Right: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
From 2008 to 2010, MasterCard faced two external hurdles: litigation costs from an antitrust suit brought by American Express and the possibility of tighter regulations from the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act. Both issues have since receded: Last year the company paid off the last of its $1.8 billion settlement with AmEx, and the Durbin Amendment, aimed at making payment processors more competitive, capped debit card fees at 24¢ per transaction instead of 12¢ -- and left credit cards in the clear (for now).
NEXT: 4. It's the stock that pays you back
