Reviewing Sezzle (OTC:SEZNL) & Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Sezzle (OTC:SEZNL) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mastercard and Sezzle, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mastercard	0	3	20	4	3.04
Sezzle	0	0	0	0	N/A

Mastercard currently has a consensus target price of $512.09, suggesting a potential upside of 6.00%. Given Mastercard’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Mastercard is more favorable than Sezzle.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.3% of Mastercard shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Mastercard shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Mastercard and Sezzle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mastercard	46.45%	179.78%	30.22%
Sezzle	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mastercard and Sezzle’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mastercard	$26.39 billion	17.02	$11.20 billion	$12.58	38.40
Sezzle	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Mastercard has higher revenue and earnings than Sezzle.

Summary

Mastercard beats Sezzle on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from a physical card and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions; and treasury intelligence platform that offers corporations with recommendations to enhance working capital performance and accelerate spend on cards. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Send, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enables a range of payment flows through a distribution network with a single point of access to send and receive money globally through various channels, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and cash payouts. Further, it provides cyber and intelligence solutions; insights and analytics, consulting, marketing, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants; and open banking and digital identity services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

About Sezzle

Sezzle Inc. operates as a technology-enabled payments company primarily in the United States and Canada. The company provides payment solution at online stores and various brick-and-mortar retail locations that connects consumers with merchants. Its platform enables customers to make online purchases and split the payment for the purchase in four equal interest free payments over six weeks. Sezzle Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.