Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA ) stock surged more than 4 percent on Wednesday after the company reported first-quarter numbers that were well above analyst expectations. In fact, both net income and revenue were record numbers for Mastercard.

Mastercard reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.41 on revenue of $3.6 billion. Both numbers came in well ahead of consensus analyst estimates of $1.25 and $3.25 billion, respectively. Revenue was up 31 percent compared to a year ago.

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The impressive revenue growth more than doubled the growth rate of credit card competitor Visa ( V ), which reported a 13 percent uptick in first-quarter revenue last month.

Mastercard reported a 14 percent increase in gross dollar volume in the first quarter and a 15 percent increase in purchase volume.

Operating margin declined by 4.1 percent to 51 percent. Total operating expenses increased 43 percent to $1.8 billion.

In the first quarter, Mastercard repurchased $1.4 billion in stock and paid out $263 million in dividends.

"We're off to a very strong start to the year, with record revenue and earnings this quarter, as we continue to execute against our strategy," CEO Ajay Banga says in a statement. "We are investing in areas such as safety and security and our digital solutions to drive long-term growth with a focus on delivering simple and secure transactions across all channels."

Following the strong report, Mastercard shares initially traded above $187. If the stock opens at or near that level, it would represent a new all-time high.

CFRA analyst Scott Kessler says Mastercard will continue to benefit from the secular transition from cash and check payments to electronic payments. But with the stock already up nearly 250 percent in the past three years, additional upside may be hard to come by.

[See: 7 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2018 .]

"MA has multiple growth avenues, including international expansion, market share gain potential, mobile payment development and prepaid," Kessler says. "That said, we see rebates and incentives remaining high in the near term as merchants push for lower fees and competition grows from alternative payment technologies."

CFRA has a "hold" rating and $172 price target for MA stock .

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