AXP
American Express
$341.41
▼ 0.3%Updated Aug 7, 11:30 AM ET
AXP at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Neutral · 56/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 14.0% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$240.15B
P/E
20.8x
Forward P/E (est.)
18.61x
ROE
34.0%
Revenue Growth
9.4%
EPS Growth
11.8%
Profit Margin
14.1%
FCF Yield
3.8%
Debt / Equity
6.28x
ROIC
2.0%
Interest Coverage
0.41x
Current Ratio
—
Dividend Yield
1.1%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
2.2%
Rating Score
56/100
American Express (AXP) is a mega-cap company in the Consumer Finance industry, part of the Financials sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $240.15B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $41.30B in revenue and $10.83B in net profit.
Our model rates AXP Neutral (56/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (9 years of history).
Some durable-advantage evidence, but not across the board — dig into which ingredient is weak and whether it's cyclical or structural.
grew in 7 of the last 8 year-over-year periods
positive in 9 of 9 years
2.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what AXP's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. AXP trades near $341.41, above its 50-day average ($321.84) and 200-day average ($338.16). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 84 it is overbought — the recent rally is stretched and can cool off.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. AXP's is $8.01 (~2.3% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month AXP found buyers near $305.44 (support) and sellers near $352.52 (resistance); its 52-week range is $288.34–$387.49. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.8× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
10.5%
Revenue moved from $24.78B in 2017 to $41.30B in 2025, a 6.6% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year grew a steady 9.4% year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Gross Margin
61.0%
Operating Margin
17.9%
Net Margin
26.2%
ROE
34.0%
American Express keeps about 14.1% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 61.0% gross margin and 17.9% operating margin. Return on equity is 34.0% and return on invested capital about 2.0%. Margins are moderate — typical of a competitive but profitable business.
Total Debt
$58.75B
Net Debt
$15.31B
Net Debt / EBITDA
—
Debt / Equity
6.28x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 6.3x, and operating profit covers interest about 0.4x. That is elevated leverage, which raises risk if earnings or rates move against it. It carries roughly $58.75B of total debt against $43.44B of cash.
Operating CF
$18.43B
Free Cash Flow
$16.00B
FCF Margin
38.7%
In the latest year American Express produced about $18.43B of operating cash flow and $16.00B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 3.8% on today's price. Cash flow is what ultimately pays shareholders, so it is worth tracking over time.
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
The payout is comfortably covered by cash the business actually generates, with a raise habit behind it.
Dividend yield
1.1%
Per share (latest FY)
$3.28
Total paid (latest FY)
$2.27B
History on record
9 years
dividend uses 14% of free cash flow
21% of net income paid out
total dividends increased 4 years in a row
no cuts in the last 9 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
P/E
20.8x
P/S
3x
P/B
7.63x
EV / EBITDA
—
AXP trades at 20.8x trailing earnings (about 18.6x on estimated forward earnings), 3.0x sales, and 7.6x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 2.2% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a fairly typical valuation for a profitable company.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$544.59
Current price
$341.41
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$16.00B
Growth, years 1–5
9.4%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where AXP sits versus its Financials sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 141 Financials companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How AXP stacks up against its Financials peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Financials sector (289 S&P 500 companies), AXP ranks #96 of 289 by our overall rating. It trades at a premium versus the sector on earnings (20.8x P/E vs. 15.8x median) with a higher return on equity (34.0% vs. 13.6%) and slower revenue growth (9.4% vs. 15.9%).
P/E vs sector
20.8x
median 15.8x
ROE vs sector
34.0%
median 13.6%
Growth vs sector
9.4%
median 15.9%
Sector rank
#96
of 289 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Financials companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 289 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $341.41 today · expected CAGR -2% – 8%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $45.02B | $49.07B | $53.49B | $58.30B | $63.55B |
| Net income | $11.71B | $12.76B | $13.91B | $15.16B | $16.52B |
| EPS | $16.64 | $18.14 | $19.77 | $21.55 | $23.49 |
| Share price (low) | $216.33 | $235.80 | $257.03 | $280.16 | $305.37 |
| Share price (high) | $349.46 | $380.92 | $415.20 | $452.57 | $493.30 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -37% / 2% | -17% / 6% | -9% / 7% | -5% / 7% | -2% / 8% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for AXP:
- Strong return on equity (34.0%) shows capital is put to work well.
- As an established S&P 500 member in Financials, it brings scale and a long operating history.
The case against AXP:
- Elevated leverage (debt/equity 6.3x) adds financial risk.
- Interest coverage is thin (0.4x), so debt costs bite.
Balance-sheet risk — debt/equity of 6.3x magnifies the impact of higher rates or weaker earnings.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the picture is mixed: American Express is a mega-cap financials business growing at a mature pace, with solid profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 20.8x earnings, which our model scores Neutral (56/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 37 Wall Street analysts covering AXP recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more positive over the last three months (+8 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
AXP's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
AXP — frequently asked questions
Is AXP a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates American Express Neutral (56/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is AXP's rating on The Stocks School?
American Express currently scores 56/100 (Neutral) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does AXP's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from American Express's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for AXP calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this AXP analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell AXP. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.