Mastercard Inc. on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations and said consumers were braving stubbornly high inflation and concerns around new coronavirus variants to spend on travel, sending its shares up 3 percent.
Pent-up demand from Americans who stayed homebound for a prolonged period helped cross-border travel surpass 2019 levels in March for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The company, however, flagged potential risks to its three-year performance objectives from 2022 to 2024 from its decision to exit Russia, a market that accounted for roughly 4 percent of the net revenue in 2021.
“The elimination of Russia-related revenues and the reduction of those from Ukraine create a headwind to achieving these objectives,” Chief Financial Officer Sachin Mehra said, adding that net revenue compound annual growth rate could take a 2 percentage point hit.
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