American Express (NYSE:AXP) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

23 Apr 2026, 10:26 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 17.300-17.900 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 17.560. The company issued revenue guidance of $78.7 billion-$79.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $78.8 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Barclays decreased their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $323.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Express from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $415.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $359.67.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on American Express

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $7.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $325.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 664,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,489,576. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $257.21 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The company has a market capitalization of $223.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $314.60 and a 200-day moving average of $344.56.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.69%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total transaction of $2,820,301.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.58, for a total transaction of $5,348,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,608.10. This represents a 62.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More American Express News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Express this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS topped estimates at $4.28 vs. a $4.01 consensus and cardmember spending grew at the strongest quarterly rate since 2022—driving the upside reaction. American Express (AXP) Stock Gains After Q1 Earnings Beat Expectations
Positive Sentiment: Company reported higher net income ($3.0B) and management reaffirmed full‑year guidance, supported by fee growth, rising card balances and strong travel/discretionary spending. American Express trumps Q1 estimates, reaffirms full-year outlook
Positive Sentiment: Premium/affluent customers remain a tailwind—spending on luxury goods and premium airfares drove the quarter and underpinned margin strength. Amex cardholders are loading up on luxury goods…
Neutral Sentiment: Company is rolling out new membership/experiential initiatives (NFL Draft activation) and investing in AI/payment tools—positive for long-term engagement but not immediate EPS drivers. American Express Debuts New Membership Experiences
Negative Sentiment: Some analysts flagged macro uncertainty; JPMorgan recently trimmed its price target on AXP citing the backdrop, and consensus ratings remain largely in the “Hold” camp—these views cap upside. AXP PT Slashed by JPMorgan on Uncertain Macro Outlook

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of American Express by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,850,298 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,904,218,000 after buying an additional 558,533 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of American Express by 23.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,787,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $925,449,000 after buying an additional 537,205 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of American Express by 4.4% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,179,896 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $723,148,000 after buying an additional 91,254 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,813,221 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $677,039,000 after buying an additional 146,204 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,049,366 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $388,252,000 after buying an additional 9,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.