American Express Co
Latest American Express Co News and Updates

What Credit Score Do You Need to Get an American Express Card?

AXP’s Valuations Down in 4Q15, Targeted $1 Billion in Savings
American Express (AXP) expects its full-year 2016 EPS to be between $5.40–$5.70. It looks to return to positive EPS growth in 2016 and is targeting a minimum of $5.60 EPS for 2017.

Inside Berkshire’s Investment Income and Valuations after 3Q17
As of October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) stock has returned 3.2% in the past month and 31.4% over the past four quarters.

Mergers and Marketing Efforts Pressure MasterCard’s Margins
MasterCard’s rebates and incentives rose by 18% to $1.0 billion in 1Q16—higher than expected, mainly due to the timing of some deals and acquisitions.

Visa Expected to Post Healthy Margins in Fiscal 3Q16
Visa (V) has maintained its operating margin above 60% over the past few years. The company’s major expenses include personnel, marketing, network and processing, and professional fees.

Increased Spending, Electronic Payments Beneficial for Visa
Visa’s total transactions grew by 11% on a YoY (year-over-year) basis in fiscal 4Q15. The company reported total transactions of 27.9 billion in fiscal 4Q15, as compared to 25 billion in fiscal 4Q14.

How Payment Processors Are Performing amid Challenges in 2016
Payment processors are seeing major changes in 2016, including increased competition on pricing and the adoption of new technologies such as wearables.

Which Payment Processor Has the Highest Payouts and Repurchases?
Payment processors are rewarding their shareholders with 1%–2% dividend yields, largely dependent on operating performance.

MasterCard’s Leverage Is Comfortable for Expansion, Acquisitions
MasterCard (MA) has debt of $3.3 billion with a total balance sheet of $15.9 billion as of March 31, 2016. This compares to $16.2 billion in 4Q15.

Can American Express Distributions Continue to Attract Investors?
American Express (AXP) has been using its strong balance sheet position to consistently declare dividends to its shareholders.

Shop Local with American Express During Small Business Saturday

Boeing Stock: Worst Weekly Fall since 2016
Boeing stock fell 10.3% last week—the biggest weekly loss in the last three years. The stock fell 11.4% during the week ending February 12, 2016.

Investors should watch Discover’s stock in the longer term
Discover Financial’s (DFS) stock price rose from $14.70 at the end of 2009 to $65.50 at the end of 2014. This is an increase of 346%.

Markets Give a Thumbs Up to ‘True Merger of Equals’
Today, Sun Trust Banks and BB&T announced a merger that would create the sixth largest bank in the United States.

American Express Misses Q3 Earnings Forecast, Stock Falls

What to Watch for in American Express’s Q3 Earnings

American Express Points Don't Expire, but You Can Lose Them!
Must-know: Concur is the biggest acquisition in SAP’s history
Since 2010, SAP AG (SAP) spent more than ~$12 billion on acquisitions. Concur Technologies is the largest acquisition in SAP’s 42-year history. In its 2Q14 results, most of SAP’s growth was from its cloud business—approximately $1 billion annually. Concur’s management mentioned that they expect to end fiscal year 2014 with ~$690 million.

Who Would Bid for American Express?
Wells Fargo seems unlikely to put capital on a falling brand like American Express, unless Warren Buffett has a different perspective and backs a takeover.

Visa Processed Transactions in Line with Expectations
Visa (V) reported total processed transactions of 27.9 billion in 4Q15 compared to 25 billion in 4Q14. Total transactions are payments and cash transactions reported by clients on operating certificates.

Payment Processors Dividends Are Now Rising on This
Payment processors are rewarding their shareholders with dividend yields of 1%–2%, depending largely on operating performance.

Visa Establishes Partnerships to Expand in China
Visa announced partnerships with the China Foundation for Development of Financial Education and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

Is AXP Stock a ‘Sell’ after Its Q1 Earnings?
Today at 7:02 AM ET, AXP stock rose 1.1% to $84.10 in the pre-market session. The company reported its first-quarter earnings results on April 24.

Why Apple Has Been a Savior for Buffett and Berkshire
Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares have fallen 25% in 2020, while the S&P 500 has fallen 28.5%. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Berkshire Hathaway’s biggest holding.

Delta Stock Soars on Optimistic 2020 Earnings Outlook
Delta Air Lines (DAL) stock soared 3% yesterday after the company provided an optimistic 2020 earnings outlook and disclosed a new investment.

