Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Bread Financial (NYSE: BFH) and its peers.

Credit card companies facilitate electronic payments and extend revolving credit to consumers. Growth comes from increasing digital payment adoption, cross-border transaction growth, and value-added services for cardholders and merchants. Challenges include regulatory scrutiny of fees and practices, competition from alternative payment methods, and potential credit losses during economic downturns.

The 6 credit card stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

Bread Financial (NYSE: BFH)

Formerly known as Alliance Data Systems until its 2022 rebranding, Bread Financial (NYSE: BFH) provides credit cards, installment loans, and savings products to consumers while powering branded payment solutions for retailers and merchants.

Bread Financial reported revenues of $971 million, down 1.2% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ net interest margin estimates.

Bread Financial delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 16.6% since reporting and currently trades at $70.62.

Is now the time to buy Bread Financial? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Capital One (NYSE: COF)

Starting as a credit card company in 1988 before expanding into a full-service bank, Capital One (NYSE: COF) is a financial services company that offers credit cards, auto loans, banking services, and commercial lending to consumers and businesses.

Capital One reported revenues of $15.46 billion, up 54.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ net interest margin estimates.

Capital One delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 6.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $231.76.

Is now the time to buy Capital One? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Visa (NYSE: V)

Processing over 829 million transactions daily and connecting billions of cards to 150 million merchant locations worldwide, Visa (NYSE: V) operates one of the world's largest electronic payments networks, facilitating secure money movement across more than 200 countries through its VisaNet processing platform.

Visa reported revenues of $10.72 billion, up 11.5% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Still, it was a mixed quarter because it struggled in other parts of the business.

As expected, the stock is down 5.2% since the results and currently trades at $329.35.

Read our full analysis of Visa’s results here.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF)

Powering over 73 million active accounts and partnerships with major brands like Amazon, PayPal, and Lowe's, Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) provides credit cards, installment loans, and banking products through partnerships with retailers, healthcare providers, and digital platforms.

Synchrony Financial reported revenues of $3.82 billion, flat year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ net interest margin estimates.

The stock is up 6.9% since reporting and currently trades at $78.05.

Read our full, actionable report on Synchrony Financial here, it’s free.

Mastercard (NYSE: MA)

Recognizable by its iconic "Priceless" advertising campaign that has run in over 120 countries, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) operates a global payments network that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, and businesses, enabling electronic transactions and providing payment solutions.

Mastercard reported revenues of $8.60 billion, up 16.7% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ transaction volumes estimates.

The stock is down 1.6% since reporting and currently trades at $545.74.

Read our full, actionable report on Mastercard here, it’s free.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.