Global payments company American Express (NYSE: AXP) reported Q1 CY2026 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 19.5% year on year to $18.91 billion. Its GAAP profit of $4.28 per share was 7.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy American Express? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
American Express (AXP) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Volume: $486.3 billion
- Revenue: $18.91 billion vs analyst estimates of $18.61 billion (19.5% year-on-year growth, 1.6% beat)
- Pre-tax Profit: $3.78 billion (20% margin)
- EPS (GAAP): $4.28 vs analyst estimates of $3.99 (7.2% beat)
- Market Capitalization: $228.3 billion
Company Overview
Recognizable by its iconic green logo and the slogan "Don't leave home without it," American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a global payments company that issues credit and charge cards, processes merchant transactions, and offers travel and lifestyle benefits to consumers and businesses.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Luckily, American Express’s revenue grew at an impressive 16% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth surpassed the average financials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. American Express’s annualized revenue growth of 11% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results were respectable. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, American Express reported year-on-year revenue growth of 19.5%, and its $18.91 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 1.6%.
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Key Takeaways from American Express’s Q1 Results
It was good to see American Express beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. We were also happy its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock remained flat at $333.31 immediately after reporting.
American Express put up rock-solid earnings, but one quarter doesn’t necessarily make the stock a buy. Let’s see if this is a good investment. The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
