Mastercard is ramping up hiring, says CFO

Good morning,

This week I’ve been speaking with CFOs on consumer spending and the economy. Today, it’s Mastercard’s turn in the hot seat.

“From an overall macro standpoint, there are both positives and negatives,” Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra told me. “On the negative side you are certainly seeing persistent inflation, fairly meaningful rises in interest rates, and candidly, there is still what I would call geopolitical uncertainty,” Mehra told me after the company’s Q2 2022 earnings call.

“On the positive side, what we see is high levels of consumer savings, very low unemployment rates, and rising wage levels, all of which are supportive to consumer spending,” he says. “Everything we’ve seen thus far from a consumer spending standpoint shows a high degree of resilience. And in cross-border travel also we’re seeing good improvements take place. Cross border travel in Q2 reached 118% of 2019 levels.”

Mehra also added: “The trend we see, independent of the economic cycle, is one towards greater digitization. So, more and more people are moving away from cash to electronic forms of payment.” 

Mastercard’s second-quarter net income increased to $2.3 billion from $2.07 billion in the year-earlier period. The company expects operating expenses to “grow at the low end of a low double-digit rate on a currency-neutral basis, (excluding acquisitions and special items),” Mehra says. This reflects the continued investment in people, he says.

“We’re growing our business,” Mehra says. “And growth basically means we’re investing in new areas and building new capabilities.”

He continued, “The talent market is hot. We’re out there hiring on a regular basis at a fairly healthy clip, which is calling for an increase in our personnel line.”

When it comes to employee bonuses, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach announced in April that achieving environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals will factor into bonus calculations for all employees. Last year, it was only linked to the compensation of senior executives, EVPs and above. The company “either met or exceeded our goals,” and now employees will all take the company’s “shared accountability and progress to the next level,” Miebach said in April. The initiative is now active and has been implemented across the company, Mehra told me.

I asked him if ESG matters are becoming more central to his role as CFO. “Absolutely,” he says.

Some news: On Monday, August 1, Fortune is launching CHRO Daily, a newsletter for HR executives, that will delve into news, analyses, trends, and best practices. The newsletter will be helmed by Amber Burton. Sign up here to receive CHRO Daily in your inbox.

Enjoy your weekend. Take care.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com