HeadwaterCompany strategiesBuild yours

American Express

Five strategic imperatives, Long-term growth

We aim to provide the world’s best customer experience every day
American Express, annual report for 2025

Five strategic imperatives

American Express issues its own cards, runs its own network, and signs up its own merchants, and makes most of its money when Card Members spend. It uses the money from spending, lending, and card fees to pay for rewards and benefits, which attract more high-spending customers, merchants, and partners, and calls this its Membership Model. Its plan has five strategic imperatives and aims for revenue growth of 10% or more and EPS growth in the mid-teens.

Billed business, cards in force, and network countries for 2025.

Premium consumers

1
  1. BenefitsDeliver membership benefits across customers’ everyday spending, borrowing, travel, and lifestyle, and refresh cards regularly to keep them.
  2. PartnersAdd business partners around the world who co-create and co-fund Card Members’ benefits.
  3. ExperiencesDevelop experiences that attract high-spending customers, from lounges to dining.

The Platinum portfolio is now the fastest growing in U.S. Consumer, after the Consumer and Business Platinum refresh at the end of the third quarter of 2025.,

American Express announced a proposed purchase of TheFork, a European restaurant booking platform with 50,000 restaurants in 11 countries.

Its 31st Centurion Lounge opened at Salt Lake City International Airport.

Thirty quarters of double-digit fee growth

Many American Express cards carry an annual fee, which helps pay for the value they offer. Net card fees have grown about 17% a year since 2019, and were the fastest-growing part of revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up 15%. Net card fees grew by double digits for the 30th quarter running in the fourth quarter of 2025.

$1.0bnQ2 2019$1.1bnQ2 2020$1.3bnQ2 2021$1.5bnQ2 2022$1.8bnQ2 2023$2.1bnQ2 2024$2.5bnQ2 2025$2.9bnQ2 2026

Net card fees in each second quarter; each card is $100 million.

Average fee per card, 2025

$0

86.6m proprietary cards in force

75% of new accounts worldwide in the second quarter of 2026, leaving out corporate cards, were on fee-paying products.Average fee per card is net card fees over the average proprietary cards in force.

Gen Z’s spending grew 40%

Millennials and Gen Z are American Express’s fastest-growing Card Members in the United States. 65% of new consumer accounts worldwide in the second quarter of 2026 came from Millennials and Gen Z.

7%Gen Z+40%31%Millennials+14%36%Gen X+10%27%Boomers++5%+11%total
  1. Gen Z7% of spending+40%
  2. Millennials31% of spending+14%
  3. Gen X36% of spending+10%
  4. Baby Boomers and older27% of spending+5%

U.S. Consumer Services billed business in Q2 2026, each generation’s share of it and its growth on a year earlier. A plate’s area is its share; the dashed ring is the same spending a year earlier.

Buybacks made earnings per share grow faster than net income

In the first half of 2026 net income grew 11%, but earnings per share grew 14%. Share repurchases cut the average number of shares by 3%.

The disc is net income, to scale; each slice is ten million shares’ part of it.
Net income
$6.08bn
Average diluted shares
682m
Earnings per share
$8.81

The long-term aspiration

Revenue growthEPS growthAim10%+Mid-teens202314%14%20249%19%202510%15%H1 202611%14%202610% guidedEPS of $17.30 to $17.90 guided

Growth as reported; EPS growth for 2024 and 2025 leaves out the 2024 gain on selling Accertify. 2026 revenue guidance was raised from 9% to 10% in July, with the EPS range kept.

  1. Add an imperative when the ground moves.

    American Express grew its strategy from four imperatives to five, adding the reimagining of customer and colleague experiences because technology is changing how it works and what customers expect, and it says so in the annual report. We recommend changing the plan openly when the world changes, and saying why.

  2. Separate the aspiration from the year’s guidance.

    Its long-term aspiration is 10%+ revenue growth and mid-teens EPS growth; each year it guides separately, 9 to 10% for 2026, raised to 10% in July. We recommend a standing ambition that doesn’t move, and yearly targets that say how close this year will come.

  3. Say where the extra goes.

    Raising its 2026 revenue guidance, American Express kept its EPS range and said it would reinvest the outperformance in growth. We recommend deciding in advance what a better-than-planned year pays for, so the gain isn’t spent by default.

Sources

  1. 1. American Express Company (2026). Annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. SEC filing, 6 February 2026. sec.gov
  2. 2. American Express Company (2026). Q4 2025 results. Form 8-K exhibit 99.1, 30 January 2026. sec.gov
  3. 3. American Express Company (2026). Earnings conference call Q4’25. Presentation, 30 January 2026. s26.q4cdn.com
  4. 4. American Express Company (2026). Q2 2026 results. Form 8-K exhibit 99.1, 24 July 2026. sec.gov
  5. 5. American Express Company (2026). Earnings conference call Q2’26. Presentation, 24 July 2026. s26.q4cdn.com

Headwater is not connected with American Express. American Express, Amex, Platinum Card, Centurion, and Membership Rewards are trade marks of American Express. Updated 29 September 2026.

All company strategies