American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) announced fourth quarter of 2023 and full year financial results before the market opened in the US on Friday, ending a busy week of earnings.

The US banking and payment card services company achieved revenue of $15.799 billion vs. $16.003 billion. Revenue grew by 11% vs. the year prior.

Earnings per share (EPS) reported at $2.62 vs. $2.639 pe share estimate. EPS was up by 27% year-over-year.

American Express set a new full year revenue record at $60.5 billion – up by 14% vs. 2022. Full year EPS reached $11.21 per share – an 14% year-over-year.

The company also announced plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per common share, up from $0.60 per share.

Company overview

• Founded: 1850
• Headquarters: 200 Vesey Street Manhattan, New York City, NY 10285, United States
• Number of employees: 77,300 (2022)
• Industry: Banking, Payment card services
• Key people: Stephen J. Squeri (Chairman & CEO), Jeffrey C. Campbell (Executive VP & CFO)

CEO commentary

”We delivered record revenues and profits in 2023, building on the momentum we’ve achieved since we announced our growth plan in January 2022. We continued to drive strong customer engagement, and demand for our premium products remained robust. We added 12.2 million new proprietary cards in the year, bringing the total number of cards-in-force issued on our global network to over 140 million,” Stephen J. Squeri, CEO of American Express commented on the latest results.

Squeri also looked at the year ahead, setting expectations for investors: ”Based on the momentum in our business, we are providing full-year 2024 guidance for revenue growth of 9 percent to 11 percent and EPS of $12.65 to $13.15. Looking ahead, we continue to run the business with a focus on our aspiration of revenue growth of 10 percent plus and mid-teens EPS growth.”

Stock reaction

The share price rose by over 7% on Friday, trading at $201.43 a share.

Stock performance

• 5 day: +8.90%
• 1 month: +6.47%
• 3 months: +41.16%
• Year-to-date: +6.47%
• 1 year: +15.76%

American Express stock price targets

• BMO Capital Markets: $157
• Deutsche Bank: $235
• Robert W. Baird: $190
• JP Morgan Chase & Co.: 205
• Stephens: $193
• The Goldman Sachs Group: $205
• Barclays: $184
• TD Cowen: $158
• Citigroup: $154
• Piper Sandler Companies: $151
• Morgan Stanley: $175
• Royal Bank of Canada: $185
• HSBC: $181
• Oppenheimer: $175
• Bank of America: $202

American Express Company is the 86th largest company in the world with a market cap of $145.67 billion, according to CompaniesMarketCap.

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Sources: American Express Company, TradingView, MarketWatch, MarketBeat, CompaniesMarketCap