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American ExpressAXPCOMMENTJul 22, 2015Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 18, 2026. Market Open.
The valuation of Visa and Mastercard has been elevated, but the growth has supported it. AmEx has the cheaper valuation; they benefit from international travel. He prefers AXP. He owns a little Visa. The future of payments processing? It's Apple Pay, which kids use through their phones. The sector has a lot of moving parts and competition, so it's hard to say where it's going.
The natural reaction in a discussion in this company is that if interest rates rise, are they going to suffer greater credit losses which will inhibit earnings. Probably not because the profile of the average American Express card holder is very positive and tends to be wealthier individuals. He prefers the Visa (V-N), MasterCard (MC-N) group over this company’s model. This one takes on credit risks, while the other 2 are just transaction companies. (See Top Picks.)