Today's Major Market Move: Mastercard (MA) is Up 57% for the Year

One of the top performing equities this year has been Mastercard (ticker: MA) which has gained 55% so far in 2011. Here are the top 10 performing stocks in the S&P 500 since January:

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Since its IPO in 2006, MA is up a remarkable 765%. The company has rebounded strongly from the depths of the 2008 crisis, growing earnings steadily since then. Below are EPS charts for MA in 1) absolute terms and 2) in % terms alongside stock price.

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A cap on debit card processing fees went into effect on Oct 1 as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill and initially there was some concern that this regulatory change might diminish the willingness of banks to issue debit cards. More recently, representatives from Mastercard and Visa have stated that they don't expect the new regulatory landscape to have an effect on the trend of increasing debit card usage.
From reuters:

Debit and ATM executives for MasterCard Inc and Visa Inc said on Wednesday they expect debit card use to grow, despite new U.S. government rules that cap fees banks can charge merchants.

Executives for the world's two largest payment processors said at an industry conference on Wednesday that consumers will increasingly use debit cards for everyday purchases, despite fears their use could be curbed due to price caps introduced by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law's Durbin amendment.

"Consumers are flocking to debit cards because they are intrinsically superior to checks," said Leland Englebardt, Mastercard's group head for global network products, overseeing the company's ATM business.