If You Invested $1000 in American Express a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.What if you'd invested in American Express (AXP) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to AXP for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?American Express' Business In-DepthWith that in mind, let's take a look at American Express' main business drivers. Founded in 1850, NY-based American Express Company is a diversified financial services company, offering charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. American Express and its main subsidiary – American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (“TRS”) – are bank holding companies under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. The company offers business travel-related services through its non-consolidated joint venture, American Express Global Business Travel (the GBT JV).The company’s range of products and services include charge card, credit card and other payment and financing products; Merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, and point-of-sale marketing and information products and services for merchants; Network services; other fee services, including fraud prevention services and the design and operation of customer loyalty programs; Expense management products and services and Travel-related services.The company’s reporting segments are as follows:U.S. Consumer Services (USCS): (46.4% of 2023 total segment’s revenue net of interest expense) It issues a varied array of proprietary consumer cards. The segment also extends travel and lifestyle services and banking and non-card financing products to U.S. consumers.Commercial Services (CS): (24.4%) This unit offers a wide range of proprietary cards, payment and expense management services coupled with banking and non-card financing products to U.S-based corporates and small business clients.International Card Services (ICS): (17.2%) It issues a diversified range of proprietary consumer, small business and corporate cards outside the United States. Offering services to the international customers of American Express and managing specific international joint ventures as well as its loyalty coalition businesses are among the segment’s functions.Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS): (12%) It operates a global payments network that processes and settles card transactions, acquires merchants and extends multi-channel marketing programs and capabilities, services and data analytics through leveraging the company’s integrated network capabilities. The company announced to sell its Accertify business to Accel-KKR, which is expected to close by the second quarter of 2024.Bottom LineAnyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in American Express ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in November 2014 would be worth $3,241.51, or a gain of 224.15%, as of November 22, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 188.28% and the price of gold went up 113.76% over the same time frame.Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for AXP. American Express' growth initiatives, like launching new products, reaching new agreements and forging alliances, are boosting its revenues. Consumer spending on travel and entertainment, which carries higher margins for AmEx, is advancing well. Its focus on Millennials and Gen-Z consumers, who exhibit strong dining preferences, will position the company for long-term growth. Its solid cash-generation abilities enable the pursuit of business investments and share buybacks and dividend payments. Its shares have outperformed the industry in the past year. However, with higher utilization of its cards, costs in the form of card member services and card member rewards are likely to go up. Rising marketing costs are straining its margins. Its current debt level induces a rise in interest expenses. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance. The stock has jumped 8.53% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 8 higher, for fiscal 2024; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report American Express Company (AXP): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks