Artificial intelligence is becoming a key part of American Express Company’s AXP long-term strategy. During its latestearnings call the company highlighted several AI initiatives aimed at preparing its payments business for the next phase of digital commerce. AmEx also plans to increase technology investments, signaling that AI will remain a major area of focus.
AmEx recently launched the Amex Agentic Commerce Experiences Developer Kit, enabling developers to integrate its cards into AI-powered transactions. It also introduced Amex Agent Purchase Protection, an industry-first feature that protects purchases made by registered AI agents. In addition, the company is building proprietary AI features on its own platforms while partnering with leading AI companies to make its premium membership benefits discoverable and actionable across their platforms.
The company is using its closed-loop payments platform to support these initiatives. Access to end-to-end transaction data helps verify purchase intent, improve payment approvals and strengthen fraud protection and security for both card members and merchants. These capabilities could become increasingly important as AI handles a larger share of digital transactions.
AmEx delivered strong first-quarter results, supporting its investment in future growth. Revenues increased 11% year over year to $18.9 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) rose 18% to $4.28. Despite raising technology investments, the company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $17.30-$17.90. As AI continues to reshape digital commerce, these investments could strengthen customer engagement, deepen merchant relationships and support long-term growth.
How Are Competitors Faring?
American Express faces intense competition in the payments space from Mastercard Incorporated MA and Visa Inc. V, both of which are expanding their AI capabilities to strengthen payment security and support the next phase of digital commerce.
Mastercard recently expanded its Agent Pay platform and introduced Verifiable Intent to support secure AI-driven transactions. These initiatives reflect Mastercard’s focus on building trust and security as agentic commerce evolves.
Visa is expanding its AI capabilities to strengthen digital payments and fraud prevention. It recently launched the Visa Threat Intelligence Platform (VTIP) to identify cyber threats before they become payment fraud, reflecting its continued focus on AI-driven payment security.
AXP’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of AXP have risen 8.6% over the past year against the industry’s decline of 26.6%.
From a valuation standpoint, AXP trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28X, up from the industry average of 9.87X. AXP carries a Value Score of C.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXP’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $17.67 per share, implying a 14.9% jump from the year-ago period’s level.
AXP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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