American Express Company (AXP) Stock

American Express Company (AXP) is a Financials stock trading at $358.49 (as of 2026-07-15), with a market capitalization of $244.61B and a trailing P/E of 21.8. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

American Express Company, through subsidiaries, offers charge and credit payment cards and related travel services worldwide. It operates in segments including Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services, providing payment, network, merchant processing and marketing, expense management, loyalty program services, and fraud prevention for consumers, small businesses, and large organizations.

Understand American Express Company: how it makes money

American Express provides charge and credit payment cards, travel and lifestyle services, and merchant network and processing services, and it makes money through merchant discount revenue and service fees (reported as revenues net of interest expense).

American Express reports revenues net of interest expense, where discount revenue and service fees and other revenue are key components of the profit engine.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Global Consumer$6.7B
Global Commercial$2.5B
Global Merchant$1.3B

Business quality (Strong): Segment mapping uses the provided component revenues that belong to the three official segment groups, but those components sum to a different total than the reported 10.5B revenue, so the segment values shown are scaled to reconcile to 10.5B.

Valuation: At 21× earnings, AXP trades 68% above the Banking average (13×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • Multiple fee streams across the payment and services chain: The company’s businesses include payment and financing products, network services, merchant acquisition and processing, and travel and lifestyle services, with major reported revenue components including discount revenue and service fees and other revenue.
  • Network and merchant services support recurring monetization: A dedicated segment for global merchant and network services indicates emphasis on merchant acquisition and processing and servicing and settlement.

Bear case

  • Sensitivity to economic cycles in both consumer and travel: Because the company provides charge and credit cards and travel and lifestyle services, weaker consumer spending and travel demand can pressure results.
  • Dependence on merchant economics: Discount revenue is a major reported component, so changes in merchant acceptance, merchant processing economics, or related competitive dynamics can impact performance.
  • Interest expense matters even after netting: The company presents revenues net of interest expense, which highlights that interest expense is an ongoing factor in the net revenue picture.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$358.49
Market Cap$244.61B
P/E Ratio21.8
EV / EBITDA15.7
Price / Book7.20
Price / Sales5.80
Dividend Yield1.0%
FCF Yield5.9%
DCF Value (model)$209.07
DCF Upside vs Price-41.7%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$41.30B
Net Margin26.2%
Return on Equity33.0%
Debt / Equity1.78
Revenue Growth (YoY)9.3%
EPS Growth (YoY)17.9%
FCF Growth (YoY)-38.7%
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E21.8
Sector P/E (Financials)15.3
Industry P/E (Banking)13.3
vs Sector42.9%
vs Industry63.3%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Insider Sells (12mo)15
Top Institutional HolderBerkshire Hathaway Inc ($45.86B)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)10
Company
SectorFinancials
IndustryBanking
CEOStephen Joseph Squeri
Employees75,100
CountryUS
IPO Date1972-06-01

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AXP earnings history · AXP institutional & insider holders · AXP KPIs & operating metrics · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-07-15.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.