What Berkshire Hathaway Really Does, Says Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway is a huge conglomerate with diverse operations. The company’s operations are complex, so let’s take an easy-to-understand approach.

Citigroup cards: A card for everyone
Balance transfer Citigroup cards allow you to transfer your balances from a high-interest credit card to a Citi low-interest card.

Card shark Citigroup plays for major revenue
Citigroup is the world’s largest credit card issuer. Bank of America and Capital One follow Citigroup in terms of credit and charge volume.

Factors Likely to Impact Costco’s Future Earnings
Consensus Wall Street analyst estimates project revenue of $27.6 billion for Costco in fiscal 3Q16—an implied increase of 3.4% YoY.

Card loans rule Bank of America’s consumer loan portfolio
Credit card loans account for more than half of Bank of America’s total consumer loan portfolio.

How Berkshire Hathaway’s Holdings Changed in Q3
On Thursday, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) (BRK.A) released its third-quarter 13F. There were some surprises in the filing. The company took a new stake in RH.

Renaissance Technologies: Analyzing Its Q3 13F
At the end of the third quarter, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Biogen, UnitedHealth, and Walmart (WMT) were Renaissance Technologies’ top five buys.

US GDP Shatters Expectations, Pessimists Run for Cover
The US GDP increased at an impressive rate of 1.9% for the third quarter. The growth beat the expectations of around 1.6% for the quarter.

Are Mastercard’s Earnings Results a Win for America?
Mastercard just posted a solid earnings beat. It’s been a blockbuster Q3 for payment companies, with Visa and American Express beating projections, too.

American Express Stock Dips Despite Q3 Revenue Beat
American Express Company (AXP), the New York-based financial services company, released its third-quarter earnings on Friday.

Delta Beats Q3 Estimates, Shares Fall on Revenue Miss
Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported mixed third-quarter results this morning. Its earnings beat analysts’ consensus estimate, but its revenue missed.

Will Delta Benefit from Partnership with LATAM?
On Thursday, Delta Air Lines announced a partnership with LATAM Airlines in a deal worth $2.25 billion. Delta will acquire a 20% stake in LATAM.

DJIA Ends Day in Green despite Europe’s Grim Data
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index or DJIA gained a marginal 0.06% today to close trading just below 27,000—despite a bleak picture in Europe’s economy.

Dow Jones Reverses Early Gains, Falls 0.2% Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53.44 points (or 0.2%) today, possibly because the market gave a thumbs up to yesterday’s 0.25% rate cut by the Fed.

Dow Jones Index Falls after Rising for Eight Days
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index has fallen 0.4% or by 115 points today. The index is trading lower after rising for eight consecutive trading sessions.

How Warren Buffett’s Banking Investments Look after Q2
Warren Buffet loves banking stocks. Out of his current portfolio of 47 stocks, five are commercial banks, including two regional banks.

Analyzing Visa’s Valuation after Its Q2 Earnings
Visa (V) is trading at a forward PE ratio of 27.7x, which is higher than its five-year average PE ratio of 24.5x.

Berkshire-Backed StoneCo Tumbles after ITUB Ups Ante
StoneCo (STNE) was trading down 27.6% as of 1:30 PM ET. The negative price action was driven by an announcement by Itaú Unibanco Holding (ITUB).

Delta Airlines Gains on Upbeat Q1 Earnings and Strong Outlook
Delta Airlines stock was up 3% in premarket trading on April 10 after it released better-than-expected results for the first quarter.

Delta-AmEx Renewed Partnership Likely to Drive Revenues
Delta-AmEx renewed deal On April 2, Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced that it had renewed its 23-year long credit-card partnership with American Express (AXP) for another 11 years. The renewed partnership deal, which will run through 2029, is likely to bring in massive incremental revenues for the airline in the next few years. With this […]

Berkshire Hathaway: Payment Industry in Q1
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) has invested in several payment industry stocks like Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), American Express (AXP), and StoneCo.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Banking Holdings in Q1
Among Berkshire Hathaway’s financial holdings, JPMorgan Chase was the worst performer, while Goldman Sachs was the top performer.

How Warren Buffett Views Apple’s Big Bets on Payment Industry
Earlier this week, Apple (AAPL) announced new services including video streaming, a gaming subscription, and a credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs (GS).

Why Warren Buffett Abandoned an Age-Old Practice This Year
Warren Buffett said, “For nearly three decades, the initial paragraph featured the percentage change in Berkshire’s per-share book value. It’s now time to abandon that practice.”

