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American Express Co (AXP)

Overvalued
Financial ServicesCredit ServicesUnited States

Fundamental

72

Price

$304.10

Market Cap

$206.87B

Part 1 · What the company is worth

Overview

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. The company offers credit and charge cards and complementary products and services, including travel, dining, and lifestyle and expense management products and services; and banking and other payment and financing products and services, including deposits and non-card lending. It also provides merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, fraud prevention, and point-of-sale marketing and information products and services, as well as network services. The company offers its products and services to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations through mobile and online applications, affiliate marketing, customer referral programs, third-party service providers and business partners, in-house sales teams, direct mail, telephone, and direct response advertising. American Express Company was founded in 1850 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

No editorial profile for this company yet

Direct competitors

Who this company fights with for the same customers

Compare

Generated on September 18, 2026 with claude-haiku-4-5 — shared with all users

P/E: 11.2Score: 76Market cap: $120.53B

Since closing the Discover acquisition in May 2025 Capital One is the only other US player that both issues cards and runs its own networks (Discover, Diners Club, PULSE), so it competes with American Express for the same cardholders, the same merchant acceptance and the same network fees.

P/E: 14.2Score: 68Market cap: $894.72B

Chase is the largest US card issuer and its Sapphire Reserve and Preferred cards target the same affluent, fee-paying travel customer as the Amex Platinum and Gold, while both bid for the same airline and hotel cobrand contracts.

P/E: 30.0Score: 74Market cap: $172.69B

Visa is the network American Express names first among its competitors: the two compete for merchant acceptance, for payment volume and for the issuing banks that decide which brand to put on their cards.

P/E: 30.3Score: 82Market cap: $69.63B

Mastercard competes on the same ground as Visa — merchant acceptance and transaction volume — and pushes hardest against Amex in premium and commercial cards, where its World Elite and corporate programmes chase the same high-spending customers.

P/E: 18.5Score: 74Market cap: $229.70B

Citi is one of the largest US card issuers and a direct rival in airline cobrand partnerships and rewards-driven consumer cards, competing for the same revolving balances and the same spending.

P/E: 9.9Score: 82Market cap: $46.40B

American Express names PayPal among the digital payment platforms that divert transactions away from its network, competing for the same online checkout and, through PayPal Credit, for the same consumer credit.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Revenue

$75.95B

Trailing 12 months (through 6/30/2026)

Net Income

$11.45B

Trailing 12 months (through 6/30/2026)

Free Cash Flow

$16.00B

Total Equity

$33.47B

Total Liabilities

$266.58B

Current Ratio

0.64

Interest Coverage

0.80

Debt/EBITDA

-

Earnings Per Share

Revenue & Net Income

Free Cash Flow

Income Breakdown

Historical statement

Margins over time

Debt over time

Growth grid

Growth — Revenue

Fair Value Estimation

BankOvervalued

Fair Value

$240.47

Current Price

$304.10

Margin of Safety

-26.5%

Fair Value Range

$156.31 - $324.63

Spread across the valuation methods used, not a statistically calibrated confidence interval.

Estimation Methods

Analyst price target:$378.54
Discounted cash flow (DCF):Not applicable to this type of company
Earnings multiple (P/E):$258.49
Graham growth formula:Not applicable to this type of company
Earnings power value (EPV):Not applicable to this type of company
Justified P/B:$222.40
Dividend discount (Gordon):$51.50
P/FFO, funds from operations:Not applicable to this type of company
Mid-cycle earnings:Not applicable to this type of company
Revenue multiple:Not applicable to this type of company
Analyst Consensus:Buy (20B / 16H / 1S)
Last Earnings Surprise:+1.84%

Valuation Metrics

P/E Ratio

18.46

ROE

32.4%

P/B Ratio

5.99

P/FCF

13.64

Gross Margin

-

ROIC

-

Profitability Radar

Value Creation (Economic Moat)

ROIC

-

WACC

11.6%

ROIC − WACC

-

Fundamental Analysis Criteria

Passed (17)

  • EPS shows upward trend
  • EPS CAGR 8.85%
  • Price CAGR 15.93%
  • P/FCF 13.64
  • Operating Margin 19.4%
  • Positive Free Cash Flow
  • CapEx intensity
  • Return on Tangible Assets
  • Low reliance on intangibles
  • ROE 34.1%
  • Revenue Growth 5Y 16.0%
  • Analyst Consensus 54% Buy
  • PEG Ratio 0.56
  • Earnings Quality (OCF/NI) 1.61
  • Share Dilution -2.6%
  • Net Margin Trend 15.1% vs 14.8%
  • Piotroski F-Score 5/9

Failed (6)

  • P/B Ratio 5.99
  • Debt/Equity ratio
  • Interest Coverage
  • Price below Graham Number
  • DCF valuation (Overvalued)
  • Earnings Surprise avg 2.1%

Unavailable (5)

  • ROIC NaN%
  • Gross Margin NaN%
  • Dividend Payout NaN%
  • Current Ratio
  • Debt/EBITDA

Piotroski F-Score

5/9

Mixed signals: some areas need attention

score
criteria

Earnings Quality

1.61

High quality: earnings backed by cash

Share Dilution

-2.6%

Buying back shares. Shareholder friendly

Institutional Holdings

Governance

Executive Team

NameTitleAge
Mr. Stephen Joseph SqueriChairman & CEO65
Mr. Christophe Y. Le CaillecChief Financial Officer59
Mr. Raymond Donald JoabarGroup President of Global Commercial Services59
Mr. Howard Martin GrosfieldGroup President of US Consumer Services56
Mr. Ravikumar RadhakrishnanExecutive VP & CIO53
Mr. Kartik RamachandranSenior VP & Head of Investor Relations-
Ms. Laureen E. SeegerChief Legal Officer63
Ms. Elizabeth RutledgeChief Marketing Officer63
Ms. Glenda G. McNealChief Partner Officer64
Ms. Denise PickettPresident of Enterprise Shared Services59

Audit Risk

4

Board Risk

9

Compensation Risk

1

Shareholder Rights Risk

6

Part 2 · The price and when to enter

This part won't tell you whether the company is worth owning: it helps you choose when to buy it, once the fundamentals have convinced you. Inside: technical analysis, potential, historical drawdowns, gamma exposure.

