MasterCard Shares Rise After Company Beats Third-quarter Profit Expectations

Shares of MasterCard [s:MA] gained 2% in pre-market trade Thursday after the company beat third-quarter profit expectations. MasterCard reported net income of $977 million, or 86 cents per share, down from $1.01 billion, or 88 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding a special item, MasterCard reported earnings per share of 91 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 88 cents. The special item was a $50 million after-tax charge coming from the company ending its U.S. employee pension plan. MasterCard reported revenue of $2.53 billion, above $2.49 billion in the year-earlier period, but below the FactSet consensus of $2.55 billion. "We are pleased with the results we delivered this quarter, in spite of the ongoing uncertainty in the global economy," said Ajay Banga, CEO of MasterCard.