New York, Feb 24, 2026, 11:20 EST — Regular session
- Mastercard slipped roughly 0.6% by late morning, piling onto Monday’s steep slide.
- A downbeat research note, along with fresh chatter about AI-powered “agentic” commerce, had investors circling an old anxiety—pressure on fees and trading volumes. Reuters
- Nvidia’s report lands on Wednesday, with traders eyeing both those numbers and any tariff noise coming out of Washington.
Mastercard shares slipped Tuesday, down roughly 0.6% to $492.95 as of late morning. Card-network stocks had already taken a hit the previous day, and investors kept shedding positions.
Usually viewed as a dependable cash generator tied to consumer spending, Mastercard is acting differently this week. Shares have swung in line with “disruption” names, as investors want more compensation for owning payment toll-keepers like this one. Reuters
Monday saw a sudden selloff. Mastercard lost 5.77% to finish at $496.03, caught in a bigger slump for financial and software names exposed to stretched valuations and fresh AI worries.
Citrini Research’s report was making the rounds, prompting some traders to dump stocks before digging into details. Analysts flagged by Reuters referenced the note as they clipped valuations on businesses vulnerable to the fast-evolving landscape of work and dealmaking.
Stablecoins are back in focus as a fresh point of pressure. These tokens, typically tied to the U.S. dollar, are pitched as a way to move funds with more speed or at lower cost compared to card networks. Over the weekend, a research note started making the rounds, resurfacing concerns that AI-powered agents could shift payment flows away from established networks—an angle that weighed on Mastercard and its rivals.
The losses didn’t stop with Mastercard. Visa tumbled 4.5% Monday, while American Express slid roughly 7.2%, market data show, as the selloff swept through payments stocks.
Company headlines barely registered against the broader macro backdrop. Capillary Technologies, based in India, struck a deal to acquire SessionM—Mastercard’s loyalty and rewards arm—for $20 million in cash. CEO Aneesh Reddy told the Economic Times the purchase would tack on over $35 million in annual recurring revenue for Capillary. Mastercard picked up SessionM back in 2019.
Investors are wrestling with just how fast AI shifts might start to show up in corporate profits and reshape business models. “The question about AI is twofold: How much is it going to cost, and who all is going to be disrupted?” Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, told Reuters on Monday. Reuters
Then came the tariffs. Following the Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s previous tariff strategy, Reuters said a short-term global tariff kicked in this Tuesday. But the White House hasn’t nailed down whether the rate sits at 10% or 15%—a murky signal that tends to fuel sharp, theme-driven selloffs.
Still, the bearish scenario isn’t exactly bulletproof. It’s built on bets that new settlement rails catch on quickly and that both shoppers and businesses shift their payment habits en masse. Visa, meanwhile, says it’s moving to plug stablecoins into the payment networks already in place—a clear indication the established players aren’t idly watching.
The next move probably hinges less on Mastercard and more on what unfolds in the broader market. Nvidia’s results drop after Wednesday’s close—a moment traders are eyeing, given the market’s recent nervousness over AI ambitions and actual returns, as flagged by Reuters.
