MA vs MCO: Correlation
How closely do Mastercard (MA) and Moody's Corporation (MCO) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.59, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are MA and MCO?
On 3 years of weekly data the MA/MCO correlation comes out at 0.59, moderate. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.43) runs below the 3-year figure (0.59). The 5-year figure is 0.59, and annualized covariance runs at 295.2 %².
By 3-year correlation, MCO places #15 of the 46 assets tracked against MA. Neither side won the trailing year by much: +0.8% against +0.7%. The rolling one-year correlation moved between 0.34 and 0.82 over the past three years, a moderate range.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
MA vs MCO: side by side
| MA (Mastercard) | MCO (Moody's Corporation) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +0.8% | +0.7% |
| 5-year return | +72.6% | +39.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 19.3% | 25.8% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.77 | 1.08 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -20.9% | -24.7% |
| Market cap | $518.4B | $88.2B |
| P/E (trailing) | 32.9 | 32.7 |
| Dividend yield | 0.56% | 0.77% |
| Sector / category | Financials | Financials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | MA | MCO |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -2.7% | -28.0% |
| 2023 | +23.4% | +41.5% |
| 2024 | +24.2% | +22.2% |
| 2025 | +9.0% | +8.7% |
| 2026 | +4.2% | +0.3% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are MA and MCO good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.59 means MA and MCO share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between MA and MCO?
The MA/MCO correlation stands at 0.59 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.43, 5 years: 0.59), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is MCO a good diversifier for MA?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.59 means MA and MCO share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.59 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.59 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/ma-vs-mco.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ma-vs-mco/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: MA correlations · MCO correlations
