Here's How Much You'd Have If You Invested $1000 in American Express a Decade Ago

For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.What if you'd invested in American Express (AXP) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to AXP for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?American Express' Business In-DepthWith that in mind, let's take a look at American Express' main business drivers. Founded in 1850, NY-based American Express Company is a diversified financial services company, offering charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. American Express and its main subsidiary – American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (“TRS”) – are bank holding companies under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. The company offers business travel-related services through its non-consolidated joint venture, American Express Global Business Travel (the GBT JV).The company’s range of products and services include charge card, credit card and other payment and financing products; Merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, and point-of-sale marketing and information products and services for merchants; Network services; other fee services, including fraud prevention services and the design and operation of customer loyalty programs; Expense management products and services and Travel-related services.The company’s reporting segments are as follows:U.S. Consumer Services (USCS): (47.7% of 2024 total segment’s revenue net of interest expense) It issues a varied array of proprietary consumer cards. The segment also extends travel and lifestyle services and banking and non-card financing products to U.S. consumers.Commercial Services (CS): (24%) This unit offers a wide range of proprietary cards, payment and expense management services coupled with banking and non-card financing products to U.S-based corporates and small business clients.International Card Services (ICS): (17.4%) It issues a diversified range of proprietary consumer, small business and corporate cards outside the United States. Offering services to the international customers of American Express and managing specific international joint ventures as well as its loyalty coalition businesses are among the segment’s functions.Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS): (11.3%) It operates a global payments network that processes and settles card transactions, acquires merchants and extends multi-channel marketing programs and capabilities, services and data analytics through leveraging the company’s integrated network capabilities.Bottom LineAnyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in American Express ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in June 2015 would be worth $3,970.83, or a 297.08% gain, as of June 30, 2025. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 193.75% and gold's return of 168.06% over the same time frame.Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for AXP. American Express’s growth initiatives, like launching new products, reaching new agreements and forging alliances are aiding its card member spending and revenues. Consumer spending on travel and entertainment, which carries higher margins, is still resilient. Its focus on Millennials and Gen-Z consumers, who exhibit strong dining preferences, will position AXP for long-term growth. The company expects revenues to increase between 8% and 10% in 2025. Its ROE of 32.5% is above the industry average. AXP’s shares have outperformed the industry in the past year. However, with higher utilization of its cards, costs in the form of card member services and card member rewards are likely to go up. In 1Q25, total expenses rose 10% YoY. Its current debt level induces an increase in interest expenses. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance. Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 7.87%, and there have been 3 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2025 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report American Express Company (AXP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks