American Express
Payments · United States
American Express issues premium charge and credit cards, signs the merchants that accept them and runs its own payments network, earning merchant fees, card fees and interest.
What makes it different
Each basic card member spends about $25,000 a year.
$25,453Average spend per basic cardFY2025
Higher spending per card is what lets it charge merchants more and fund rich rewards.
How big it is
How big is American Express?
$72.2BRevenueFY2025
$1.67TBilled businessFY2025
76,800EmployeesFY2025
How it makes money FY2025
Merchant fees first, then interest and card fees.
- Discount revenue$37.4B
- Net interest income$17.4B
- Net card fees$10.0B
- Service fees and other revenue$7.5B
How the business works
Issue premium cards. Earn on spending.
- 1Premium cards to members
- 2Merchants on its network
- 3Merchant, card, interest fees
Holding both the member and the merchant relationship gives it data and fees at both ends of every payment.
Who owns it
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and subsidiaries22.1%
- The Vanguard Group6.8%
- BlackRock, Inc.6.4%
CEO: Stephen J. Squeri
Who it competes with
Key moments
- 1850Founded as a freight forwarding business
- 950sIntroduces the charge card
- 2005Spins off Ameriprise
- 2008Becomes a bank holding company
- 2018Stephen Squeri becomes Chairman and CEO
Sources
Every number on this page comes from American Express's own reports.
Full profile
The rest of the story is in the app.
What American Express tracks28 metrics
Cards-in-force
Proprietary cards-in-force
Cards issued by network partners
Results, quarter by quarterwith a chart
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Where the money comes from4 regions
United States
EMEA
APAC
The full timeline17 moments
2023
2024
2026
American Express vs Visaside by side
Revenue
Profit
People
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