Shares of MasterCard (MA) gapped up 2.4% to 96.01 in the stock market today after the credit-card payments company reported second-quarter results that beat expectations.
The company said earnings were 96 cents a share, up 13% and above estimates for 90 cents. Revenue also rose 13% to $2.7 billion, topping views for $2.589 billion.
Processed transactions rose 14% to 13.7 billion. Cross-border volumes rose 10%.
MasterCard has been making its way through a flat base -- a possible prelude to a breakout -- begun in May. Rival Visa (V) tacked on 0.5%, while American Express (AXP) eased by 0.1% and Capital One Financial (COF) slipped 0.8%.
The results come during an earnings season in which the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union has been a frequent topic of conversation during conference calls. MasterCard said the so-called "Brexit" vote was unlikely to have much of an effect on their business this year, according to Reuters.
Shares of bank and payments companies were hammered after the vote, after which the pound withered against the dollar -- potentially translating into less revenue. Investors were also concerned the financial climate might be less favorable to those companies once the U.K. formally separated from the EU.
IBD'S TAKE: As MasterCard makes its way through a flat base, stocks of other card companies have struggled in recent weeks amid worries about the state of consumer debt. Compare and contrast MasterCard and rivals at IBD's Stock Checkup.
MasterCard last week announced that it agreed to acquire the vast majority of VocaLink, a London-based company whose technology helps speed up payments, for around $920 million.
"With last week's VocaLink announcement, we will expand our capabilities beyond core card-based solutions into a broader set of transactions and payments," Chief Executive Ajay Banga said in a statement.
