American Express (AXP) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

Company Performance - American Express (AXP) closed at $359.59, down 4.27% from the previous trading session, underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.16% [1] - Over the past month, AXP shares have decreased by 1.82%, lagging behind the Finance sector's gain of 3.24% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.89% [1] Upcoming Earnings Report - The company is set to release its earnings on January 30, 2026, with expected earnings of $3.55 per share, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 16.78% [2] - Revenue is anticipated to be $18.86 billion, indicating a 9.78% increase compared to the same quarter last year [2] Fiscal Year Estimates - For the entire fiscal year, earnings are projected at $15.41 per share, showing a growth of 15.43%, while revenue is expected to remain flat at $72.11 billion [3] - Recent adjustments to analyst estimates suggest evolving short-term business trends, with positive revisions indicating analyst optimism [3] Zacks Rank and Performance - The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), has shown that 1 ranked stocks have yielded an average annual return of +25% since 1988 [5] - American Express currently holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), with a recent 0.13% increase in the consensus EPS estimate over the last 30 days [5] Valuation Metrics - The current Forward P/E ratio for American Express is 21.38, which is a premium compared to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.84 [6] - The company has a PEG ratio of 1.57, indicating a higher valuation relative to the average PEG ratio of 0.94 for Financial - Miscellaneous Services stocks [7] Industry Context - The Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry, part of the Finance sector, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 157, placing it in the bottom 36% of over 250 industries [8] - Research indicates that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [8]