Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $2.8 billion, an increase of 9%, or 10% on a currency-neutral basis, versus the same period in 2015. Net revenue growth was driven by the impact of the following:

• An increase in switched transactions³ of 17%, to 15.2 billion;
• A 9% increase in gross dollar volume, on a local currency basis and adjusting for the impact of recent EU regulatory changes, to $1.2 trillion; and
• An increase in cross-border volumes of 13%.

These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives, primarily due to new and renewed agreements and increased volumes. As of December 31, 2016, the company’s customers had issued 2.3 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards.

Total operating expenses decreased 1% to $1.4 billion during the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 and were flat on a currency-neutral basis. Excluding the special item, total operating expenses decreased 2%, or 1% on a currency-neutral basis. The decrease reflects the impact of ongoing cost management activities offsetting our continued investments in strategic initiatives.

Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2016 increased 23%, or 22% on a currency-neutral basis, versus the year-ago period. Excluding the special item, operating income increased 24%, or 23% on a currency-neutral basis. The company delivered an operating margin of 49.4%, or 49.8% excluding the special item.

Mastercard reported other expense of $52 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, versus $82 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. The decrease was mainly due to lower impairment charges on investments in the current quarter versus the comparable period in the prior year, partially offset by increased interest expense related to the company’s recent debt offerings.

Mastercard’s effective tax rate was 28.8% in the fourth quarter of 2016, or 28.7% excluding the special item, versus a rate of 13.1% in the comparable period in 2015. The difference was primarily due to the recognition of discrete benefits in the fourth quarter of 2015.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, Mastercard repurchased approximately 11 million shares at a cost of $1.1 billion. Quarter-to-date through January 26, the company repurchased an additional 2.3 million shares at a cost of $247 million, which leaves $4.7 billion remaining under current repurchase program authorizations.

Full-Year 2016 Results

For the full-year 2016, Mastercard reported net income of $4.1 billion, an increase of 7%, or 8% on a currency-neutral basis, and earnings per diluted share of $3.69, up 10%, or 11% on a currency-neutral basis, versus the year-ago period. Excluding special items, net income was $4.1 billion, up 6%, or 7% on a currency-neutral basis. Earnings per diluted share were $3.77, up 10%, or 11% on a currency-neutral basis, compared to the same period in 2015.

Net revenue for the full-year 2016 was $10.8 billion, an increase of 11%, or 13% on a currency-neutral basis, versus the same period in 2015. Contributing to this growth were switched transactions growth of 16%, cross-border volume growth of 12% and gross dollar volume growth of 11%, on a local currency basis and adjusting for the impact of recent EU regulatory changes. These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives.

Total operating expenses were $5.0 billion, an increase of 9%, or 11% on a currency-neutral basis, for the full-year 2016, compared to full-year 2015. Excluding special items, total operating expenses were $4.9 billion, an increase of 10%, or 12% on a currency-neutral basis. The increase was primarily due to continued investments to support strategic initiatives, lapping of the favorable impact of foreign exchange gains in 2015 and higher data processing expenses.

Operating income for the full-year 2016 was $5.8 billion, an increase of 13%, or 15% on a currency-neutral basis, versus the same period in 2015. Excluding special items, operating income was $5.9 billion, an increase of 13%, or 14% on a currency-neutral basis, versus the same period in 2015. The company delivered an operating margin of 53.5%, or 54.5% excluding special items.

Mastercard’s effective tax rate was 28.1% for the full-year 2016, versus a rate of 23.2% in 2015. Excluding special items, the effective tax rate was 28.1% for the full-year 2016, versus a rate of 23.4% in the comparable period in 2015. The increase was primarily due to the recognition of larger discrete tax benefits in 2015.

Fourth-Quarter Financial Results Conference Call Details

At 9:00 a.m. ET today, the company will host a conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter financial results.

The dial-in information for this call is 877-201-0168 (within the U.S.) and 647-788-4901 (outside the U.S.), and the passcode is 40272333. A replay of the call will be available for 30 days and can be accessed by dialing 855-859-2056 (within the U.S.) and 404-537-3406 (outside the U.S.), using passcode 40272333.

This call can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.mastercard.com/investor. Presentation slides used on this call are also available on the website.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

The company has presented certain financial data that are considered non-GAAP financial measures that are reconciled to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in the accompanying tables.

The presentation of growth rates on a currency-neutral basis represent a non-GAAP measure and are calculated by remeasuring the prior period’s results using the current period’s exchange rates for both the translational and transactional impacts in our operating results.