Amex gains more customers

Article Excerpt

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO. $161 is a buy. The company (New York symbol AXP, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 753.1 million; Market cap: $121.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.americanexpress.com) is one of the world’s largest issuers of payment cards. In the quarter ended March 31, 2022, Amex’s expenses jumped 34%. That’s because it spent more on customer rewards as network volumes jumped 30.1% from last year’s depressed levels. As a result, earnings in the quarter fell 6.1%, to $2.10 billion from $2.26 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings declined just 0.4%, to $2.73 from $2.74. However, Amex continues to benefit as cardholders spend more on travel and entertainment. In fact, it added 3 million new cards in the quarter, and now has 103.3 million cards outstanding. Amex will probably earn $9.82 a share in 2022, and the stock trades at an attractive 16.4 times that forecast. The $2.08 dividend yields 1.3%. American Express is a buy. buy…