 15% on a currency-neutral basis [1] Group 1: Earnings and Ratings Updates - Following the earnings release, TD Cowen raised the price target for Mastercard to $671 from $668, maintaining a Buy rating, citing strong fiscal Q4 2025 results and solid top-line growth supported by organic VASS momentum and stable consumer trends [2] - Morgan Stanley also increased its price target for Mastercard to $678 from $665, maintaining an Overweight rating, highlighting the renewal of its credit partnership with Capital One and the performance advantages of its network, alongside healthy domestic and cross-border spending trends [3] Group 2: Company Overview - Mastercard is a technology company that provides various payment solutions, including debit, credit, prepaid, and commercial payment programs, under its brands such as Mastercard, Cirrus, and Maestro, and also offers intelligence and cyber solutions [4]

Artificial intelligence is the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. The time to invest in groundbreaking AI is now, and this stock is a steal! AI is eating the world—and the machines behind it are ravenous. Each ChatGPT query, each model update, each robotic breakthrough consumes massive amounts of energy. In fact, AI is already pushing global power grids to the brink. Wall Street is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence—training smarter chatbots, automating industries, and b ...

Mastercard Incorporated ( MA ) runs one of the largest electronic payments networks in the world. After reviewing the latest quarter , I feel more bullish on MA than before. What stands outI focus on producing objective, data-driven research, mostly about small- to mid-cap companies, as these tend to be overlooked by many investors. From time to time, though, I also look at large-cap names, just to give a fuller sense of the broader equity markets.Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position i ...