(RTTNews) - Payment processor MasterCard Inc. (MA: News ) is slated to report financial results for the third quarter before the market opens Tuesday. On average, 27 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company to post earnings of $2.94 per share for the quarter, with estimates ranging between $2.60 and $3.12 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Revenues for the quarter are estimated to be $1.35 billion, representing a 0.7% growth from the same period last year.

In the year-earlier period, the Purchase, New York-based transaction processing and related services provider had reported a net loss of $194 million or $1.49 per share, and adjusted net income of $322 million or $2.47 per share, while revenues were $1.34 billion, a growth of 23.6% from the previous year.

While announcing the second-quarter results back in July, Robert Selander, MasterCard president and chief executive officer, had stated that the company is adapting well to the challenging economic environment.

Selander then said, "The thoughtful actions we've taken to realign our resources and priorities to match customer and local market needs, as well as our sharp focus on expense management, have enabled us to deliver strong operating margin and net income improvements. At the same time, we continue to invest in the future so that we are solidly positioned once the economic tide begins to turn. We operate a global, flexible and resilient business that will continue to benefit from the ongoing shift toward electronic payments, which consumers, businesses and governments find more efficient, secure and easier to manage."
Despite the general negative impacts of global slowdown in consumer spending and a high global unemployment rate, MasterCard's third-quarter results may reflect positive trends such as secular shift from cash to electronic payments, and the cost-cutting initiatives that the company initiated last year. The factors such as appreciating US dollar, lower gas prices and slower cross-border travel that impacted the second-quarter earnings have eased considerable since then, benefiting the company, whose business model and global diversification also continue to provide a good degree of resilience in the troubled environment.

In the past five quarters, the company's earnings topped the market's consensus significantly. As per reports, the company's long-term earnings per share growth forecast of 17.6% is better than that of rivals American Express Co. (AXP: News ) and Discover Financial Services (DFS: News ).

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