Loan losses below pre-COVID levels

Article Excerpt

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO. $164 is a buy. The company (New York symbol AXP, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 747.2 million; Market cap: $122.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.americanexpress.com) issues two types of cards: traditional credit cards, which let users carry a balance; and charge cards, which have no pre-set spending limit, although cardholders must pay off their balances each month. It’s also a bank that accepts deposits and makes loans. Amex continues to benefit from its focus on affluent clients. Despite rising interest rates, its U.S. consumer credit card delinquency rate as of October 31, 2023, was 1.3%. While that’s up from 0.9% a year earlier, it’s still below the pre-pandemic delinquency rate of 1.6% even though cardholder loan balances rose 31.7% over that four-year period. Moreover, the company’s earnings will likely rise 14% to $11.23 a share in 2023, and the stock trades at a reasonable 14.6 times that estimate. The $2.40 dividend yields 1.5%. American Express…