AstraZeneca vs Mastercard: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AstraZeneca reported $58.7B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.2B of net income. Mastercard reported $32.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $15B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
AstraZeneca
- Latest revenue
- $58.7B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $10.2B
- Net margin
- 17.4%
- Revenue growth
- +11.0% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Mastercard
- Latest revenue
- $32.8B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $15B
- Net margin
- 45.6%
- Revenue growth
- +13.2% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca's Total Revenue fell from $33.6 billion in 2011 to a trough of $22.1 billion in 2018 as Seroquel, Nexium and Crestor lost exclusivity. Under Pascal Soriot the company redirected spending into oncology and specialty medicines, and revenue then grew every year to $58.7 billion in 2025, with profit for the year of $10.2 billion and gross profit of $48.1 billion on cost of sales of $10.6 billion. R&D investment reached $14.2 billion in 2025, about a quarter of Total Revenue, and the $39 billion Alexion acquisition added a rare disease business the company did not have before 2021.
Mastercard
Mastercard's net revenue grew from $10.8 billion in 2016 to $32.8 billion in FY2025, with net income of $14.97 billion in FY2025, a net margin near 46%. Growth continued in 2026: second-quarter net revenue rose 14% to $9.28 billion and net income reached $4.39 billion, with a GAAP operating margin of 60.2%. Because incremental transactions cost little to process, most of that cash goes to share buybacks, dividends and acquisitions such as Recorded Future ($2.65 billion, 2024) and BVNK (up to $1.8 billion, 2026).
Revenue and profit by year
AstraZeneca
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $58.7B | $10.2B | 17.4% | +8.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $54.1B | $7B | 13.0% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $45.8B | $6B | 13.0% | +3.3% | Source |
| FY2022 | $44.4B | $3.3B | 7.4% | +18.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $37.4B | $115M | 0.3% | +40.6% | Source |
| FY2020 | $26.6B | $3.1B | 11.8% | +9.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $24.4B | $1.2B | 5.0% | +10.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | $22.1B | $2B | 9.3% | -1.7% | Source |
| FY2017 | $22.5B | $2.9B | 12.8% | -2.3% | Source |
| FY2016 | $23B | $3.4B | 14.8% | — | Source |
Mastercard
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $32.8B | $15B | 45.6% | +16.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $28.2B | $12.9B | 45.7% | +12.2% | Source |
| FY2023 | $25.1B | $11.2B | 44.6% | +12.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $22.2B | $9.9B | 44.7% | +17.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | $18.9B | $8.7B | 46.0% | +23.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | $15.3B | $6.4B | 41.9% | -9.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $16.9B | $8.1B | 48.1% | +12.9% | Source |
| FY2018 | $14.9B | $5.9B | 39.2% | +19.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $12.5B | $3.9B | 31.3% | +16.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $10.8B | $4.1B | 37.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
AstraZeneca
- Product Sales~95%
Product Sales were $55,573 million in 2025, up 9%, or about 95% of Total Revenue. This is the direct sale of AstraZeneca-manufactured prescription medicines to wholesalers, pharmacies, hospitals and government buyers. Oncology was the largest therapy area at roughly $25.6 billion of revenue, up 17%, followed by Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, with Respiratory and Immunology and Rare Disease making up most of the balance.
- Alliance Revenue~5%
Alliance Revenue was $3,067 million in 2025, up 39%, or about 5% of Total Revenue. It is mostly AstraZeneca's share of profits on co-commercialised medicines, led by the Enhertu and datopotamab deruxtecan antibody-drug conjugates developed with Daiichi Sankyo, plus Tezspire with Amgen and Lynparza and Koselugo with Merck in certain markets.
- Collaboration Revenue<1%
Collaboration Revenue was $99 million in 2025, down 89% from $923 million in 2024, so less than 1% of Total Revenue. It covers upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on out-licensed assets, and moves sharply year to year because it depends on when individual deals are signed.
Mastercard
- Payment network~59%
Assessments on gross dollar volume, transaction switching fees and cross-border fees, net of customer incentives. About $19.48 billion in FY2025.
- Value-added services and solutions~41%
Fraud and security, cyber and threat intelligence, data analytics, consulting, loyalty, open banking and processing services. Grew 23% in FY2025 to about $13.3 billion.
Business model and strategy
AstraZeneca
How it makes money
AstraZeneca discovers, develops and sells prescription medicines, and the economics turn on patent-protected pricing funded by heavy research spending. It invested $14.2 billion in research and development in 2025, about a quarter of Total Revenue, and reported gross profit of $48.1 billion on cost of sales of $10.6 billion.
Growth strategy
AstraZeneca's growth strategy relies on extending its existing cancer drugs into earlier stages of treatment, before the cancer spreads, which increases the number of patients who can be treated. The $39 billion acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in 2021 also took it into rare diseases, where drugs treat small patient populations, carry high prices and face little generic competition.
Competitive advantage
AstraZeneca's main advantage is the depth of its oncology portfolio and the Phase III evidence behind it. Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Enhertu, Lynparza and Calquence each rest on trials that changed treatment practice, and the company had more than 100 Phase III studies running at the end of 2025 after 16 positive Phase III readouts during the year.
Mastercard
How it makes money
Mastercard earns money in two ways. Payment network revenue ($19.48 billion in FY2025, about 59% of net revenue) comes from assessments based on gross dollar volume, fees for switching transactions, and higher-yield cross-border fees, reduced by incentives paid to issuers and merchants.
Growth strategy
Mastercard's growth plan rests on three levers: moving more consumer spending from cash to cards and tokenized digital wallets, capturing new flows such as B2B payments, disbursements and cross-border remittances, and selling more services that are not tied to card volume. Services grew 23% in FY2025, faster than the network.
Competitive advantage
Mastercard's advantage is a two-sided network that took decades to build: about 3.7 billion Mastercard and Maestro cards issued by partners and acceptance at tens of millions of merchant locations worldwide. A new rival would need both sides at once. That scale also feeds its fraud models, tokenization service and data products, which makes the services business harder to copy.
Questions about AstraZeneca vs Mastercard
Which company has higher revenue — AstraZeneca PLC or Mastercard Incorporated?
AstraZeneca PLC reported $58.7B (FY2025), while Mastercard Incorporated reported $32.8B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, AstraZeneca PLC is the larger business, with Mastercard Incorporated reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of AstraZeneca PLC vs Mastercard Incorporated?
AstraZeneca PLC's market capitalisation stands at $254.6B, while Mastercard Incorporated's is $495.4B. Mastercard Incorporated carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to AstraZeneca PLC.
Which is more financially efficient — AstraZeneca PLC or Mastercard Incorporated?
AstraZeneca PLC generates $611k / employee in revenue per employee, while Mastercard Incorporated generates $824k / employee. Mastercard Incorporated shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do AstraZeneca PLC and Mastercard Incorporated make money?
AstraZeneca PLC and Mastercard Incorporated generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. AstraZeneca PLC: AstraZeneca discovers, develops and sells prescription medicines, and the economics turn on patent-protected pricing funded by heavy research spending. Mastercard Incorporated: Mastercard earns money in two ways.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — AstraZeneca PLC or Mastercard Incorporated?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, AstraZeneca PLC trades at 4.3x P/S and Mastercard Incorporated at 15.1x P/S. Mastercard Incorporated commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to AstraZeneca PLC. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is AstraZeneca PLC bigger than Mastercard Incorporated?
By last reported revenue, AstraZeneca PLC ($58.7B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Mastercard Incorporated ($32.8B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the AstraZeneca vs Mastercard overview