American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $340.84, but opened at $326.12. American Express shares last traded at $320.9310, with a volume of 1,328,016 shares traded.

Key American Express News

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

• Positive Sentiment: American Express reported Q2 EPS of $4.53, topping expectations, and said revenue rose 10% year over year as cardmembers kept spending more on travel and dining. Stronger card activity also helped drive profit higher and delinquency rates lower. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth forecast, signaling confidence that affluent customers will continue to spend despite economic uncertainty. Business Wire article
• Positive Sentiment: Premium card sign-ups remained strong, suggesting American Express is still attracting higher-value customers and supporting longer-term growth. Economic Times article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management also noted expenses rose 12% due to marketing and product updates, which may support growth but adds near-term cost pressure. Economic Times article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear focused on the revenue miss versus Wall Street expectations, which helped trigger the stock’s decline even though earnings were better than forecast. Proactive Investors article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded American Express from a “positive” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.11.

American Express Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $220.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The payment services company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 33.95%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.08 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,464,868 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,900,528,000 after purchasing an additional 369,967 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,023,482 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,338,238,000 after buying an additional 141,936 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,850,298 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,904,218,000 after buying an additional 558,533 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of American Express by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,515,675 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,780,424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393,340 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,464,215,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company Profile

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.