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American ExpressAXPTOP PICKJul 04, 2018Stock 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.
It has 13x forward earnings with a 12% growth rate as global consumer spending rises. Digital currency is overtaking cash and cheques as a strong trend. Worldwide, people still use cash over plastic, but this will change--and AmEx will benefit. Last week, they announced a co-branded card with Amazon and $3.4-billion buyback program. He's held this for a long time. (Analysts' price target: $109.27)