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Why American Express (AXP) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

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American Express (AXP - Free Report) closed at $150.93 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.42% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.52% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.58%.

The the stock of credit card issuer and global payments company has fallen by 5.71% in the past month, lagging the Finance sector's loss of 3.1% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.61%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of American Express in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on October 20, 2023. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $2.98, showcasing a 20.65% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $15.43 billion, showing a 13.85% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

AXP's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $11.13 per share and revenue of $60.82 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.99% and +15.06%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for American Express should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Currently, American Express is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, American Express is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.37. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 10.09.

Also, we should mention that AXP has a PEG ratio of 0.94. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Financial - Miscellaneous Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.13 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry is part of the Finance sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 161, this industry ranks in the bottom 37% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.


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