Mastercard's profit rises in first quarter, beats estimates

A Mastercard credit card is held in the hand. Fabian Sommer/dpa

Mastercard Incorporated announced a profit for its first quarter that increased from last year and beat Wall Street estimates.

The payments processor's earnings came in at $3.01 billion, or $3.22 per share. This compares with $2.36 billion, or $2.47 per share, in last year's first quarter.

Excluding items, Mastercard reported adjusted earnings of $3.09 billion, or $3.31 per share, for the period. Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $3.24 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 10.4% to $6.35 billion from $5.75 billion last year.