MasterCard 2Q profit slips and revenue falls short

PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — MasterCard Inc. on Wednesday said that its second-quarter profit edged down 1 percent as a strong dollar weighed on the company's results.

The payment processor earned $921 million, down from $931 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, it earned 81 cents per share. Excluding a legal settlement, earnings were 85 cents, which met Wall Street expectations.

However, revenue fell shy of financial analysts' forecasts. MasterCard, which generates the bulk of its revenue by charging a fee on each transaction processed on its network, had revenue of $2.39 billion, compared with $2.42 billion forecast.

The results were hurt by a strong U.S. dollar.