Mastercard delivered a solid Q2 2024 performance, underpinned by broad-based momentum across payments and value-added services. Reported net revenues increased 13% year over year on a currency-neutral basis, with currency-neutral net revenue growth of 19% excluding items, supported by a 9% worldwide gross dollar volume (GDV) expansion and a substantial 17% cross-border volume increase. Value-added services and solutions (VAS) net revenue rose 19% year over year, highlighting strength in data analytics, marketing services, fraud prevention, and identity/authentication services, driven in part by ongoing AI-enhancements. The company reaffirmed a long-term growth algorithm focused on core payments, new payment flows, and services, while signaling near-term profitability headwinds from a onetime restructuring charge of approximately $190 million to be recognized in Q3 as part of a broader organizational realignment intended to accelerate growth and unlock capacity for strategic priorities. Mastercard also accelerated share repurchases (roughly $2.6 billion in the quarter, plus $0.82 billion through July 26, 2024) and continued to deploy capital to strategic deals and partnerships, including multi-year agreements in travel and cross-border corridors, Africa-focused expansion, and open banking initiatives. Looking ahead, management guided to net revenue growth at the high end of a low-double-digit range for Q3 2024 (FX headwinds of ~1–2 percentage points) and the full year, with a similar FX impact and a 0–1 percentage point headwind to OpEx growth. The near-term earnings trajectory remains clouded by the restructuring charge, but the long-run margin trajectory remains favorable via positive operating leverage as growth investments scale. Overall, Mastercard’s diversified business model, secular shift to digital payments, and AI-enabled services position the company to benefit from global cross-border growth, digital acceleration in emerging markets, and expanding B2B payments adoption.