American Express Increases Dividend by 17% and Returns $6.1 Billion to Shareholders
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2h ago
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Source: Fool
- Dividend Increase: American Express raised its dividend by 17% last March, reflecting strong underlying business strength, and despite a current yield of only 0.9%, more increases are likely in the future.
- Strong Profitability: The company reported a third-quarter revenue increase of 11% year-over-year to $18.4 billion, with net income rising 16% to $2.9 billion, showcasing robust profitability that supports ongoing dividend growth.
- Significant Buybacks: In the first nine months of 2025, American Express returned $6.1 billion to shareholders, including $4.4 billion in share repurchases, which further enhances the potential for earnings-per-share growth.
- Flexible Financial Strategy: With expected earnings per share of $15.20 to $15.50 for 2025 and a payout ratio of only 21%, management retains the flexibility to invest and repurchase shares while still having room to grow dividends.
Analyst Views on AXP
Wall Street analysts forecast AXP stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AXP is 351.42 USD with a low forecast of 280.00 USD and a high forecast of 400.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
21 Analyst Rating
7 Buy
12 Hold
2 Sell
Hold
Current: 369.950
Low
280.00
Averages
351.42
High
400.00
Current: 369.950
Low
280.00
Averages
351.42
High
400.00
About AXP
American Express Company is a globally integrated payments company with card-issuing, merchant-acquiring and card network businesses. It offers products and services to a range of customers, including consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies and large corporations around the world. Its segments include U.S. Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS) and Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS). USCS offers travel and lifestyle services as well as banking and non-card financing products. CS offers payment and expense management, banking and non-card financing products. ICS provides services to international customers, including travel and lifestyle services, and manages certain international joint ventures and its loyalty coalition business. GMNS operates a payments network that processes and settles card transactions, acquires merchants and provides multichannel marketing programs and capabilities, services and data analytics.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
