Although they missed their expectations, a higher revenue countered a jump in expenses for MasterCard, as their fourth quarter earnings climbed 3 percent. The Purchase, N.Y., payment networks company earned $623 million, at 52 cents per share, in the last three months that ended December 31. The company was up from the year before, previously at $605 million, or 49 cents per share. The earnings in the most recent quarter came to 57 cents per share, not including a litigation-related charge. When consumers hit stores for holiday shopping, revenue climbed 12 percent to $2.13 billion. Analysts had predicted a revenue of 60 cents per share on $2.14 billion. MasterCard claims that the increased revenue is partly because of a 13 percent increase in processed tractions, placing them at 10.4 billion and a 14 percent increase in gross dollar volume. Visa Inc., American Express Co., and Discover Financial Services also reported higher card spending during the holiday season.
