Revenue up on cardholder borrowing

Article Excerpt

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO. $257 is a buy. The company (New York symbol AXP, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 710.9 million; Market cap: $182.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.americanexpress.com) is one of the world’s largest issuers of payment cards. It’s also a bank that accepts deposits and makes loans. The company cuts its credit risk by catering to clients with above-average incomes and good credit histories. In the second quarter, revenue rose 8.5%, to a record $16.33 billion from $15.05 billion a year earlier. That reflects higher spending per cardholder and more of them carrying a balance; loans rose 14.2% to $130.8 billion. If you exclude a gain on the sale of one of Amex’s businesses, earnings per share rose 20.8%, to $3.49 from $2.89. The company now expects to earn between $13.30 and $13.80 a share for all of 2024; the stock trades at an attractive 19.0 times the midpoint of that range, and the $2.80 dividend…