Mastercard CEO Sees ‘Long Runway' for Agentic Commerce

Core Insights - Mastercard reported a 15% increase in cross-border spending and a 7% growth in U.S. debit and credit spending, indicating strong consumer and business resilience [1][7] - The company is focusing on "agentic commerce," collaborating with OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare to establish safety and security standards for AI transactions [1][4] - Stablecoins are identified as a significant growth opportunity, with year-to-date transactions increasing by 25% [6][7] Financial Performance - Net revenues rose by 15% to $8.6 billion, driven by a 7% increase in U.S. debit and credit spending volumes and a 15% rise in cross-border volumes [7][8] - Value-added services revenues grew by 22% year over year, reflecting the company's expanding service offerings [4] Market Trends - The rental market presents a notable opportunity, as many transactions are still conducted via cash and checks, totaling $11 trillion and 1.5 trillion transactions globally [3] - Contactless payment penetration reached 77% of all in-person switched purchase transactions, up 6 percentage points from the previous year [8] Future Outlook - The company anticipates continued healthy consumer and business spending in the fourth quarter, with net revenue growth expected at the high end of a low double-digit range [8] - The focus on agentic commerce is expected to provide a long runway for service expansion in both consumer and business use cases [5]