MasterCard Posts Loss Fueled by Settlement

MasterCard (MA Quote) shares surged more than 7% in after-hours trading, despite reporting a net loss for the third quarter related to a big charge for its antitrust litigation settlement with Discover Financial Services (DFS Quote).

For the three months ending Sept. 30, the Purchase, N.Y.-based card network posted a loss of $193.5 million, or $1.49 a share, vs. a profit of $314 million, or $2.32 a share in the year-ago quarter. MasterCard had announced last week that it would take a charge of $827.5 million ($515.5 million after taxes) to cover the settlement.

But excluding the charge, the firm posted net income of $322 million, or $2.47 a share. Analysts, who typically leave out special charges, expected the company would make $2.25 a share on $1.25 billion of revenue, according to Thomson Reuters. ...