Buffett to Investors: ‘Focus on the Forest, Forget the Trees’
One of the world’s most successful investors of all times, Warren Buffett believes in investing for the long term.

Warren Buffett’s Firm Earns $3.8 Billion in Dividends in 2018
In Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK-B) annual shareholder letter, Buffett revealed that his investment firm received dividends of about $3.8 billion from its investees in 2018.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Lost $25.4 Billion in Q4 2018
On Saturday, February 23, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) released its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Warren Buffett and the Problem with Elephants
In the annual shareholder letter, Buffett lamented the lack of big acquisition opportunities, which he called “elephants.”

Buffett’s Love for Banking Stocks Continued in Q4
Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder in Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), U.S. Bancorp (USB), and American Express (AXP).

Dan Loeb Increased Third Point’s Position in These Stocks in Q4
In Q4 2018, Third Point initiated a new position in Cigna (CI), which is an American healthcare services organization.

Buffett Raised Bets on U.S. Bancorp and Goldman Sachs in Q3 2018
So far in this series, we’ve looked at Warrant Buffet’s investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A)(BRK.B), top five investments in the third quarter.

Visa’s Q4 Profit Jumps 34%: A Look at Key Growth Drivers
Visa’s adjusted fourth-quarter EPS jumped 34% year-over-year to $1.21 and surpassed Wall Street analysts’ estimates by a penny.

Improving Economy and Retail Sales to Boost Mastercard’s Q3 Results
A healthy job market and a steady hike in wages have increased the spending power of consumers.

What Will Drive Mastercard’s Third-Quarter Earnings?
Mastercard (MA) is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on October 30.

Visa’s Q4 Results to Gain from Improving Economy and Retail Sales
The US GDP grew 4.2% in the second quarter, which was almost double the 2.2% increase registered in the first quarter.

Higher Payment Volumes to Drive Visa’s Q4 2018 Earnings
Visa (V) plans to report its Q4 2018 earnings on October 24. Analysts expect Visa to report EPS of $1.20, marking YoY growth of 33.3%.

Mastercard to Gain from Improving Economy and Rising Retail Sales
The Consumer Confidence Index increased to 133.4 in August from 127.9 in July—its highest reading since its October 2000 reading of 135.8.

Improving GDP and Retail Sales Could Boost Visa’s Platform Usage
Improving GDP growth, a healthy job market, and steady wage growth have increased the disposable income of consumers, thereby giving them greater spending power.

Visa Sizzles on Strong Digitization Trends and Improving Economy
Visa stock (V), which was around $78 at the beginning of 2017, now trades close to $143, a jump of over 83%.

Will Analysts Stay Optimistic about Visa Stock?
In the fiscal third quarter, Visa (V) witnessed strong growth on a YoY (year-over-year) basis in all its primary business metrics.

What Fueled Visa’s Payment Volumes in Fiscal Q3 2018?
In the third quarter, Visa (V) witnessed a rise in payment volumes from the United States on a sequential basis from 10.1% to 10.5%.

How Analysts Rate Mastercard
Analysts’ rating on Mastercard (MA) improved in July compared to June.

Understanding Visa’s Take on Contactless Payments
Visa (V) has been making efforts to increase the use of contactless payments in the United States after experiencing a positive response.

Mastercard Has Premium Valuations after Strong Q2 2018 Results
Mastercard (MA) has a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04x on an NTM (next-12-month) basis compared to the peer average of 15.95x.

Understanding Visa’s Views on Europe and India
Visa (V) posted total payment volumes amounting to $2.1 trillion in its fiscal third quarter.

Discover Financial’s Q2 2018: Total Loans Grew 9% Year-over-Year
On July 26, Discover Financial Services (DFS) released its earnings report for the second quarter.

Berkshire’s Premium Valuations amid Acquisition Expectations
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) stock has risen 4.7% in the last month and 15.9% in the last year.

Visa Posts Strong Fiscal Q3 2018 Results: Payments Volume Rose
On July 25, Visa (V) posted its third fiscal quarter results. The company posted an EPS of $1.20, which exceeds Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

Capital One’s Net Interest Margin Fell in the Second Quarter
Capital One Financial (COF) posted second-quarter results on July 19.

American Express in Q2: Drivers Could Be Loan Growth, Spending
On July 18, American Express (AXP) is expected to report its Q2 2018. Analysts expect EPS to be $1.82 compared to $1.86 in the first quarter.

Capital One’s Q2: Expectations Amid Trade Wars, Improved Economy
Capital One (COF) is expected to release its Q2 2018 earnings on July 19. Analysts expect EPS of $2.68, a YoY rise of 38.1%.