Documents

  • Annual Report (10-K)

    A yearly overview of the business, its financial results, and the risks it faces.

    Filed on 2026-02-06

    View document
  • Quarterly Report (10-Q)

    A snapshot of financial performance for the most recent three-month period.

    Filed on 2026-07-24

    View document
  • Current Report (8-K)

    An announcement of a major event, such as a leadership change or big news.

    Filed on 2026-09-15

    View document

via SEC EDGAR

Income History

via SEC EDGAR

Latest News

Recent headlines for AXP, sourced from Markets Gazette.

  • 20h agoPOSITIVE
    Amex's New AI Agent for Expenses (Correct)

    American Express has unveiled a new AI-powered corporate expense platform designed to significantly reduce the time spent on expense reporting and provide finance teams with real-time spending analytics. The platform incorporates agentic tools aimed at optimizing back-office operations for mid-sized businesses. This innovation is expected to enhance efficiency and offer greater financial visibility, potentially leading to cost savings and improved strategic decision-making for its corporate clients. For investors, this move signals Amex's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to deepen client relationships and expand its service offerings in the corporate sector.

  • 7/24/2026POSITIVE
    American Express rides a boom in Platinum cards to its strongest spending growth in years

    American Express reported its strongest spending growth in years, attributed to a surge in its premium Platinum card offerings. An executive highlighted that the appeal lies in the cardmember perks and 'access' provided. This robust performance indicates a strong consumer appetite for high-end services and a successful strategy by Amex in leveraging its premium segment. For investors, this suggests Amex is effectively capturing high-value customer spending and potentially gaining market share in the premium credit card space, which could translate to increased revenue and profitability.

  • 6/20/2026NEUTRAL
    Better Payments Stock for the Long Haul: American Express or Visa?

    The article compares American Express and Visa, highlighting their distinct business models. American Express targets a niche, premium customer segment, focusing on high-value transactions and loyalty programs. In contrast, Visa operates as a payment network intermediary, facilitating transactions for a broad range of consumers and businesses globally. This strategic difference impacts their growth potential and market positioning. While Amex focuses on deepening relationships with affluent customers, Visa aims for ubiquitous adoption. Investors should consider these differing strategies when evaluating long-term prospects for each company.

  • 6/18/2026POSITIVE
    $1000 Invested In American Express 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth This Much Today

    An investment of $1000 in American Express Company (AXP) five years ago would have yielded a significant return, illustrating the company's robust performance and stock appreciation over the period. While specific figures are not provided in the title, such a headline typically indicates substantial growth, likely driven by strong earnings, strategic initiatives, and positive market sentiment towards the financial services sector. Investors who held AXP would have benefited from its ability to navigate economic cycles and capitalize on consumer spending trends, making it a noteworthy performer in the financial sector.

  • 5/11/2026NEUTRAL
    Amex bought Resy. Chase bought The Infatuation. Inside the credit card industry’s quiet takeover of how you spend

    American Express has acquired Resy, a restaurant reservation platform, while JPMorgan Chase acquired The Infatuation, a restaurant review and lifestyle company. These moves signal a strategic shift by major credit card issuers to influence consumer spending habits beyond simple rewards programs. By integrating dining reservation and review services, companies like Amex and Chase aim to capture a larger share of the lucrative dining market and gather valuable consumer data. This consolidation could lead to more exclusive partnerships and integrated experiences for cardholders, potentially altering the competitive landscape for both financial services and the hospitality tech sector.

  • 5/6/2026POSITIVE
    The CEO who was told he’d never run American Express has made Amex cool again—and is beating JPMorgan, Visa, and the S&P 500

    American Express has achieved remarkable success, outperforming major financial institutions like JPMorgan and Visa, as well as the S&P 500 index. This turnaround is attributed to CEO Stephen Squeri's strategy of appealing to younger demographics by offering premium credit cards, such as one priced at $900 annually. This innovative approach has resonated with consumers, demonstrating Amex's ability to adapt and thrive in a competitive market. Investors are likely to view this performance positively, signaling strong management and a successful market positioning.

  • 4/23/2026NEUTRAL
    American Express Sees Strong Card Spending, Higher Costs

    American Express Company announced plans to increase investments in marketing and technology, signaling a strategic push for future growth. However, the company also noted a slowdown in customer spending on air travel, a key segment for card spending. This mixed outlook presents a nuanced picture for investors. While increased spending could drive future revenue, the deceleration in travel spending poses a near-term headwind. The company's ability to navigate these competing forces will be crucial for its performance.

  • 4/23/2026POSITIVE
    Amex cardholders are loading up on luxury goods and premium airfares, as spending growth picks up

    American Express reported a robust 10% growth in spending on its cards during the first quarter. This surge is primarily driven by cardholders increasing their expenditure on luxury goods and premium airfares, indicating a strong consumer appetite for high-value purchases. The data suggests a positive trend in consumer confidence and discretionary spending, particularly among Amex's affluent customer base. For investors, this signals potential for continued revenue growth and profitability for American Express, as higher spending translates directly into increased transaction fees and interest income.

via Markets Gazette