Fears Over Crypto Disruption Are Overblown, Analyst Says: Mastercard, PayPal Score Upgrades Ahead Of Q2 Results

Fintech firms are likely to report "solid" results for the second quarter, while projecting accelerated sequential revenue growth for the third quarter, according to Seaport Research Partners.

Analyst Jeff Cantwell said in the note that risks to revenues and earnings from tariff-related impacts "have faded somewhat since last quarter."

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Mastercard: Cantwell upgraded the rating for Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) from Neutral to Buy, with a price target of $616. Mastercard's growth should remain strong in 2025 and 2026, with double-digit revenue and earnings growth, the analyst stated. The concerns around stablecoin-related "disintermediation risks" appear overblown and the recent pullback in the stock creates a buying opportunity, he added. The Purchase, New York-based firm is likely to "create new growth opportunities in crypto via partnering," while agentic commerce could become another new source of revenue.

PayPal: The analyst upgraded the rating for PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) from Sell to Neutral. Despite the tariff impact, PayPal is likely to generate 8%-10% checkout growth, Cantwell said. The company has indicated that the potential impacts from tariffs are manageable, particularly in markets like China. "We also like some of PayPal’s recent moves operationally, particularly with Venmo and also stablecoins (PYUSD) — we expect these to be incremental to PayPal’s growth over time," the analyst further wrote.

Price Action: Shares of Mastercard had risen by 1.05% to $555.95, while PayPal's shares had climbed by 3.31% to $73.72 at the time of publication on Monday.

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