What Factors Could Influence Analysts’ Ratings on Discover?
Growing trade tensions are a primary concern, as they could impact the performances of Discover Financial Services (DFS) and its peers.

What Discover Financial Has in Mind Moving Forward
Discover Financial Services (DFS) generated net interest income amounting to $2.1 billion in the first quarter.

What’s behind Mastercard’s Co-Brand Wins?
The economic and business environment prevailing in an economy affects the business fundamentals of payment processing giants like Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA).

How Analysts View American Express Stock
In June, eight of the 32 analysts covering the stock have given it a “buy” rating, and two analysts have given it a “strong sell.”

American Express Global Commercial Services: What Could Impact It
American Express’s (AXP) Global Commercial Services segment’s non-interest revenues rose 9% YoY in the first quarter.

American Express: What the Second Quarter Holds
The second quarter could be beneficial for American Express (AXP) due to an expected rise in consumer loans and transactions.

Understanding Visa’s Service Revenue and Visa Direct
In fiscal Q3 2018, Visa’s (V) service revenue could rise YoY (year-over-year) due to its payment volumes rising YoY in fiscal Q2 2018.

Mastercard’s Strong Results Beat Earnings and Revenue Estimates
Mastercard (MA) released its earnings report this morning. The company reported earnings per share or EPS of $1.50 in 1Q18.

How Are Analysts Viewing American Express Stock?
American Express (AXP) is covered by 31 analysts in March 2018. Two of them have given it a “strong sell” rating, and one is recommending “sell.”

American Express’s Recent Changes in Leadership
On March 8, 2018, American Express (AXP) announced that Sonia Cargan will become its chief diversity officer.

American Express’s Investor Day: Key Highlights
On March 7, 2018, American Express (AXP) held its Investor Day, which focused primarily on its business model and avenues for investments.

American Express and the Mezi Acquisition
On January 30, 2018, American Express (AXP) announced the acquisition of Mezi, an app (application) that focuses on customer satisfaction.

Visa–Fraedom Acquisition to Benefit Business-to-Business Payments
Visa (V) announced its acquisition of Fraedom, which provides payment solutions for financial institutions.

American Express: Income Rise for Global Merchant Services
In the first three quarters of 2017, American Express’s (AXP) Global Merchant Services division rose 7% in income compared to the same period in 2016.

Business and Credit Card Loans Pushes for JPMorgan Chase’s Banking
JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) Consumer and Community Banking division (or CCB) managed net revenues of ~$12.0 billion in 3Q17, an increase from ~$11.3 billion in 3Q16 and ~$11.4 billion in 2Q17.

Understanding Berkshire’s Premium Valuations amid Stable Growth Expectations
As of August 2017, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) stock has risen 4.2% in the past month and 21.2% in the past year.

International Business for American Express and Mastercard
American Express (AXP) witnessed a rise of 12.0% in its proprietary cards volume in 2Q17, which reflects a marginal increase of 1.0% from 1Q17.

Visa, American Express, MasterCard Beat Analyst Estimates
Consumer financial companies such as American Express (AXP), Mastercard (MA), and Visa (V) beat analysts’ estimates for EPS (earnings per share) in 2Q17.

Why Alibaba Invested in CompareAsiaGroup
Alibaba (BABA) has set a target to reach 2 billion consumers within the next 20 years. Alibaba’s fiscal 1Q18 report is expected on August 9.

JPMorgan Chase’s Banking Rise, Mortgage, and Card Subdued in Q2
JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) Consumer and Community Banking division posted net revenue of $11.41 billion in 2Q17, compared to $11.45 billion in 2Q16 and $10.97 billion in 1Q17.

Behind Berkshire’s Major Investments amid Rising Valuations
Berkshire Hathaway’s major investments have been in consumer, financials, technology, and product companies. It’s shown less interest in technology services.

Visa Expands Its Footprint in Europe
Visa (V) will report its fiscal 3Q17 earnings on July 20, 2017. Wall Street analysts expect Visa to report EPS of $0.81 per share—a decline of 5.8%.

Why Amex’s Global Network Services Could Face Pressure
In 1Q17, while Amex’s US Consumer Services segment saw a 32% YoY fall in its income, its International Consumer and Network Services segment saw a 16% YoY rise.

Inside American Express’s Global Merchant Services Segment
American Express’s (AXP) Global Merchant Services segment is expected to see a marginal increase in its net income in 2Q17.